As a receiver in a run-oriented offense, Nick Saponara wasn’t in the spotlight too often last fall.

Fortunately, the North Forsyth junior has been able to make waves during the offseason, where he’s emerged as one of the leading athletes in a high school combine testing multiple football-related skills.

When the 2010 Nike Combine tour stopped in Mobile, Ala., Feb. 13, Saponara made his mark, beating out more than 600 other prep athletes to take first place.

Saponara (6-foot-1, 187 pounds) ran the 40-yard dash in 4.69 seconds, earned a 4.09-second finish in the 20-yard shuttle, recorded a 37.5 foot powerball throw and cleared 38 inches in the vertical jump.

Those results combined to give him an overall SPARQ rating (short for Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction and Quickness) of 112.47, enough to win the event and launch him into third place on the national tour at the time.

Brandon Hancock, who covers prep sports for ESPN.com, mentioned Saponara’s performance in a video clip posted on the site Feb. 18.

“Nick Saponara really stepped up,” Hancock said.

“He’s one of those guys that was a solid performer [during the season], but not a spectacular one. Played for a run-dominated football team but [at the combine] he was able to definitely become a blip on the radar screen and get some looks and attention from schools that ... otherwise he may not have received.”

Saponara was also named the top overall athlete by ESPN.com on the Mobile stop’s All-Combine Team.

“Peach State sleeper who turned heads with a 112.47 SPARQ Rating, could line up at safety or receiver,” reads the comment accompanying his entry.

There could be more accolades forthcoming. If Saponara ends the tour among the top 20 national prospects (his results have dropped a few spots as the tour continues), he’ll be part of the first annual Nike Combine national championships, scheduled for July 7-9 in Portland, Ore.

This weekend, he’ll be back at it, looking to improve his time when the Nike Combine pulls into Hallford Stadium in Clarkston on Sunday.

“I’m trying to get that 40 time down. I know I can run faster than I did in Mobile,” Saponara said this week.

“I’m ready for this weekend. I’m really hoping to get that 40 [time] down ... I want to try to up my score definitely.”

He credits his success so far to months of hard work with his high school coaches — head coach Jared Zito, strength coach Gary Hughes and receivers coach Scott Beard.

“I’ve got everything I need there [at school]. Just that and staying after school for extra stuff. I’m pretty independent about it, I know what I have to do,” Saponara said.

Of course, the main point of all that work is to earn a spot on a college roster somewhere. So how have things changed on that front since Saponara burst into the combine spotlight?

“Since that [performance], I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but I’ve definitely gotten a lot of letters, questionnaires showing interest, things like that,” he said.

With almost a year until next signing day, Saponara is hoping to keep up the hard work and see just how much more interest he can generate.