In South Bend, Indiana there’s a very special wide receiver named Gehrig Dieter playing for Washington High School. In front of two Notre Dame assistant coaches, in a game twice delayed by extreme heat (fitting as the Fighting Irish opener the next day was an extremely bizarre game begun in a 98 degree heat index and was delayed for hours by a powerful electrical storm system), Dieter set a new national record with 447 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
According to Rivals:
Seven programs from the Mid-American Conference have extended scholarships, as has SMU.
Both Oregon and Iowa Hawkeyes have increased their interest in recent weeks, with Auburn a presence since a summer visit to the defending national champion.
The Indiana Hoosiers, Purdue Boilermakers, California and Wisconsin Badgers are also involved, according to Dieter.
As for potential leaders, last year’s BCS title game participants stand out.
“It was fun,” Dieter said. “At the beginning of the game I didn’t think I was going to get that many yards, but Coach Jones knows my ability to play, just threw it up a whole bunch of times. I came up with the national record.
“It feels good, but at the same time without the offensive line blocking, without the quarterback throwing, I wouldn’t have the record.”
For the season, Dieter has approximately 30 catches for 1,163 yards and 11 touchdowns.
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