Big East Recruiting

[E.T.]

John Talman

Rivals.com Football Recruiting

Aside from getting ready for a big bowl match-up with SEC power Georgia, West Virginia is staying in the thick of things for some top recruits as Signing Day approaches. Next month's official visits will be huge in putting together those pieces.

Three-star safety Greg Davis is expected to be a Jan. 13 visitor for WVU. A work-out minded player, Davis has already struck up a relationship with the Mountaineers strength coach Mike Barwis. It also helps that he has added the Big East school to his official visit list along with Tennessee before he makes a late decision.

Recruiting coach Bill Stewart is also one of Davis' favorite recruiting coaches and it appears that the two have struck up a friendship. Getting a commitment from Davis could be huge for the overall shape of the class.

It doesn't stop there.

West Virginia remains a major player for big wide receiver Wesley Lyons, a three-star rated Pittsburgh prospect who has the Mountaineers all locked up with Boston College for his leader spots. His comments about WVU seem to illustrate that the Big East team will be in the mix until the end.

"I like the coaching staff," Lyons said about WVU. "The fact that I could probably play as a freshman there is big. I can definitely see that at West Virginia."

If that wasn't enough for January, several more big prospects will be making their way on campus. Four-star athlete Brandon Heath headlines the first month of the year with his visit on Jan. 20.

"West Virginia has probably been recruiting me longer than anyone," Heath said. "I have always felt comfortable with them because they are a team that is just a step away from getting something started big over there."

"Tennessee and West Virginia are the main ones at the top."

Three-stars Latarrius Thomas, a Louisville soft-commit, Don Mosley, Chris Neild, and Akron commit Jared Dewalt are a few others that will be making their official visits to Louisville in January.

Bulls parading for Patterson

The first bowl game is big for many reasons like recruiting for South Florida. The Bulls, who take on North Carolina State, will have one talented in-state recruit in wide receiver Melvin Patterson watching the game with interest in both teams.

Right now N.C. State holds the lead for Patterson, but apparently this game could help USF possibly move into the driver's seat with a solid performance.

"It's a real interesting match-up for me," Patterson said about the bowl game. "(USF) is an upcoming program, a team on the rise, and they're looking for players who want to come in and help them get to the top level.

"If I look at them and they're the right fit for me, that's all that will matter."

USF has a tentative official visit set up with Patterson on Jan. 13. Two other visits are scheduled to Florida (Jan. 27) and N.C. State on Jan. 20. The bowl game may be more important than many think with recruiting apparently on the line.

Cards gather early presents

The holiday tradition of receiving gifts was definitely the case for Louisville as they received not only a boat load of commitment from their Dec. 16 visit weekend, but two more just days before Christmas.

The latest commitment came from three-star Florida wide receiver Latarrius Thomas. His Dec. 9 visit was one that stuck out in his mind and Thomas felt it was the right time to give his verbal. However, his family is urging him to take other visits and he's set to take in Mississippi State, South Carolina, and West Virginia before solidifying his commitment.

Just one day before Thomas' pledge, word broke on the first present in sleeper athlete Tyler Wimsatt. The 6-foot-2, 228-pound Kentucky star chose the in-state Big East team over Kentucky and Ohio offers.

Four-star corner sets his Pitt visit

With Pittsburgh having the No. 17 ranked class in the country, being in the race for highly-touted defensive back Aaron Berry could certainly shift things upward with his commitment. After taking a break from the recruiting process, the No. 13 rated player in Pennsylvania set two visits, including one to Pittsburgh.

The Panthers will come in first on Jan. 6 while Michigan State will follow them with a Jan. 13 date. Pitt is sitting very well.

"Right now (Pittsburgh and Michigan State) along with Minnesota are the schools that I am looking at seriously," Berry said. "I don't have one in front right now."

Berry says that his decision will come close to Signing Day.

Stay tuned…

Fifth linebacker is the charm for Rutgers

The latest commitment for the Scarlet Knights came from Pennsylvania linebacker Andrew Morales who became the fifth linebacker commit for the 2006 class.

Though Morales presents very good skills on defense, he may even get a look at fullback. The 6-foot-2, 245-pound versatile player said it came down to a "gut feeling" on why he chose Rutgers.

"When I went on the visit, the staff was cool," Morales said. "Coach Greg Schiano was a remarkable person and I just had a really good gut feeling about it."

Rutgers appears to be making ground not only on the field, but in the recruiting wars by filling up their class quickly and in impressive fashion.

Etc.

Four-star Auburn commit Kareem Crowell from Tallahassee enjoyed his visit to Louisville and felt at home with other players on the roster from his hometown…Crowell will visit Auburn on Jan. 13 and Clemson on Jan. 20 before making a Signing Day decision on where he'll end up…Alabama sleeper Lawrence Wilson and Pennsylvania three-star Greg Robinson are two big linebacker prospects set to visit UConn in January….It appears that Syracuse still remains in great position for three-star tight end Rashad Phillips ever since his Nov. 11 official visit.

[bulls96go]

we will be fine with a top 40 class

[smazza]

top 30 should be standard

top 25 good year

[Guest parradocs]

top 30 should be standard

top 25 good year

It will be.  Very soon, Smazza, very soon.

[Matt]

well any WR who was considering us will most likely go elsewhere after seeing that performance.

good thing is we are pretty good at WR for the next couple years.

[BiggTipp]

any qb watching must have thought he has a chance to start right away...

good thing we suck pretty bad at qb huh

[bulls96go]

will get better and better!