WHEELING — Cross Wilkinson is a hot commodity.

The Wheeling Park junior quarterback has already received two Division I scholarship offers. He has drawn major interest from countless others.

His gridiron stock continues to rise.

The 6-2, 220-pounder, who was named MVP at West Virginia’s football camp last summer, has been selected to attend the prestigious U.S. Army All-American High School Combine. It will be staged in San Antonio, Texas, from Jan. 5-7, in the Alamodome.

The annual combine brings together a collection of the nation’s top high school football underclassmen.

The event focuses on measuring speed, strength, quickness and football skill, while also providing educational seminars touching on the recruiting process, speed and strength improvement and leadership.

Held annually in association with the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the National Combine is the first opportunity for the nation’s top underclassmen to demonstrate their physical talent and compete against one another before high school and college football’s top scouting organizations, as well as the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Selection Committee.

“I found out about a week ago. Coach Doc (Wheeling Park head coach Chris Daugherty) got a packet of information from the combine for me,” Wilkinson said. “It is really exciting. I want to represent my community, school and teammates in the best possible fashion.

“I have started training. I have been swimming. I will resume lifting and running soon,” he added. “I will also get together with some of my teammates and work on my passing game.”

In addition to his offers from Marshall and Toledo, Wilkinson is receiving strong interest from Pitt, WVU, Ohio University, Purdue, UCLA, Stanford, Michigan State, Indiana and Northwestern among others.

“The recruiting process is going well. I am in contact with a lot of different college coaches,” Wilkinson said. “The combine is a great opportunity to help with my recruitment. It will be exciting to rub elbows with some of the premier high school football players in the country.”

The National Combine is specifically designed to highlight the football abilities and talents of today’s rising underclassmen and tomorrow’s high school, college and NFL stars. National Combine alumni include Cam Newton, Patrick Peterson, Jamaal Charles, Eddie Lacy, Matthew Stafford, LeSean McCoy, DeMarco Murray, Percy Harvin and C.J. Mosley.

Daugherty is also pumped about Wilkinson’s selection.

“This is a great opportunity for Cross. It is well deserved,” Daugherty said. “He obviously has the talent. What most people don’t understand is that he has a great work ethic. He has not just relied on his talent.”

Wilkinson quarterbacked Daugherty’s charges to the West Virginia Class AAA championship a year ago.

DREADFUL FOOTBALL

WEST VIRGINIA had an opportunity Saturday night to join the college football elite when it hosted Oklahoma. The game was a de facto Big 12 championship tilt.

Unfortunately, the Mountaineers never showed up. Dana Holgorsen’s charges were more concerned with brawling the Sooners than outplaying them. The Mountaineers’ meltdown can be tied to two major factors: turnovers and a lack of discipline.

Two fumbles inside the Sooners’ 5-yard line were lethal. Meanwhile, the plethora of personal fouls against WVU was comical. I cannot understand why a Mountaineer wasn’t ejected after poking an official in the chest.

Despite the shellacking, WVU still stands a good chance to finish with a 10-2 mark and land a New Year’s Day Bowl. Mountaineer fans would have been ecstatic with that prior to the season.

BUBBA’S BITS

CONGRATULATIONS TO Michael Ferns of St. Clairsville and Colton McKivitz of Union Local for making the all-Big 12 academic team as members of the WVU football squad.

MISSY TIBER has her University of Northern Alabama women’s basketball team off to a 3-0 start this season. She is a former Bellaire High and West Liberty standout hoopster.

EMPORIA STATE won its 11th straight game, blasting the University of Minnesota Duluth, 59-26, Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Brothers Bryan and Matt Nardo are defensive and offensive coordinators, respectively, for Emporia. They are Shadyside natives and St. John Central grads.

KUDOS to Christy Benner and her Wheeling Jesuit University volleyball team for winning its fourth straight Mountain East Conference championship. The 38-2 Cardinals earned the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. We wish the Redbirds the best of luck in their quest to repeat as national champions.