Bishop Amat standout defensive back Tre Sidney now turning heads at receiver …

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Already one of the country’s top recruits at corner back, Bishop Amat High School football standout Trevon Sidney wanted to use this offseason to showcase to college recruiters what he can do with the ball in his hands.

Sidney, the Tribune’s 2013 Newcomer of the Year after picking off 10 passes as a sophomore, and a 2014 All-Area selection at defensive back, prefers to play receiver. Both now and in college.

The gamble to showcase his prowess catching balls at the expense of developing further at corner has already started paying off.

Sidney was named Offensive MVP of the Passing Downs Tournament in Fontana last weekend while competing on behalf of the Body By Tra team. The team also includes 5-star receiver recruit and Sidney’s Bishop Amat teammate Tyler Vaughns.

Also at receiver for Body By Tra is former St. Francis standout Dylan Crawford who hopes to play his senior season at Santa Margarita. Crawford has multiple college offers. Charter Oak’s Zion Echols, a running back for the Chargers, also is part of the receiving corps.

But at the end of the day, there was Sidney holding the Offensive MVP honors. It’s something he hopes to parlay into more snaps at receiver this fall while playing with the Lancers.

“That’s the purpose of doing receiver,” Sidney said of his award. “That’s pretty much my position. I play corner because they need me to at Amat, so that’s why I play it.

“But my main position is receiver and that’s what I’m trying to get across. It seems like it’s working.”

Sidney has multiple next-level offers, but some of them are solely to play defensive back while others are for receiver. According to Sidney, his offers from USC, UCLA, Washington and Michigan are all to play receiver. He will play either position, though, if needed.

Last season at Amat, Sidney was third on the team in receiving with 38 receptions, 540 yards and three touchdowns. Sidney shined as a kick returner and had 47 tackles and four interceptions while on defense.

“I’m just trying to show I can play receiver, too,” Sidney said. “Recruiters are starting to open up a little more to me playing receiver. We’ve practicing a little bit (at Amat) and at practice I’ve been starting to go more to receiver. It looks like I’ll be playing more on the offensive side this year.”\

Sidney’s strong offseason has also earned him an invite to “The Opening”, a Nike-sponsored invite-only training camp this July held at University of Oregon. The event is for what’s considered to be the top 162 high school football players in the country.

Vaughns also earned an invite.