Chaparral’s Christakos Taking Visits, Weighs Position Options at Next Level

Tommy Christakos has been making plays for Scottsdale Chaparral for what seems like five years now.

He was a young contributor for the Firebirds and has been Jack Miller’s favorite target for two seasons now. In those two seasons, he’s caught 86 passes for 1,825 yards and 20 touchdowns. 

Christakos holds offers from NAU, ASU, Arizona, Memphis, Utah, San Diego State, Harvard, Iowa State, Princeton, Air Force, Yale, Cal, Army, Nebraska, Arkansas, Purdue, Colorado and UNLV.

In addition to being one of the top receivers in the state, he is also a five-star kicker, and he said that every program that is recruiting him is open to him kicking as well.

A busy spring continues for Christakos, who has recently visited Iowa State, Nebraska and Princeton.

“I really didn’t know much about Iowa State going into this visit, but theire facilities blew me away,” Christakos said. “Obviously football is a priority at that school and their weight room is second to none. I’ve seen a lot of good facilities throughout the country and their facilities was one of the best I’ve seen.”

The coaching staff also showed Christakos how he could fit into the offense by showing him a side-by-side highlight tape of him next to former Iowa State wide receiver Hakeem Butler, who was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Christakos was also up close for Nebraska’s spring game, taking in the program and fanbase.

“Being on the sideline when the players opened up the gates and came through the tunnel, it gave me chills,” Christakos said. “86,000 – I think that was the attendance – erupted for the whole team.”

Current Nebraska signee and former Williams Field safety Noa Pola-Gates took some time to make the Huskers’ pitch to the Chaparral wide receiver. The two know each other well because Pola-Gates guarded Christakos when the two schools would match up.

“He told me why he loved it and that he would love to play with me someday.”

Nebraska plans to use Christakos a little differently than other schools. The wide receiver said the Huskers are the only program actively recruiting him as a tight end. Christakos currently stands at 215 pounds but thinks he could get up to 235 pounds after a redshirt fresman season, with room to grow even more.

“(Nebraska) basically said with the body weight…my maximum physique would be 255-260 (pounds),” Christakos said. “That was surprising for me and my family.”

Christakos spent last weekend visiting Princeton with some other Arizona high school playmakers. The Tigers have targeted Christakos early in his recruitment and this isn’t the first time he has been on campus.

“Princeton visit went really well. Went with (Notre Dame Prep linebacker Brock Locnikar) and (Saguaro running back Isreal Benjamin) so that was cool to go out there with them,” Christakos said. “I love everything about Princeton: their coaching staff, obviously top academics, and they won the Ivy League last year. They recruited me as a reciever but will have me kick too.”

In addition to the other schools recruiting him, Christakos said Georgia and UCLA are looking into him as solely a kicker, an opportunity he would consider. He wants to have his commitment made before his senior season starts so he can focus on having a big year with the Firebirds.

“I think this is the first season I’ll have the same offense, which is nice,” Christakos said. “My 2020 class, my friends and I have been growing together. Jack is going to be doing big things. It’s a pleasure to be his big target and I’m just looking forward to the season.”

Christakos is scheduled to visit Cal at the end of the month.