ESPN Midwest recruiting Blog

Posted by Bill Kurelic

Safety Daniel Easterly (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech) was one of the many outstanding prospects from the state of Michigan to take part in the Nike Football Training Camp at the University of Illinois on Saturday.

The 6-foot-5 and 200-pound Easterly worked out with the defensive backs at the NFTC, though some recruiters feel he could eventually grow into an outside linebacker.

Easterly made 58 solo tackles, had 15 assists and picked off three passes during his junior season playing almost exclusively at safety. He broke up 15 passes and forced four fumbles.

Easterly received a scholarship offer from UCLA on Friday before he headed to Champaign. He said the offer from the Bruins was No. 18.

"I think Cincinnati is about to offer too," Easterly said.

Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Syracuse and Kentucky are among the other schools Easterly said have offered. He plans to attend camps at Michigan and Ohio State in the next two weeks and is also hoping to land offers from those two.

Boenzi looking for first offer

Defensive lineman Frank Boenzi (Geneva, Ill.) also attended the NFTC at Illinois on Saturday. He hopes the camp will be a springboard to more attention from recruiters.

"It was an awesome experience," Boenzi said. "The teaching was great and we got a lot of good exposure. Going against the top players in the state was fun."

During his junior season the 6-foot-1 and 295-pound Boenzi helped his team win 13 straight games before a loss in the state championship contest. Boenzi missed a few games with mononucleosis, but still made 60 tackles and had a couple sacks.

Boenzi said many recruiters have been in contact, though he is waiting to land his first scholarship offer.

"Ohio State is talking to me," Boenzi said. "That definitely has my attention. Illinois is talking to me. Indiana, Minnesota and Colorado are some more. Michigan State has called and Purdue came to our school. I'm open to all of them."