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As Dan Mossakowski had lunch with the Kansas football coach last weekend, this thought ran through his head:

"Some dad from Frisco is having lunch with Mark Mangino. How does this happen?"

It happens when your son becomes a big-time football recruit. And Ryan Mossakowski, a quarterback at Frisco Centennial who will be a senior in the fall, is Rivals.com's top-ranked area college prospect.

Wait. Ryan who?

A lot of people will ask that. After all, Centennial has never made the playoffs in its four varsity seasons. Last year, it finished 1-9.

But as many area teams prepare for spring practice, Mossakowski is preparing for a decision that every high school football player wants to make:

Where to play in college.

VERNON BRYANT / DMN

Frisco Centennial quarterback Ryan Mossakowski skyrocketed up the recruiting lists after displaying his arm strength at a January combine.

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So far, Mossakowski has scholarship offers from Alabama, Arizona, Auburn, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oregon and Texas A&M. He gets five to 10 pieces of recruiting mail each day, his dad said.

"It truly is unbelievable," said Mossakowski, a 6-4, 203-pound pro-style quarterback who has started since he was a sophomore. "This is something that happens once in a lifetime."

He's the kind of player who comes around once in a coach's lifetime, Centennial coach Mark Howard said. A tremendous competitor who knows the game well.

"He's the real deal," Howard said.

But you wouldn't know it from the numbers. Last season, Mossakowski completed 259 of 458 passes for 2,963 yards, 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Good, but not extraordinary.

Mossakowski was extraordinary, however, in January at the U.S. Army All-American Combine in San Antonio. Rivals.com called him the biggest surprise of the combine after he showed off his strong arm.

"That's when it really launched into craziness," Howard said. "I don't know how many trees have been killed to send letters to him."

Mossakowski said he's is no hurry to make a decision. He's waiting for the college where he gets "goosebumps" when he visits, and he said he doesn't feel any pressure from all the attention. He doesn't even think about football right now because he's a shortstop – yes, a 6-4 shortstop – for Centennial's baseball team.

Centennial isn't having spring football workouts, which allows it to start practice a week earlier in August. It also allows Mossakowski to make unofficial recruiting visits to colleges on weekends during the spring. He's visited A&M, Auburn, Kansas and Oklahoma, and he planned to visit Nebraska this weekend.

Dan Mossakowski is chronicling the trips by taking pictures and taking notes. Part of the reason is for the coming year, when Ryan must decide on a college. But part of it is for years from now.

"He's getting to experience things that other kids don't," Dan Mossakowski said. "One day, he'll be able to look at it and think, 'That was really something special to be a part of.' "Spring into action

Spring football is beginning for many area high schools, and HS GameTime will have a preview Thursday. Keith Whitmire will size up the new faces and new looks for a new season.