Upland QB trying to play himself off waiting list

Nate Romine could have a scholarship offer after Oregon State’s camp on Saturday or the Upland High School quarterback may have to wait until February for his first offer. Timing is just one of the senior’s many variables.

Romine could find himself anywhere from Yale to Air Force to, well, Oregon State but who or how many will offer is anybody’s guess. Of the Pac-12 schools interested, Romine believes Oregon State is the closest to issuing him his first offer. His performance on the camp circuit this summer could land him a handful of offers, however, those already in possession of offers from his target schools may have as much influence on Romine’s future as he will.

“I’m the second or third guy on a lot of people’s recruiting boards,” said Romine. “With Oregon State, they’ve already offered a couple of quarterbacks but they don’t really think they’re going to commit. They told me that if I impress them at this camp I could be an offer guy but I know things also depend on whether their other recruits commit somewhere else.”

Among those interested in Romine are Nevada, Washington State, Fresno State, Navy, Army, Air Force, Yale and Penn. As the latter part of that list would suggest, the Upland quarterback is preparing himself to be faced with equally enticing lures of elite football and high-level academics.

Romine is more than happy to use his sport as a ticket to an Ivy League education seeing as the career he’s interested in doesn’t necessarily include a three-letter acronym.

“It’s not that I don’t want to play in the NFL, but I want the option for a career that doesn’t involve football,” Romine said. “My objective isn’t to wow the country with my football for four years. I want to use football to get an education. So, yeah, I guess that makes me different than a lot of guys.”

After leading Upland to a 12-0 start in his first season as a starter before losing in the semifinals to eventual CIF champion Vista Murrieta, second or third on the recruiting board may not do justice to Romine. The three-star prospect is undersized at 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds but he’s already a polished passer as his 2011 numbers would suggest: 59.4 completion percentage, 2,192 yards, 22 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Romine is also legitimately mobile but with plenty of options in the Upland backfield he only compiled 303 yards and three touchdowns on the ground last season.

He will attend camps at Yale, Nevada and Air Force this summer in addition to taking unofficial visits to Navy, Army, Penn and the University of San Diego. While Romine is eagerly anticipating his first offer, he is in no hurry to commit mainly because he doesn’t have one dream school he couldn’t refuse. In the meantime all he can do is wait for the myriad possibilities to unfold.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this process, it’s patience,” he said. “I feel like either way it’s going to be good, whether I play at a small school and get a really good education or play at a big football school like every kid’s dreamed of. I would just be flattered and humbled to get an offer from anywhere.”

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