Nebraska LB has 3 Offers, Names Top 2

Brent Gritton, of Lincoln-East High School, is one of the top five prospects in Nebraska. Gritton has received three scholarship offers. With a great start to his senior season, Gritton should see that list increase. He names two favorites amongst his list of favorites.

"I just have those three offers: Alabama, Wyoming, and Iowa State. I am finishing up a highlight film. I am going to send it to Iowa, Kansas State, Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Utah. I feel like all of those schools are very close to offering me. Utah said they heard about me late, but I should expect an offer from them," said Brent Gritton.

With three offers, Gritton has favorites.

"As of now, my top three are Alabama, Wyoming, and Iowa State because they are the only schools to officially offer me. I will probably have Iowa, Wisconsin, and Northwestern in there if they offer."

"Right now Alabama and Iowa State are about even. Alabama has been my favorite all along. I went on a visit to Iowa State and they verbally offered, then I received the written offer in the mail. Since I went to Iowa State, I really liked it a lot, but all that could change when I go to Alabama," Gritton added.

Gritton has several reasons for his top two schools.

Alabama: "Alabama has great tradition. Coach Kines has talked to me about how their defense circles around their linebackers, and I really like their defensive scheme. It is great they are now off their suspension. Playing in the SEC would be really nice. I have talked to all the coaches and they really seem like great guys. Coach Shula is real easy to talk to and very personal. He doesn't just talk about football. I feel like I would fit in their both on and off the field."

Iowa State: "When I went on my visit, I felt like I could see myself playing there. I have not visited Alabama though. All the coaches are really nice and they have a young team. They have great facilities. They are making a new locker room and they have a top notch indoor facility. The stadium is nice and they have good academics."

"I want to find the school that fits me. I want to be able to go somewhere and play early. I am not saying start, but I want to be able to contribute as a freshman. I want to get along with the players and go somewhere that has a good program. I want to go somewhere that has good academics. It will probably be kind of late before I make a decision. I want to set up all of my visits, but I might not take all of them. It will probably be the first of January. I just don't want to rush it," said Gritton.

This fall, Gritton has attended one game and plans to attend a few more.

"I went to the Nebraska opener unofficially. I am going to the Northwestern/Ohio State game this weekend. I am also going to Ohio State/Iowa, Iowa State/Texas A&M, Iowa State/Nebraska. I will probably go to one more Nebraska game. Then, the big one I am going to is the Alabama/Auburn game. I am really pumped about that game. It is a shame that Alabama lost their quarterback. I was watching the game on ESPN Gameplan and it is just really tragic for them."

Several coaches are making their calls to Gritton.

"I have not talked to the Alabama coaches on the phone. They have called, but I always seem to miss them. Iowa State, Wyoming, Ohio, Utah, Iowa, and Nebraska have called."

Lincoln-East is off to a 1-3 start, but District play begins this week.

"We really have a good team. We won our opener. In our second game, we were winning the whole game and we lost by four. In our third game, we were playing the defending state champions and we were tied at the half. This past week, we were down before everything happened (see story below). It was the toughest thing I had ever done. To go out there and play after seeing that happen was really tough," said Gritton.

In four games, Gritton has made 54 tackles.

Tragedy Hits Team:

Lincoln-East High School is praying for the life of football player, Brady Beran.

Beran underwent emergency surgery Friday night at Bryan LGH Medical Center West after sustaining a head injury in a game against Lincoln Southeast.

Brent Gritton watched as his teammate came close to dying right in front of him.

"It was a really tough game for us. We lost our starting quarterback with a concussion, our starting fullback, and outside linebacker. He (Beran) was our second string fullback. He went head to head with a guy on a kick-off. He is in real critical condition and is in a stabilized coma. You always hear before you start playing football that one hit can take everything from you. When you see a teammate almost die in front of you, it really puts everything into perspective," said Gritton.

Doctors believe a vein between the two halves of Brady's brain ruptured during the head to head collision.

Thoughts and prayers to the family and teammates of Brady Beran.