Grossart receives scholarship offers from three schools

Cary Grossart passed for nearly 5,500 yards in two seasons as Folsom High's starting quarterback.He tossed 41 touchdowns, completed 63 percent of his passes and led a Bulldog offense that averaged 29 points a game. If landing a Division I scholarship were simply a numbers game, Grossart might have already signed with Southern Cal. Unfortunately for Grossart, size matters.Standing 6 foot tall, Grossart is shorter than what most Division I college coaches are looking for from their quarterbacks, statistics aside. Height isn't the only issue that's kept Grossart from having Division I college coaches wanting his services. His arm strength is another knock against his game. Grossart's coach, Kris Richardson, has worked with and watched his star quarterback for two years and has seen enough of him to know that height or arm strength shouldn't be issues."There are a lot of guys out there that are 5'10" or 5"11"," Richardson said. "The quarterback for Kansas (Todd Reesing) is listed at 5'10" and I've watched him play and he doesn't have a cannon for an arm."Reesing has put together a fine season, throwing for 3,259 yards and 32 touchdowns against only six interceptions, while completing 62 percent of his passes in leading the eighth-ranked 12-1 Jayhawks to a win over No. 5 Virginia Tech in the FedEx Orange Bowl on Thursday.This doesn't mean that Grossart could do the same, but it does mean that there is successful Division I quarterbacks out there as tall as, or in this case, shorter than Grossart."I've had people tell me that I'm two inches short of getting a scholarship from a Pac-10 school," Grossart said. "I know a lot of schools want 6 foot 3 guys who stand in the pocket and throw the ball deep, but on the other hand I think the issue of my height is ridiculous. I sent my recruiting tape out and I feel like, 'what haven't I shown?"I've shown a lot of different things on tape like keeping my eyes downfield, the ability to scramble and to read defenses."Richardson firmly believes in Grossart's ability to play the game and to play at a Division I school."Cary is very accurate and manages the game well and he's only going to get bigger and stronger," Richardson said. "Someone will get him, whether it's a Division I school or a Division II school, and someone's going to be very happy."Grossart said while he's received letters from many schools, the only Division I schools to be in contact with him are Utah and Utah State."I really didn't know what to expect from recruitment process, but I knew that my height would be an issue," Grossart said.However, his height hasn't been an issue to Montana State, Northern Arizona or Idaho State, three Division I-AA schools from the Big Sky Conference. All three schools have offered him a full scholarship. While Grossart would love to play for a Division I school, he's ecstatic to have received the offers. He plans to visit Montana State and Northern Arizona later this month, but has yet to finalize a visit to Idaho State."None of these schools have mentioned height at all," Grossart said. "It's been nice. Both schools run the spread offense so I fit really well into their systems. The only thing Northern Arizona said was that I need to get in the weight room and that's OK because that's something I can control."Grossart said if these are the only offers he receives, his decision will be based on the locations of the schools, as well as how his visits go. He said Northern Arizona, located in Flagstaff, is an appealing location, but he's not ruling out Montana State, which is in the city of Bozeman, or Idaho State, which is in Pocatello."Until I get there I really don't have any idea," Grossart said. "After my visits I think it will be pretty clear which school I like."National signing day is February 6 so Grossart hopes to know where he's headed by then. He knows he's still got time to get more offers and pick and choose from the ones he does receive. His dad, Kyle Grossart, earned a scholarship to Oregon State late in the recruiting process. Grossart went on to have a solid collegiate career and eventually spent some time in the NFL with the Raiders, Jets and Packers.