Schertz Clemens 2024 S Paul Mencke Jr. (6'2, 180) was one of the top performers at the Under Armour Next Football Camp in Dallas, earning DB MVP honors. 

"Even though I'm four stars on some sites (and) three stars on other sites, it's like, is this still real," Mencke explained of his rise.

Since his outstanding camp performance, Mencke has picked up new offers from Stanford, Notre Dame and Washington. 

Stanford and Notre Dame have caught his eye because of the combination of football and academics. 

"I plan on going to Stanford on the seventh or eighth (April), and then I'm planning on going to Notre Dame because they both just offered," Mencke said. 

First and foremost, Mencke will be looking into the "campus" and the "student life" to see how he fits in at both schools as a person, and then he will be focusing on the game.  

"I want to know what they want me at as a safety," Mencke said. "There's field, strong and there's big contributors now (like) nickel. So blitz packages and all that stuff. So I'm really seeing about that. Academics is already there. I heard about the beautiful campuses, Palo Alto and Fort Bend, Indiana, so that's what I'm really looking forward to."

Duke and Kansas have been recruiting Mencke hard for a while, and he was impressed by recent unofficial visits to both programs. 

Duke: "Duke was really good. It seems like a great organization. It seems like a great culture. Nobody was putting on a facade. Or like telling my dad 'he's going to start.' Nothing is promised right? So, it's really real. It's really there. It's not fake."

Kansas: "Kansas was also really good. They treated me like royalty. We didn't even have to open a car door if we really didn't want to. It was really cool."

Mencke's father, Paul Mencke, played quarterback at Washington State, so the Cougars are going to be a school to track in his recruitment. 

He also holds offers from Arizona State, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Minnesota, Missouri, Rice, SMU and more. 

In-state schools like Baylor, TCU and Texas could move into the picture with offers, and Mencke would have an interest in hearing from USC. 

"I like USC," Mencke said. "That would be pretty cool because I'm from the West, right? So, I'd say USC maybe a Florida school. That would be really cool because I like the heat." 

"What else is there? That's really it. I'm really happy with Stanford because that's like top, top."