As his rushing totals increase, so do the questions.

Andre Sterling can't help but give the same answer - over and over.

And over.

"Everyone can wait until February," said the senior Farragut High School star running back.

Sterling has put his college football recruitment on hold, turning his focus solely on the task at hand: the Class 5A playoffs. The Admirals (9-1) host Jefferson County (6-4) in a first-round game tonight. However, every 200-yard rushing game he puts up - he has had six this season, including last Friday's 291 yards at Oak Ridge - begs the inquiries: Who's recruiting him? Where's Andre going to play in college?

South Carolina, Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State apply to the first inquiry. As for the second question, Sterling doesn't know.

"I was planning on waiting until after the season," said the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Sterling, a Mr. Football finalist in 2006. "I wasn't one of those big, flashy guys who was going to be offered as a junior. I was just planning to deal with it afterwards, if I was offered.

"That's what I'm going to do."

National Signing Day is Feb. 6.

Sterling said Farragut coach Eddie Courtney has told him he is high on South Carolina's recruiting board. Sterling, who has 2,125 yards rushing and 24 TDs this season, also added that N.C. State and Wake Forest are coming on pretty strong.

What about Tennessee? Have they talked with him?

"Not at all," said Sterling.

In the fall of 2005, Farragut's Region 2-5A foe Oak Ridge boasted a talented, 5-9 running back named Spencer Gulmire. Despite impressive numbers, including a 352-yard game against Farragut his senior year, Gulmire ended up at Austin-Peay. Division I programs didn't take a chance on him. And so far, none has pulled the trigger and offered Sterling.

"I saw Spencer play for four years," said Courtney. "I have had Andre here for four years. Both of those guys are guys who love football and are loyal to their teams. Both are physical football players. As hard as they run, getting the yards after contact, what's impressive is their lack of fumbles. The recruiting service doesn't look at all those aspects.

"He's got heart."

Sterling also has wheels. He has been clocked as low as 4.47 in the 40-yard dash. "Right now, I'm in the 4.5s, because you slow down after the season starts," he said.

And it's pretty evident he has a nose for open holes and the end zone; Sterling has scored in every game this season, but he does so by routinely fending off pursuers and rarely letting them get a square hit.

"He's got great balance and vision," said Courtney. "He's always had that. The first two years he was here, we were strictly an I-formation team. ... We went to the spread, and he could get outside more than what he could do early in his career. And he secures football when he does that."

Sterling isn't worried about where he'll land and hasn't had too hard of a time putting the college talk in its place. He fields a couple of recruiting calls each week, he said. But his top priority has been improving his pass blocking and pushing Farragut as far into the playoffs as possible.

"I've been more focused on my team more than myself," he said. "When you do that, you tend not to think about other things."

"He doesn't even know his yardage," said Courtney. "He said, 'I'll look at it after season over.' He wants to do the best he can with these guys. When all said done, he'll start looking at his possibilities as far as colleges.

"And I'll tell you this, he'll be loyal to wherever he goes."

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.