Eyes falling upon them.

Byline: Steve Mims The Register-Guard

R e c r u i t i n g

There is a perception that prep athletes need to put all their focus on one sport in order to grab the attention of college scouts.

Churchill's Andrew Schumacher, Sheldon's Alex Besaw and North Eugene's Dan Winterstein have bucked the trend toward specialization and are getting twice as many looks from colleges as a result. All three seniors are being recruited by colleges for football and baseball.

The trio earned plenty of honors before their senior year to attract attention from college coaches.

Schumacher was a first-team all-Midwestern League selection in basketball and baseball and a second-team pick in football last year. Besaw also earned all-league honors in all three sports as a junior and was the co-player of the year in baseball in the Midwestern League.

Winterstein earned first-team all-league honors in football and baseball and was the Midwestern League offensive player of the year in football.

All three have carried success from season to season, although their busy schedules leave little time for offseason training. As a result, they might be considered a bit under the radar in terms of recruiting, but their coaches say they have more potential down the road if and when they choose to play one sport.

"The thing with Alex is he has been so loyal to Sheldon and being a three-sport guy helps the school's athletic teams, but his exposure may not be as good as some other kids in the state," Sheldon baseball coach Kenny Niles said.

"I think he's a very untapped talent because people know of him, but they don't see a whole bunch of him in baseball because he plays for 3 1/2 months, which is contrary to some nine-month kids."

Schumacher did not play football as a freshman, but college coaches have noticed his size and skills at quarterback during the past two years.

"Andrew has gotten so much better this year and made huge strides," Churchill football coach Darrell Mehl said. "He has only 2 1/2 years of high school football and then he plays basketball and baseball, so he does not have the chance to lift weights and get bigger and stronger. He has to share time with basketball and baseball in the summer.

"If he ever decided just to focus in on football, I think whoever would get him would be pleasantly surprised by how much he can do."

There is no guarantee that any of the three is ready to decide on one sport.

"Either football or baseball is what I'm looking for, and baseball I'm not sure if there is as much interest, but you never know until your senior year," Schumacher said. "I hope to get an opportunity for baseball too. Maybe even play football and baseball; I'd do both if the opportunity was right."

Here's a closer look at how the recruiting process is going for all three local prep stars:

Besaw shines at quarterback

Besaw's best college options will probably be in baseball, but his lofty statistics in his first year as Sheldon's starting quarterback are catching the attention of college football coaches.

Besaw has played varsity since his freshman year and was the backup quarterback to Corey Moran while earning all-league honors at defensive back last year. He missed games with a separated shoulder as a sophomore and then suffered a concussion last year that forced him to miss Sheldon's playoff loss to Sprague.

Now at quarterback, the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder has completed 102-of-153 passes for 1,622 yards and 14 touchdowns to lead the third-ranked Irish to a 7-0 record.

"We had real high expectations for him because of what he had done as a free safety, and we watched him as the backup quarterback to Corey," Sheldon coach Marty Johnson said.

"Lots of times a kid that doesn't get a chance until his senior year tries to do too much and then has a disappointing season, but Alex has been real coachable."

Besaw was also confident heading into his first year as starting quarterback.

"I had very high expectations," he said. "We always talk about playing like a champion, and no matter what position I play I let my competitive side take over."

Oregon has started sending him recruiting letters, and Besaw plans to send out highlight films to get more schools interested.

"For me, I have to talk to the right people after not having played quarterback," Besaw said.

"Going into the season it was a question of how well I was going to do, and that would set the standard for pursuing football in college. That's definitely an option for me; I don't want to shut any doors. I'm keeping my options open for football, basketball or baseball."

Oregon State and the University of Portland are both recruiting Besaw for baseball, and professional baseball scouts also have taken notice of his 90-mph fastball.

"He's getting a lot of interest from Pac-10 schools," Niles said. "The interesting thing is he does not play fall ball because he does not want to risk injury for football, and then in the winter he gets after it hard for basketball. He does not have the opportunity to go to camps.

"A lot of people know who he is, but when it is time for prospects to play, he does not get the exposure because of his loyalty to the school."

Besaw is waiting to see which sport has the most to offer him.

"Personally, I think I'll succeed the most at baseball, but it is one of those deals where whatever sport I'm playing, I have so much passion for it that I see myself playing after high school," Besaw said. "I'd love to get a chance to play college football. I think that would be cool."

Schumacher weighs options

Schumacher played quarterback in junior high and has ideal height for the position at 6-4, but he did not play football as a freshman. When Mehl was hired before the 2004 season, he knew Schumacher's parents and convinced him to play as a sophomore.

Schumacher has started for the past two years and threw for 1,766 yards and 14 touchdowns during his sophomore and junior seasons. In three league games this year, Schumacher has completed 70 percent of his passes for 616 yards and six touchdowns to lead the fifth-ranked Lancers into first place at 3-0.

Schumacher attended summer football camps at California, Stanford, Oregon and Oregon State last summer.

"That was definitely a good opportunity to see what competition was out there," Schumacher said. "I saw who I am going up against, so that was good."

Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona State and Colorado State have all shown interest in Schumacher.

"My sophomore and junior years we didn't have great seasons, so now winning a bit definitely helps show people what I can do," he said. "I just know I have to come out and play a great game every time. That does not add pressure, it's fun."

Schumacher was a first-team all-league outfielder for the Lancers and earned the same honor in basketball after finishing third in the league with more than 17 points per game.

"I've always liked all three sports," he said. "They are all fun to me and during the season I love them all, but I think football and baseball have kind of edged basketball out. There are not quite the same options in basketball as I have in baseball or football, but you never know what could happen if baseball or football doesn't turn out. It's another option."

Winterstein impresses scouts

Winterstein has been a baseball star since he arrived at North Eugene.

He has batted over .400 in all three seasons and earned second-team all-league honors as a freshman before earning first-team honors in each of the past two seasons. He has also batted over .300 in all three summer American Legion seasons.

In football, he earned second-team all-league honors at running back as a sophomore and then was named league offensive player of the year last fall when he ran for 1,146 yards and 16 touchdowns.

"I've got a lot more options in baseball, so I will probably play baseball, but I'd love to play both sports if I can," Winterstein said.

Winterstein has gotten interest from Oregon State, Washington State, the University of Portland, Pepperdine, Santa Clara and UC Santa Barbara as an outfielder.

Oregon, Harvard, Southern Oregon, Puget Sound and Lewis & Clark are among the schools that have shown interest in football. He said most of those schools like him as a linebacker or strong safety.

"Football schools come a lot during the season, but during the summer it was mostly baseball," he said.