At some point in the eighth grade, as soon as Jeremy Tuttle realized he was pretty good, he began comparing himself against the rest of the state.
Tuttle would throw the discus a certain distance, then go online and see how the best throwers in the state had fared.
"Comparing myself to the best, it just made me want to push that much harder," Tuttle said.
But "if I would have stopped at Arizona, I would have settled at a certain level."
So Tuttle went beyond the state.
Once he'd conquered Arizona, he took the comparisons nationwide. Now Tuttle, a senior at Sierra Vista Buena and the defending state champ in the discus, is regarded as one of the top senior throwers in the country.
Tuttle had numerous scholarship offers on the table before settling on LSU, the current No. 2 track team in the nation. He signed his letter of intent last month.
People are also reading…
The scholarship is a full ride, which includes room and board, tuition and books. Just how rare is that for track and field?
"The Tennessee throws coach (former UA assistant John Frazier) told me it was the third full-ride offer he had offered a thrower in 20 years," Buena throws coach Ron Carey said.
The Colts' standout narrowed his decision to LSU and Tennessee before deciding Baton Rouge "would be a better fit for me."
The main reason Tuttle was so attractive to colleges was his wide range of skills. Aside from discus and shot put (he was the state runner-up last season), Tuttle also throws the hammer and the javelin, events he's always practiced, even though they aren't performed at the high school level.
In fact, at last year's Willie Williams Classic, a UA-hosted event that includes high school and college events, Tuttle entered the college javelin throw unattached - and easily won with a throw of 198 feet 3 1/2 inches.
"He throws shot, disc, hammer and javelin, and he throws all four exceptionally, which is rare," Carey said. "His shot and disc would have given him a lot of looks, but I don't think he would have gotten a full ride without all four."
The Star chatted with Tuttle about his scholarship, his skills and his future:
How does it feel to get a full ride from one of the top track schools in the country?
A: "Honestly, I don't really know how to feel about it. I think I'm blessed to even get looked at by an out-of-state college. But it's LSU, which is really big in all athletics. It makes me feel really great, but also it puts some pressure on me because they expect me to perform at a higher level. I think it's a good pressure, though, because I expect the same thing out of myself."
When did you realize your throwing could really turn into something big?
A: "I think, after my sophomore year, I really started to look at what I could possibly do so I could get into college and have everything paid for. Before that, I was playing football, basketball and track. After my sophomore year, I dropped basketball so I could get ready for track season."
Are you close to reaching your potential? How far can you take this? Olympics?
A: "I think I have a long way to go before I reach my peak, because I only really started seriously lifting this year. If I get stronger, my throws will go up. That added on to my technique, which will most likely get better. I'm going to try and work toward going to the U.S. Youth World tryouts, which are in California this year. It would mean a lot. Now, I'm on to seeing people from other countries and seeing how far they throw."
WATCH LIST
• Daniel Becklund, Sr., RIN/UNIV
• Jay Bowser, Sr., RIN/UNIV
• Tyler Grammar, Sr., IR
• Alejandro Montano, Sr., CAT
• Jose Rojas, Sr., NOG
• Ryan Silva, So., RIN/UNIV
• Jeremy Tuttle, Sr., BUE
• Lezo Urreiztieta, Sr., CDO
• John Winfield, Sr., IR
• Daniel Wong, Sr., CDO
Note: Athletes are chosen by the Star staff in consultation with area coaches.
