[COLOR= rgb(178, 34, 34)][SIZE= 24px]A ‘no brainer’ decision coming? Arnette preps for one final visit[/COLOR]
Jan. 28, 2015[/SIZE]
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback Damon Arnette committed to South Carolina in July, but with visits to Michigan and Ohio State in the final month before Signing Day, a late flip is a possibility.
Arnette took his official visit this past weekend to Columbia, where he has visited three times previously, after heading to Michigan the weekend prior. The hope was that the visit would’ve been enough to lock up his commitment to the Gamecocks and cancel his trip to Ohio State on Friday, but he will still take a look at the defending national champs in Columbus, Ohio.
The 6-foot-2, 188-pound consensus three-star defensive back will make his decision final either Sunday or Monday after the Ohio State official visit.
The Buckeyes are the team to worry about. While Arnette is keeping Michigan in his top three, he is not planning on having the Wolverines leapfrog the Gamecocks.
“If I don’t get the same feeling that I got when I was in South Carolina, then it’s a no brainer, but if Ohio State makes me feel the same way as I felt at South Carolina, then that’s going to make it tough,” Arnette said. “That’s when I’m going to need my family and everybody to help me out.
“I just want to see if I can click with the players like I did at South Carolina because that’s what I think it’s coming down to – just me envisioning myself living on campus.”
What Arnette loved about his official to South Carolina was how much he got to interact with the players. Having already seen the campus several times and knowing about the program and the academics on campus, he was able to hang out with several current players while other recruits on the visit took more time to tour the school.
He was hosted over the weekend by former high school teammate Al Harris Jr. and bonded well with other players from Florida and Georgia, especially Chris Lammons and Skai Moore, who hail from Broward County just like Arnette.
Arnette has previously said he communicates with defensive backs coach Grady Brown daily and head coach Steve Spurrier weekly. He spoke about what the coaches told him on his visit.
“They just wanted to make sure that I’m still on board. They don’t mind me taking my visits. I communicate everything with them well,” Arnette said. “They were reassuring me of the plan they have in place for me.
“I’m going to be the biggest corner that they have, biggest corner on campus, so they want to play me on the boundary.”
With Ohio State, Urban Meyer’s pitch is the Buckeyes’ need for cornerbacks. He likes Arnette’s size.
“He thinks that I’ll be a potential NFL player,” Arnette says.
Another South Florida cornerback, Rashad Fenton of Miami Carol City, was on the list of official visitors this past weekend.
“I feel like he liked South Carolina a lot, and after visiting Auburn, I think he’s going to be a Gamecock,” Arnette said.
On why USC likes recruiting corners from South Florida so much with Harris Jr. and Lammons already on board while hoping to keep Arnette’s commitment and lure Fenton, Arnette says, “South Florida is the best talent. It’s different from up north.”
Arnette finished his senior season with three interceptions, three sacks and five pass break-ups as a rover – playing multiple positions on defense but mostly cornerback – for St. Thomas Aquinas.
Jan. 28, 2015[/SIZE]
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback Damon Arnette committed to South Carolina in July, but with visits to Michigan and Ohio State in the final month before Signing Day, a late flip is a possibility.
Arnette took his official visit this past weekend to Columbia, where he has visited three times previously, after heading to Michigan the weekend prior. The hope was that the visit would’ve been enough to lock up his commitment to the Gamecocks and cancel his trip to Ohio State on Friday, but he will still take a look at the defending national champs in Columbus, Ohio.
The 6-foot-2, 188-pound consensus three-star defensive back will make his decision final either Sunday or Monday after the Ohio State official visit.
The Buckeyes are the team to worry about. While Arnette is keeping Michigan in his top three, he is not planning on having the Wolverines leapfrog the Gamecocks.
“If I don’t get the same feeling that I got when I was in South Carolina, then it’s a no brainer, but if Ohio State makes me feel the same way as I felt at South Carolina, then that’s going to make it tough,” Arnette said. “That’s when I’m going to need my family and everybody to help me out.
“I just want to see if I can click with the players like I did at South Carolina because that’s what I think it’s coming down to – just me envisioning myself living on campus.”
What Arnette loved about his official to South Carolina was how much he got to interact with the players. Having already seen the campus several times and knowing about the program and the academics on campus, he was able to hang out with several current players while other recruits on the visit took more time to tour the school.
He was hosted over the weekend by former high school teammate Al Harris Jr. and bonded well with other players from Florida and Georgia, especially Chris Lammons and Skai Moore, who hail from Broward County just like Arnette.
Arnette has previously said he communicates with defensive backs coach Grady Brown daily and head coach Steve Spurrier weekly. He spoke about what the coaches told him on his visit.
“They just wanted to make sure that I’m still on board. They don’t mind me taking my visits. I communicate everything with them well,” Arnette said. “They were reassuring me of the plan they have in place for me.
“I’m going to be the biggest corner that they have, biggest corner on campus, so they want to play me on the boundary.”
With Ohio State, Urban Meyer’s pitch is the Buckeyes’ need for cornerbacks. He likes Arnette’s size.
“He thinks that I’ll be a potential NFL player,” Arnette says.
Another South Florida cornerback, Rashad Fenton of Miami Carol City, was on the list of official visitors this past weekend.
“I feel like he liked South Carolina a lot, and after visiting Auburn, I think he’s going to be a Gamecock,” Arnette said.
On why USC likes recruiting corners from South Florida so much with Harris Jr. and Lammons already on board while hoping to keep Arnette’s commitment and lure Fenton, Arnette says, “South Florida is the best talent. It’s different from up north.”
Arnette finished his senior season with three interceptions, three sacks and five pass break-ups as a rover – playing multiple positions on defense but mostly cornerback – for St. Thomas Aquinas.