With two visit weekends remaining before the start of the NCAA's signing period Feb. 5 count the mother of Rivals100 defensive tackle Travonte Valentine as someone eager to gain closure on the entire recruiting process.
"I'll be glad when it's over," Michelle Samuel said Friday en route to Baton Rouge, where she's joining Valentine for his official visit to LSU. "It's exciting but it's stressful, too."
That's understandable considering Valentine, the nation's No. 3 defensive tackle and four-star prospect, has been committed to Louisville, Florida and Miami during an 18-month period.
Valentine re-opened his process for the fourth time after rescinding his pledge to Miami following the U.S. Army All-American game and the 6-foot-3, 285-pounder is taking officials to LSU this weekend and Miami on the weekend of Jan. 31.
Valentine has not cemented plans to announce his final choice.
"I think he's trying to do it at school on signing day," Samuel said. "He's just trying to make sure the one he chooses will be the right fit for him."
Samuel cleared up any misconceptions about her stance on Valentine potentially leaving south Florida for Louisiana.
"I tell him he needs to follow his heart and I'm going to support whatever decision he's willing to make," Samuel said. "It's his time to be a man and he's got to step up to the plate now. It's on him. I'm OK with whatever he decides to do."
One of the driving forces that kept LSU in the thick of the race when Valentine was committed to Miami, and subsequently since his decommittment, has been the work of area recruiter Corey Raymond, the team's secondary coach.
Raymond made an in-home visit this week to see Valentine and his mother and reiterated the opportunity awaiting him in the event he chooses to wear purple and gold.
"I've never had any problems with LSU," Samuel said. "A lot of people were telling me LSU was a good school and I've felt comfortable with them. Coach Raymond came by and assured him the school will have all the accommodations academically and athletically. He feels more comfortable about LSU although Miami pretty much has the same things as well."
Despite a significant turn in the weather from her normal pleasant 75-degree winter, Samuel is looking forward to her first trip to Baton Rouge and exploring all the things LSU has to offer her son.
"I want meet with everybody and see the school," Samuel said. "I want to meet with the people from the academic side and see what they're talking about. I think right now he's going to take his time because it's a lot for him. It's exciting but he's gone through a lot. He wants to make sure he makes the right decision for himself."
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