Photo by Jay W. Bennett Parkersburg High School senior Brenton Strange, pictured here during last year’s homecoming game versus Woodrow Wilson at Stadium Field, is staying busy in the offseason.

PARKERSBURG — When it comes to the football field, Parkersburg High School senior Brenton Strange is pretty serious.

In fact, this past Tuesday he attended a one-day camp at Ohio State University, where he collected his 13th Division I football scholarship offer to play as a tight end at the next level.

Despite having an early football practice on Wednesday morning at Stadium Field, the 2017 first team all-state defensive back was right back at it.

“He doesn’t like missing,” said second-year red and white head coach Mike Byus, who after a 7-4 campaign last fall will try and lead the Big Reds to consecutive Class AAA playoff appearances for the first time since a three-year run from 2009-11. “He’s a great kid. He doesn’t like to miss practices.”

Strange, who received his first offer from Football Championship Subdivision member Albany, spent this weekend at Purdue checking out its facilities and campus, which marked his first official visit.

The Big Red, who can play about anywhere he’s needed on the field, has been to four camps this year so far, but noted “I’ve done some stuff, just hang out with friends and be a kid while I can be because once I get to college, I’ve got to focus on football and school.”

Hopeful to make a commitment before the gridiron season gets underway, Strange carries a 3.5 GPA.

“I do pretty good in school,” noted Strange, who was thoroughly impressed with Ohio State. “That was the first time I’d ever been on Ohio State’s campus before when I went up there.

“They have really nice facilities. They showed me around a lot. They’ve got a really good business school and that’s what I plan on majoring in.”

As far as making the early Wednesday practice following last week’s visit, he added, “I got home around 9 o’clock, but the Ohio State offensive coordinator and tight ends coach worked me pretty hard and I was pretty sore in practice the next day.”

A force in the paint during hoops season for head basketball coach Jeff Mennillo, Strange said he definitely plans on playing his final year.

“I’m still trying to gain that weight back from basketball,” said the all-stater who played at around 212 pounds as a junior. “I lost about 10 pounds just from running.”

The recruiting process hasn’t been overly tedious for the talented three-star prospect, but he admitted “before I got my first offer, it was really hard to get schools to look at me.

“But once the school first offered, it started going pretty good. It’s pretty busy sometimes, but then again, sometimes it doesn’t get that busy. But coaches call quite a bit.”

Expected to eventually put on 30 or more pounds as he matures into a more prototypical tight end, Strange understands he has a lot to learn and work on.

“It’s pretty cool because you get to learn from the coaches and players,” he added of going to camps. “Like some of their (Ohio State’s) tight ends were teaching me some stuff about their routes and blocking. It was really cool.”

With the weather heating up and the Big Reds still working during the summer period, Strange still plans to have some fun before his senior year begins.

“I’ll be going to the beach sometime in July and after that, I’ll be going for some school visits,” he said. “I think we will have a really good season. Last year we didn’t have a really big senior class like this year and I think my class is loaded with talent.”

Obviously, coach Byus knows he has a special talent on his hands and would take a dozen like him anytime.

“Any adjective you want to use with Brenton Strange, his work ethic is great,” said the coach. “His commitment is unbelievable. He’s a great kid. A tremendous kid.

“He’s doing the right things all the time. He’s a great teammate and he doesn’t ever get the big head and think he’s better than anyone else. He goes out there and outworks everybody we have every single day.”

Having had one season under coach Byus, Strange thinks the sky is the limit for the Big Reds this fall.

“We know one another and we have a relationship now. We connect basically,” Strange added. “My goal for this season is to go far in the playoffs and get to the state championship for the whole team.”

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Brenton Strange Inside the Numbers

Parkersburg High School, Senior

6-foot-4, 210 pounds, Tight End

∫ 2017 Class AAA first team all-state defensive back

Current Division I offers: Akron, Albany (FCS), (FCS) Campbell, Charlotte, Cincinnati, (FCS)Hampton, Marshall, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio State, Purdue, Rutgers, Wake Forest

∫ Junior season stats

Defense: 95 total tackles, 9 TFL, 2 sacks, 3 TDs (2 pick-6s, 1 fumble return)

Offense: 59 receptions*, 938 yards*, 13 TDs (1 rushing), 12 catches in one game*

Shared school records: 12 receiving TDs (single season), 88-yard TD catch, 4 pick-6s (career)

Career school records: 128 receptions, 1,739 yards

* Denotes single game/season school record