Perkins trio racking up college football offers

PERKINS TWP. — Braylon Collier, Weston Sturzinger and Mikey Young have gotten to experience a special feeling multiple times recently — the emotion that goes along with receiving an offer to play Division I college football. "It's definitely one of the best feelings there is for an athlete," Young said. "It's one of those things you always dream about as a kid. When you hear those words, it's like wow." That trio, all juniors at Perkins High School, has combined to pick up double-digit D-I offers in the past month-plus. Young's offer list is the biggest: Akron, Miami (Ohio), Bowling Green, Yale and Penn. Collier has offers from Akron, Miami (Ohio), Ohio University and Kent State. And Sturzinger has been offered by Akron and Toledo. "It's definitely a great feeling," Collier said. "A little sense of relief for sure, because I know I now have a free education and scholarship to play a sport I love and not have to pay for any of that. No college debt or anything like that, it's a great feeling for sure." Aside from Young's first scholarship opportunity from Miami, which he received as a sophomore, the other 10 offers have come since December. "It's awesome to see," Perkins coach Jalen Santoro said. "Those guys worked really hard to put themselves in a position to receive those offers. It didn't happen by just luck. Those guys put in a lot of work, and their numbers speak for themselves. It's cool that these guys get to go through this together. It's a pretty rare thing. To have those guys, and Eli (Sanchez), Isaac (Bunts) and then Logan (Lesch) last year, it's a good thing." These overtures have followed one of the best seasons in Perkins football history. The Pirates repeated as SBC Lake Division champions, then went to the regional final before falling to Glenville. Eight Perkins players earned All-Ohio honors, including these three. Collier caught 80 passes for 1,164 yards. Sturzinger picked off three passes and made 53 tackles as a star safety while adding 1,065 receiving yards of his own. Young racked up 87 tackles, including 3.5 sacks. "We're all good in our own ways," Young said, "and we're all blessed to have offers, but we're just best friends with each other. We all like each other. We're all hanging out outside of this. It's not just a football bond. It's so much more than that." Young, who had the highest score among Erie County boys on the American Legion Government test, will have a choice that includes at least two Ivy League schools in Yale and the University of Pennsylvania. They can't give athletic scholarships but are clearly prestigious in their own way. "Obviously it's awesome," Young said. "On the football side, they're a little smaller, but when you think about it, those are some of the best schools in the country. If you go anywhere and tell someone you have a degree from a place like Yale, they're gonna know what you're talking about. That's definitely a blessing." Collier's college decision could also include baseball considerations. Prep Baseball Report recently ranked him the No. 3 available shortstop in Ohio in the 2025 class. "Akron called me last week asking if I'd be interested in dual sporting in college," Collier said. "It's a lot, but I think it's something I could pull off for sure. Right now, I'd say I would dual sport for sure. If I had to choose, I'd probably go with football." Sturzinger, who was invited on a gameday visit to Michigan last fall, recently was visited at a basketball game by his Akron recruiter. "It just shows you that they want to see you, want to be around you, want to build that connection with you," Sturzinger said. The Perkins trio has traveled the camp circuit together the past couple years and could be looking at more offers as they make the rounds in the months ahead. They also could wind up looking at an added layer to their decision — do they want to remain teammates? "When the time comes, we'll all know what stands out," Young said. "Maybe we'll play together. Maybe we'll play against each other. Who knows?"