Derek Tyson
RecruitingNation
11
Shares
Email
print
comment
ORLANDO, Fla. -- With less than two months remaining until national signing day, Shavar Manuel, No. 22 in the ESPN 300, has narrowed down his decision to a small group of teams, including a leader.
"I have a top four of Florida, LSU, Florida State and USF. Tennessee is still in it, too,” Manuel said during registration for the Under Armour All-America Game. "I’m visiting Florida on the 23rd and Florida State on the 29th. I’ll probably visit USF and Tennessee too.
"I have a leader, Florida, and USF is there too. Coach [Jim McElwain] Mac is a great head coach for the players. He’s involved with every position on the field and as a recruiter, as a head coach, he shows so much love to the recruits. He’s done so much in one year, he turned the program around and that’s huge. They are going to get used to winning in Gainesville."
The eighth-ranked defensive tackle in the ESPN 300 said his relationship with several coaches was a main reason for his group of top schools.
“Coach [Chris] Rumph, he’s a character,” Manuel said of Florida’s defensive line coach. "Before the dead period we were actually keeping in contact with me every day and that’s big with me in recruiting. I probably have the best relationship with him and Coach [Brad] Lawing at Florida State.
"LSU is still in there, too. I talked to Coach O (Ed Oregon) and he just told me they still need me and think I have a lot of talent. With USF, they’ve been on me since I was in ninth grade and I have a great relationship with coach [Willie] Taggart.”
Manuel is planning to announce his decision at the Under Armour All-America game on Jan. 2.