Football: South Hills' Deen is determined to make his mark

When it comes to future destinations, Cameron Deen's options are becoming more and more limited at the Division I level. I mean, think about how many of his quarterback counterparts from the Southland have recently made decisions about their respective futures and given oral commitments.

Somehow, the 6-foot-3 senior from South Hills remains focused, knowing full well his time will come soon enough. His lone goal is improving, honing his craft. And if Deen takes care of business on the field, things will, more than likely, take care of themselves off the field.

"Practice, practice, practice, it's all about practice,'' said Deen, who should not be confused with Allen Iverson (click here to see the hoop star's famous rant). "I've been throwing the ball all summer, and I know most people will think that's crazy, but I'm trying to get my name out there.'' 

It hasn't been easy, not with scouts enamored with signal-callers such as UCLA-bound Richard Brehaut, Cal-bound Allan Bridgford and Tennessee-bound Josh Nunes over the past couple of months. Duke-bound Sean Schroeder and Washington-bound Keith Price were in the headlines, too.

"There have been some things going on around me that were out of my control,'' Deen said. "So, I've just been worrying about the things I can control, and that's working on my game at Chris Rix's Champion Training Academy. I'm working on getting better, being prepared for the next level.''

He doesn't have any official scholarship offers on the table, but Pac-10 Conference programs such as Arizona State, Oregon and Washington have expressed interest. Colorado State is another school that's been in contact with Deen, whose time could be coming sooner rather than later.

-- Sean Ceglinsky