Tulsa + ULM Offer Give Elysian Fields Offensive Lineman Jade Ashalintubbi First Offers

A prospect forecasted to be one of the state's top offensive linemen in the Class of 2019 got his start down the college football path Friday with first offers from Tulsa and Louisiana-Monroe.

Elysian Fields' Jade Ashalintubbi is on the board, and he's just the third current sophomore in East Texas to hold invitations to NCAA Division I FBS programs. The lineman reported the offers through his Twitter account.

Ashalintubbi (6-6, 331) is the second lineman in the local 2019 class. John Tyler's Chance Billington received an offer from SMU on Thursday.

Billington and Ashalintubbi followed Pittsburg receiver Keontae Burns into the field. Burns picked up his first scholarship opportunity the summer after his freshman season.

Ashalintubbi anchored an offensive line at Elysian Fields that helped create one of the region's most explosive offenses last season. Elysian Fields threw for 3,834 yards while running for another 3,122 yards en route to a perfect regular season and a third-round playoff appearance at the Class 3A Division II level.

Elysian Fields outscored opponents by a margin of 564-214 in its 13-game season.

Tulsa beat ULM to the punch by about two hours.

The Golden Hurricane program became the first to offer Ashalintubbi as it pitched a strong 2016 campaign of its own.

Tulsa recorded a 10-3 record last season after defeating Central Michigan in the Miami Beach Bowl. Two of its losses came against ranked Ohio State and Houston teams.

Navy served as the Golden Hurricane's third loss. The Midshipmen's two-point win cost Tulsa a chance to appear in the American Athletic Conference championship game as the West Division's representative.

ULM, which competes in the Sun Belt Conference, went 4-8 a season ago under first-year coach Matt Viator. It was a two-win improvement compared to the 2015 season.

The Warhawks program most recently reached a bowl game in 2012. It began that season with an upset win at Arkansas and nearly toppled Auburn and Baylor in the two weeks following its signature win.

Ashalintubbi, like all college football prospects currently in their sophomore year of high school, will become eligible to sign with any school that offers him in February of 2019.

2019 East Texas Football Players With Division I FBS Offers

• Jade Ashalintubbi, Elysian Fields, OL, 6-6, 331 —offers from Tulsa, ULM (2)
• Chance Billington, John Tyler, OL, 6-4, 275 — offer from SMU (1)
• Keontae Burns, Pittsburg, WR, 6-3, 175 — offers from Iowa State, SMU, Southern Miss (3)