BENTONVILLE — As he visited other universities, Bentonville senior lineman Chase Petersen kept comparing them to one school. He couldn’t help it.
Petersen said he never made comparisons intentionally, but the fact he did told him enough.
“I visited Louisville in August and went to others here and there, and every time, I kept thinking about Louisville,” Petersen said. “The school, the environment, the coaches. I liked it all.”
Petersen liked Louisville so much that he orally committed Tuesday to play his college football at the Big East school. He made his commitment official on a conference call with Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe, offensive line coach Brent Meyers and recruiting coordinator Matt Wells.
The 6-foot-4, 280-pounder plays left tackle for the defending 7A state champion Bentonville Tigers, but Petersen said the Louisville coaching staff wants him to play center. He hasn’t played center since “a few weeks” in ninth grade, Petersen said.
Bentonville offensive line coach Benji Mahan said he thought Petersen could play guard in college, as well, if needed. He said Petersen’s versatility made him more marketable.
“He’s not just a tackle, and I think that helped throughout his recruitment,” Mahan said. “He’s been our deep snapper the last three years, so they knew he could handle the ball. I think they also like that he could also be an emergency deep snapper.”
Petersen had received scholarship offers from Southern Mississippi, Tulane, North Texas and Henderson State, in addition to Louisville.
Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Arkansas also showed strong interest in Petersen, who said he plans to sign a national letter-of-intent on Feb. 6.
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