West Forsyth receiver sees stock rise

The ASU football staff has been on the road for much of the month in search of potential prospects out of the class of 2008. Recently, App State assistant coach Scott Satterfield identified yet another wide receiver prospect while on a visit to West Forsyth High in Clemmons, N.C.

The prospect? Andrew Bodenheimer, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound, throwback receiver who has been garnering attention from a bevy of programs early in the process.

"ECU, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Appalachian State, Wofford, Richmond and Gardner-Webb are all recruiting me right now," Bodenheimer said. "ECU is the closest to offering me and then I would say Virginia is recruiting me the hardest after that."

According to his high school head coach, Chip Petree, Bodenheimer is likely to receive the ECU offer when he attends their senior day camp this summer. Petree also stated that Bodenheimer has received recruiting material from Furman and Duke as well.

In addition to the schools Bodenheimer mentioned, the rising senior has reported receiving interest from N.C. State, Illinois and Purdue.

When ASU's Satterfield stopped in to see the talented receiver, the two only got to spend a few minutes together. But, Bodenheimer learned a little bit about the Mountaineers' program in the short meeting.

"Coach Satterfield talked to me for about five minutes and he was just telling me about the program and how the team will be this year," he said. "We didn't talk too much, but he did tell me what they were needing and he said they needed some wide receivers and said they were interested."

Though the Mountaineers have early interest in him, the two parties involved feel they must see a little more of each other before proclaiming their level of interest.

"I guess right now ECU is my favorite because they are the closest to offering me and everybody else is even," he said. "I just need to see more and see who offers me. Most of these schools say they want to see me in camp and watch me a little more before they offer."

Currently, Bodenheimer plans to attend at least six to eight camps this summer to give the coaches an opportunity to evaluate him in person.

"I want to get to as many camps this summer as I can and get my name out there," he said. "I'm going to Duke, Marshall, Virginia, N.C. State and several others and App is a possibility, too."

At this point in the process, the only concern at all with Bodenheimer is his speed. However, he is working diligently to improve upon that aspect of his game.

"I've been training with Velocity [Sports Performance] for three months and they have really helped me out a lot," Bodenheimer said. "My mechanics have changed a lot and they are much smoother than they were before. I was timed at 4.7 seconds [in the 40-yard dash] at the last combine I went to, but I have been running around 4.65 at school since I started with Velocity. I think I can keep getting that down some."

Despite not being the fastest receiver, Bodenheimer makes up for it with his "old school" approach to the game. According to his coach, he is a great all around receiver and has the ability to always find the ball. In his own assessment of his game, Bodenheimer agrees.

"My quarterback can always be reassured that I'll catch the ball," he said. "If he gets the ball to me I will make the open catches and I would just say my strength is my ability to bring the ball down.

"I think the thing I need to work on right now is making my routes more crisp, but that and my speed are the things I'm spending a lot of time trying to get better at."

As a junior, Bodenheimer caught 54 passes for 1,149 yards and 10 touchdowns. He bench presses 275-pounds and squats 360.