Each year, recruiting seems to be getting shorter and shorter. A ton of offers are made before the spring and prospects are eagerly taking trips to as many schools as they can in order to make an earlier decision. Trinity star linebacker Andrew Sweat and his father put some miles on the family vehicle this weekend as they ventured to University Park, Columbus and Pittsburgh within a three day span.
Early in his junior year Penn State was one school that most expected to be a very strong player for the Washington, Pa. native. Things did not play out that way early on as Sweat barely made a mention of the Big Ten program. Have things changed after his recent visit?
“I went up to Penn State on Friday with my father and my uncle,” Sweat said. “Most of my day was spent with Tom Bradley touring the campus. I did have a chance to speak with the linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden and head coach Joe Paterno. I also met with Sean Lee and Paul Posluszny while I was there.”
“I really didn’t talk much about football with those guys believe it or not. We just basically talked about a bunch of other things. It was mostly just general discussion type stuff.”
Admittedly, the Nittany Lions weren’t one of his top choices, but now after a solid visit has Penn State muscled their way into the mix?
“Penn State wasn’t in my top few schools, but now they are,” Sweat explained. “I really like coach Bradley. He is one of my favorite coaches.”
One school that has been in the mix for Sweat’s services all along has been the Buckeyes of Ohio State and from the sounds of it they still may be the team to beat.
“I went up there on Sunday with coach (Ed) Dalton, my defensive coordinator and a few teammates,” he said. “I had the chance to sit in a meeting with coach (Luke) Fickell and the linebackers. I watched practice and really focused on the linebackers. I wanted to get a feel for how they go about things.
“I was really expecting most of those guys to be bigger than I am, but they weren’t. You really see the difference when you see how quick they read and how fast they move. I am really impressed by coach Fickell and how he teaches.”
Sweat took his second trip to Pittsburgh within the past week on Sunday.
“They have spots open and I could play right away there because of how thin they are at linebacker,” Sweat said. “I guess you could say I am still considering them, but I don’t know if I like it as much as Ohio State or Florida right now.”
The Rutgers Football team is starting to assemble some great team speed. This fact can be clearly seen from their latest commitment - Reggie Dixon. Dixon is among the fastest athletes in New Jersey State history. Earlier this year, he registered a 6.31 in the 55-meters. A mark that is second best ever in New Jersey history.
Dixon is also a 3-time State Champion in the 55-Meters. In order to give you an idea of his speed, he has defeated three of his future teammates on the track Ken Britt, Mason Robinson, and Rashard White. All of which are considered to have game breaking speed.
Dixon made his decision final last Thursday, when he signed a National Letter of Intent. The proximity to home, the opportunity for his family and friends to see him play, and the Rutgers coaching staff were the main reasons why he selected the Scarlet Knights over offers from Temple. Boston College, and Maryland. Dixon was particularly impressed by Coach (Greg) Schiano.
"He is a great guy that allows you to feel comfortable around him," Dixon said. "He is a great leader."
Bishop McCort tight end Mike Cruz has known for awhile that he wanted to be a Pittsburgh Panther, over the weekend he made it official.
I went there this weekend and stayed with Scott Corson," Cruz said. "I loved it there and it suits all of my needs, so I figured the time was right and I committed."
The Johnstown, Pa. native held offers from Clemson, Nebraska, West Virginia, Virginia, Akron, Toledo, Kent State and Temple. Cruz talked to most of the current players and that was another key factor in his pledge.
"Everyone is excited for me," he said. "All the players are great. It is like a brotherhood there. It's like a family, not a bunch of individuals."
Cruz was tempted to pull the trigger earlier in the process, but he wanted to wait until his family could see the campus.
"My mom, dad and sister came out to Pitt today and checked out the campus," he said. "Mom was a little shaky at first, but she told me that I worked hard for this and if Pitt is where I wanted to go, she would support me 100 percent.
"She was a little worried about the big city thing, it's a little bigger than what we're used to here in Johnstown."
Whether it is on the hardwood, gridiron or a track, Metuchen High School athlete DeJuan Miller has always experienced great success. It’s that athleticism and a 6-foot-5, 200-pound frame that has football coaches from across the country interested, and now offering the stud wide receiver.
“I now have written offers from Maryland, Boston College, Connecticut, Michigan, Syracuse, Iowa, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Rutgers and Penn State,” Miller stated. “It really just got very busy in March and I picked up some written offers that were verbal before.”
After a month of picking up double-digit offers from some of the top schools in the country, Miller will look to visit both Oklahoma schools this week and make it out to more over the next few months.
“I’m going to Oklahoma with my family tomorrow to visit family out there and will check out both schools during the trip,” Miller explained. “I talk to Coach (Gunter Brewer) at Oklahoma State and he told me they run a spread offense and are looking for a big receiver to step in for Adarius Bowman who is leaving this year.”
“I’ve been talking to Coach Kevin Sumlin at Oklahoma,” Miller added. “They saw my film and found out I grew up a big Oklahoma fan, so they sent me a written offer this month. He talked about Malcolm Kelly and how he’ll be gone soon, so they’re looking for guys to be able to step in and perform immediately. I’ve been an Oklahoma fan since I was in fifth grade, so I was excited about that offer.”