Memo to football coaches at Illinois, Florida, UCLA, Oregon, Michigan, Purdue and anyone who runs a spread offense: Maine South quarterback Charlie Goro, who bettered a national high school record last season by completing 75.6 percent of his passes, thinks he can play for you.
''The recruiting process is very frustrating,'' the 6-3, 192-pound junior said. ''I see so many kids getting offers, and it's frustrating not to have any. I have to be patient. I'm looking for a school that will fit my style of play the best, that will use my running and passing style.
''I think people have the wrong perception of our offense, that it's only screen passes. I think they overlook my arm strength and accuracy because they think the offense is a system. Sure, we throw screens. But we throw the ball downfield.
''I don't think they question my arm strength. They want to see me in person, to see if I can throw vertical. Sometimes they say they want to bring you in to see you throw in person. They don't want to make a decision based on film. So I guess I'll have to show them.''
Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming doesn't have any doubts. Neither do Maine South coach Dave Inserra or offensive coordinator Charlie Bliss, the architect of Maine South's "four wide and let it fly" offense.
''He is a Big Ten quarterback,'' Lemming said. ''He has command, arm strength, foot speed and great accuracy. He goes through his read progressions perfectly. He's the most accurate of all quarterbacks [in his class].
''I'm puzzled by the lack of offers. I thought he'd have a lot by now. But I'm not surprised because college coaches have a tendency to go in packs. When one offers, the others follow.''
Lemming said Goro should go to a school that will design its offense around his talent. ''He should think national,'' he said.
Goro will showcase his arm for Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley within the next week or two and later will attend the Nike camp at Ohio State.
''I don't know what they don't see in him,'' Inserra said. ''He is accurate, a great decision-maker, athletic, has a 37-inch vertical jump, runs 100 meters in 10.9 seconds, makes all the throws, the short ones and the deep ones.
''I tell him to keep all of the doors open, to be patient, don't say no to anyone. I know the colleges are more particular about quarterbacks. But other kids have been offered, and I don't see what the colleges see in them that they don't see in Charlie.''
Last fall, Goro completed 192 of 254 passes for 2,720 yards and 26 touchdowns. His 75.6 completion percentage surpassed the national record of 75.1 set in 1994, but it didn't count because he didn't attempt the minimum number of 275 passes to qualify.
''People say our system puts the quarterback in a position where they get gaudy statistics. Other people say that our quarterbacks [John Schacke, Sean Price, Tyler Knight] haven't been successful in college,'' Bliss said. ''But if you don't have a quarterback, the system doesn't work. You need a thrower, a leader, an athlete. You can't put an average kid back there and run our system.
''If I was him, I'd go to a Mid-American Conference school. In the last few years, the MAC has been quarterback university [conference]. How many good quarterbacks have come out of the MAC in recent years? Look what [former Benet star] Dan LeFevour did at Western Michigan last year.
''If Goro can't make it in the Big Ten, I wouldn't know what to say. He does all the things you want a quarterback to do. Can he play at Illinois? I think so. He is ahead of Juice Williams coming out of high school. I believe he can be very dangerous in a spread offense. I think he can win a national title at Illinois.''
