Arizona tight end talks early summer plans; Colorado in the mix

Jared Poplawski might add some more to his summer calendar in the coming weeks. For now, the three-star tight end prospect from Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro knows he will be attending Utah's Elite Camp on June 20 and he will be stopping by Boulder for an unofficial visit the following day.

“I really like [tight ends and fullbacks] coach [Gary] Bernardi, he has been the main coach I have been talking to,” Poplawki said when asked about his interest in Colorado. “He is not selling me on anything specific, he is just showing me everything and just seems like a good guy, a good dude.

“And from what I've seen, Colorado looks like it has a beautiful campus and it looks like a great place to be. I just want to go out there and see what it is all about. It will be my first time visiting out there. I am looking forward to it.”

The 6-foot-4.5, 227-pound Poplawski took an unofficial visit to Utah already and he “got along well with the [Utes'] coaches” so he has decided to return to Salt Lake City to showcase his skills at their camp.

Poplawki's current options are Arizona State, Colorado, Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Memphis, Nevada, Memphis, Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Oregon State, San Diego State, San Jose State and UNLV. Of those schools, he has only had a chance to visit the Sun Devils so far.

“I really like the coaches there and I really like the new facilities they are building this summer,” Poplawski said of Arizona State. “And I kind of like how it is pretty close to home, that it is the hometown school.”

Poplawki's coaches have told him Michigan State is also “really interested” in him. For now, he doesn't have any “true recruiting favorites” but he wants to decide before his senior season begins so his list will likely get narrowed down in the near future.

“I am simply looking for a good comfort level with a school,” he said. “I want to have a good relationship with the coaches and go to a place where I feel comfortable working.”

Poplawki is currently considered the nation's No. 13 tight end prospect from the Class of 2017. He caught 32 passes for 438 yards and six touchdowns on a Saguaro squad that won 12 games and a Division II state championship in 2015.

“I feel like I have really good hands,” he said. “And colleges have said they like my abilities both as a blocker and as a receiving tight end, so they like that I am a true hybrid tight end.”