El Camino College defensive lineman seeing stock take off

Ray Lima has fully bought into a lunch-pail, blue-collar mentality at El Camino College. So now that colleges, including four Pac-12 programs, are after his services, he has approached the attention the only way he knows how: with humility. Lima's Twitter account shows him retweeting offers to his teammates, but not his own offers.

"Recruiting is kind of overwhelming but it is pretty good," said Lima, a 6-foot-3, 323-pound defensive tackle. "I am still kind of new at this. Right now I kind of like all the colleges recruiting me. I don't really have favorites right now. I am just taking summer classes and working out. I'm more focused on getting good grades right now."

Lima is on pace to earn his AA degree next December, which would make him a mid-year transfer. Oregon, Iowa State, Arizona State, Arizona, Colorado, Colorado State, Ohio and San Jose State are among the programs that have offered him a scholarship so far.

"I am just blown away that all these schools are looking at me. I just play football because I love the sport, so to be recognized like this, it is just a blessing," he said.

Lima said he has been hearing from the Buffaloes' coaches on a regular basis.

"They have great people at Colorado. I really like them. They are really cool," he said. "I know that Coach [Jim] Jeffcoat, their defensive line coach, is a legend so that kind of stood out to me. He has really good experience so he knows how to help players develop. I talked to the head coach (Mike MacIntyre), great person; the whole staff is great."

While Lima remains wide open with his recruitment, he knows his final decision will come down to a comfort with the environment, as well as his ability to trust the coaches.

"Right now I am just taking time with it. I'm in no hurry to decide," he said.

Coaches have complimented Lima on his motor and his leverage in the trenches.

"In high school I had a few colleges talk to me but my academics weren't too good so I had to take this route," he said. "El Camino has great coaches. I am really grateful I took this route because it has really helped me develop as a player and grow as a person."