2016 Ferndale (Wa.) OL Nick Bartel has seen recruiting pick up over the past couple of weeks and he’ll visit at least two schools next month before making a decision on where he will play his college football.
“Central Washington and Western Oregon are the two schools talking to me right now,” Bartel told Northwest Elite Index. “I don’t have any official visit dates yet, but they said they’d like me to come visit them next month at some point.
“I just need to figure out the best dates to visit and then set them up.”
Bartel handled left tackle duties for Ferndale the past two seasons and he improved quite a bit over the offseason, earning Honorable Mention All-State Honors from the Associated Press.
“I feel like I did very well this season,” Bartel noted. “It was definitely my best year by far.
“I was grinding in the weight room, twice a day, and I think I really increased my speed and also going to all of those camps helped me a lot.
“I also feel like I grew into my body a little more and that helped me as well.”
Bartel has gone relatively unnoticed the past couple of years due to the fact that he plays up near the border of Washington and British Columbia, but at 6’6″ and 300 pounds, he’s got the requisite size, feet and smarts to play almost anywhere along the offensive line.
While he might not be drawing a lot of attention from the bigger schools, Bartel has the skillset necessary to surprise some people at the next level and as long as he finds the right fit, he could be a real gem if they develop him and get him to reach his full potential.
NEI will continue to keep tabs on Bartel over the next month and we will update news on him as it happens.
Awesome!