El Cerrito (El Cerrito, Calif.) defensive back Adarius Pickett is known for his aggressive play and having the attributes that most college programs search for when recruiting players. With his ball hawking style in the secondary and his willingness to put his body in harm’s way when making a big stop on a 200-pound running back, the talented junior is already begun to entertain offers from some pretty good schools.
“Recruiting has been going really well and I'm receiving letters from all over the country,” said Pickett. “I've been hearing from a lot of top Division I schools.
“Right now, I have three offers from Arizona State, California and Utah, but I'm also hearing from Boise State, Oregon, Stanford and UCLA. I never thought the day would come when I would have college offers, but all I know is that I love to play football. Being able to have a chance to go to college on a scholarship is amazing.”
The 5-foot-11, 186-pound cornerback help lead the El Cerrito Gauchos to a 13-1 record this season with their only loss coming in the fourth round of the playoffs to Marin Catholic, 31-28. Though it was an extremely successful season, Pickett and his teammates are still hungry for more and the work for the 2013 campaign has already begun.
“I'm looking forward to being more of a leader for my team next season in the work starts now,” he claimed. “I was a captain on our team this year, along with my teammate Jalen Harvey, who’s also receiving mail from Notre Dame, and with the experience we gain this year, will be ready to lead our team again next season.”
That includes leading by example.
“When playing defensive back, I always feel that not only do I have a responsibility in pass coverage, but I always have to be willing to stop the run game by coming up to making a big hit,” explained the talented defensive back. “Right now, I'm mainly being recruited as a cornerback. I love playing defense and I love covering people.”
With his recruiting journey just beginning, the El Cerrito standout waits patiently to see which programs will enter the fray for his services and he hopes one of those schools is Notre Dame.
“Any school that wants to recruit me, I'll definitely be interested in that includes Notre Dame,” said Pickett. “I know they're really good football team and I know the Atkinson brothers, who came out of Granada High School, are going there. Notre Dame has a great tradition and a winning football team that's ranked number one in the country right now. I would be very interested in hearing from them.”
