Despite telling TigerIllustrated.com earlier this month that Clemson was "a given" as his leader, ESPNU 150 Watch List OT Patrick Destefano of South Carolina now tells Richard Davenport of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he isn't close to making a decision.
"If you would've called me two years ago I would've said Alabama was my leader," DeStefano said. "This process is just so crazy. The problem is it's not like that any of the 20 schools that have offered me is a bad choice; I could justify going to any of those 20. But the problem is finding the best one for me, and that's tough."
Hmmm. Could it be that Destefano wants to appear open for someone who works for a paper that covers another of the schools recruiting him? At any rate, Destefano also tells Davenport that he plans to take unofficials to Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee and Florida in the near future, which would seem to put those schools into his top five alongside Clemson. (He told TigerIllustrated that Florida, Notre Dame and Penn State were tied for second behind Clemson.)
Destefano's father, Frank, played at Duke and the Blue Devils have offered but don't appear to be a serious contender. The smart money remains on Clemson, though Destefano may drag out the process for a few more months.
- Albert Lin