Alex Hurst saw a noticeable difference between the high school and college game when he attended Tennessee’s scrimmage on Aug. 11 — the speed.

Still, Hurst believes he will be able to catch up.

“The first year would probably be kind of tough because obviously that’s a big transition from high school to college,” the offensive lineman from Arlington High School in Shelby County said. “But I could definitely catch on and get myself prepared to step my game up even more.”

The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Hurst said he’s focusing his recruiting on three schools — UT, LSU and Notre Dame. He’s still waiting on a scholarship offer from the Irish.

Hurst’s visit to UT on Aug. 11 was his first time on campus. Hurst, who said he was impressed by the facilities, was surprised by what he saw when he got to Knoxville.

“Tennessee was actually bigger than I expected it to be,” he said. “Knoxville is bigger than what I had pictured it to be. I sort of pictured Knoxville to be sort of a small town but it’s pretty big.”

Hurst took visits to LSU on June 9 and Notre Dame on June 24. Despite the non-offer to date from Notre Dame, Hurst is keeping his options open because of what the Irish have to offer.

“The tradition and the academics don’t really get much better,” he said. “I really like coach (Charlie) Weis.”

Hurst said he grew up watching the movie “Rudy” and has followed Notre Dame for years. While UT and LSU hold an advantage because they’ve offered a scholarship, a formal invitation from Notre Dame could make things more interesting.

“For sure it wouldn’t change any of my feelings to the other two schools,” said Hurst, the News Sentinel’s seventh best prospect in the state. “If they do offer it would just make the decision tougher.”

Hurst said he’s already found it tougher to communicate with college coaches. The NCAA instituted a rule on Aug. 1 banning text messaging between players and coaches.

Hurst said the new rule makes it much more difficult to keep in touch with college coaches.

“The only way you can communicate right now is through e-mail and most coaches don’t really check their e-mail that often,” he said. “You might go weeks without talking to them. When you could text you could talk to them every day.”

Hurst said the rule does have its advantages. He said the ban on texting has kept him from getting “bothered” by the process.

Instead, Hurst said he’s enjoying recruiting and the opportunity that lies ahead of him.

“It’s sort of like a dream come true really,” he said. “Most everybody that plays high school football wants to play Division 1 but only a select few get to actually go. It’s most definitely an opportunity of a lifetime.”

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.