BLUE CHIP
CHAT
THE SCOOP
Physically imposing Bookser anchored a Blue Devils line that paved the way for an offense that averaged 30.5 points per game in 2012. He is rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 8 player in Pennsylvania by Rivals.com.
COLLEGE TALK
Bookser has yet to commit to a school, but he has narrowed his list to five -- Pitt, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State and Tennessee, the last of which he said is "not up with" the other four teams. Bookser said he likely will make a decision by late December or January.
What was the coaching transition from Chris Haering to [second-year] Mike Melnyk like? It was different because they're two completely different coaching styles and really just two completely different people. They're both great guys -- I can't say enough about either of them, I love them both -- but it took us a little bit. The transition was a little bit of a shock.
With Haering at Pitt, is it strange to be recruited by your former coach? I wouldn't call it strange. It's kind of comfortable because he was the first guy I really talked to and I got to know everyone else at Pitt through him. It actually made the experience more and more comfortable.
What are you expecting from this season? We think we have a really good team. There's a couple of spots that we're not 100 percent sure about yet, but we have a lot of young talent and a lot of guys who can do a really good job. We think we can beat North Allegheny and we're hoping we can win the conference straight-up. The goal is to get to Heinz Field and then make it to Hershey.
Do you have any personal goals? Personally, I've achieved everything I wanted to this point in high school. All I want to do at this point is go out there on Friday nights and play with my best friends and win a championship.
AND FINALLY ...
If you had to listen to only one song for the rest of your life, which one would it be? Maybe "My Way" by Frank Sinatra, something that wouldn't get annoying after a long time. Probably something by Sinatra or Sam Cooke.
DATA
Year Senior
Height 6-6
Weight 295
Pos OL
First Published: August 23, 2013, 8:00 a.m.
