Feb. 2, 2000 SportsLine wire reports

ATLANTA -- Jason Respert had been waiting for this day since he was 6, when he played peewee football for the Bearcats in the central Georgia town of Warner Robins.

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Now 18, at the center of a desperate courtship by schools around the country, this 301-pound man-child planned to reveal his choice to an anxious college football world. Would it be Georgia? Or Tennessee? Or perhaps Florida?

But his hopes and dreams were put on hold after he was charged last weekend in Gainesville, Fla., with breaking into a woman's apartment and fondling her while she slept.

"I've worked so hard for what I have right now," Respert said from his home. "It's just hard to imagine that I would be in a situation like this."

Thousands of high school stars nationwide put their signatures on a cherished piece of paper Wednesday, committing the next four years of their life to their favorite college team.

Respert, a Northside High offensive lineman rated by many as the top prospect in football-crazy Georgia, will have to wait until the charges are resolved.

He doesn't want to talk about the case, but his mother and supporters proclaimed his innocence. He has offered to take a lie-detector test.

In the meantime, schools that once treated him like royalty have suddenly turned a cold shoulder, Georgia and Florida among them. Tennessee officials won't say if they're still interested.

"His focus is clearing his name," Northside coach Conrad Nix said. "Once that's done, then he'll worry about the next stage."

Respert wasn't the only top prospect who found himself a pariah on signing day.

Eric Knott, a tight end from Detroit, was being pursued by UCLA, Michigan and other schools before he was charged with rape. As he awaits trial next month, the scholarship offers have dried up, though Michigan State says it will sign Knott if he is cleared.

Football signing day is one of the most eagerly anticipated events in much of the country, the day when colleges sign the high school players who will determine their success. Recruiting dominates radio talk shows and Internet chat rooms. There are numerous Web sites devoted to the CIA-type intrigue that accompanies the pursuit of top prospects.

The signing period ends April 1. After that, Respert would be free to sign with any school in the fall.

If cleared of the charges, Respert would certainly be at the center of another frenzied recruiting battle.

Nix talks glowingly of the player's imposing strength, his surprising quickness, his catlike agility and, most of all, his intelligence. Respert has a 3.6 grade-point average and will graduate in the top 10 percent of his class.

Respert, who expects to graduate with honors, also is willing to speak his mind, which isn't surprising when you consider that Charles Barkley is one of his heroes.

"Everybody can follow. It takes a special one to lead," Respert said.

Did that bravado land him in the middle of a crime? Does the case raise larger questions about the recruiting process itself, in which schools like Georgia and Florida assign pretty young women to accompany prospects on their official campus visit?

Respert decided to take his final trip to the University of Florida last weekend, even though he had narrowed his choice to Georgia and Tennessee. He called it a courtesy to the assistant coach who invested considerable time and effort in the recruitment process.

Accompanied by a Gators player and another recruit, Respert wound up in a female student's apartment early Saturday morning. According to the police report, Respert is accused of going into the woman's bedroom, pulling down the covers, pulling up her pajama top and putting his hand down her pajama bottoms. He left the room when she woke up, and the woman called police.

Respert was identified as the suspect by her roommates later that afternoon and charged with attempted sexual battery and burglary. He spent almost 28 hours in jail before his mother posted the $50,000 bail Sunday night. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison.

"When you grow up, you want to be one of the players they talk about," he said. "It's important to me because I love the game of football."

For now, Respert is being talked about. Just not the way he ever imagined.