Friday, March 8, 2013
Safety duo has Centennial set in secondary
By Erik McKinney
Peoria (Ariz.) Centennial fans hoping to get a glimpse of what their new safety tandem is capable of got a chance to do just that this past weekend at the NLA 7-on-7 tournament in Las Vegas. Playing for "Those Guys", Amare Burks and Dominic Cochrane were terrific in the secondary and accounted for a handful of interceptions throughout the weekend.
The two took something of a circuitous route to wind up as teammates heading into the fall. Burks transfered from Phoenix (Ariz.) Moon Valley following his sophomore year, while Cochrane made the move from Las Vegas Del Sol during this offseason. With early interest from Arizona and Arizona State, the safeties are looking to use the 7-on-7 circuit to help their stock.
"I'm a good instinct player, but I'm more aggressive," Burks said. "That's why I'm out here working on my covering skills. I need to work on my ball skills; I have to be able to react to the ball and go get it."
Burks, 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, already has attended a camp at Arizona and said he would like to visit Cal and USC for camps this summer.
"I'm just trying to work on my skills and get noticed," Burks said.
Cochrane is looking to take a similiar path to the next level. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound safety made 33 tackles last season at Del Sol but is looking to step up his game and earn a starting spot at Centennial this fall.
"Playing out here with the top players in Arizona is really helping me so I can go out next season and do well," Cochrane said. "I want to do all of these tournaments, as well as any camps or combines I can go to. It's great competition, and I want to show that I can keep up with anybody and have success. I want to show that I deserve to be looked at."
Cochrane said the Wildcats and Sun Devils have him on their watch list, and he enjoyed both junior days. He added that attention from any Pac-12 school would be welcome. As for his transition to Centennial, Cochrane said everything has gone smoothly.
"I get along really well with the players there," he said. "They bring you into the program really well."
