Football: Tyler Asemota of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame won’t be invisible much longer

It’s almost laughable to think that one football recruiting service has 287 high school receivers in the nation ranked higher than Tyler Asemota of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. The fact they can rank that many is impressive, but Asemota is an example of how a player gets lost even though he’s 6 feet 4, weighs 195 pounds, runs a 4.4 40 and was a member of the second-fastest 4 x 100 relay team in the state of California.

He has been awarded the not-so-impressive two star ranking. Let’s figure this out. He hasn’t attended any shoe company sponsored camps because he’s been busy with track. He missed most of his junior season after injuring his finger, which required surgery. In other words, the only way to figure out how good he might be is to show up at Notre Dame, watch him run, watch him catch and talk to his high school coach.

Six colleges did just that and have offered him a scholarship _ Oregon State, Fresno State, BYU, Hawaii, Wyoming and Montana. Wait until others get to see what they’re missing. He’s visited several camps this summer at Oregon State, Colorado and UCLA.

“Nobody knows about me,” he said Wednesday afternoon while catching passes at a seven on seven competition at Oxnard High. “I like it.”

He made a leaping catch so impressive on Wednesday that Notre Dame’s entire team came off the sideline to surround him, embrace him and offer high-fives.

He has run a 10.73 100 meters, 21.58 200 and track coach Joe McNab thinks his best event might be the 400. He’s got big hands, great grades and like many players with a Nigerian background, he’s dedicated to everything he does.

“Strict parents,” he said of the secret to success.

So don’t be surprised if he suddenly starts climbing the recruiting charts when others catch on to the skills he possesses. He’s not worried one bit whether he has two stars, one star or no stars.

“I’m just happy to be out here doing my thing,” he said. “It’s what you can do on the football field.”

College recruiters who work hard to find top recruits will eventually find him and then shake their head wondering how he’s supposedly the 288th-best receiver in the nation.

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