Add another visit to McKinneys list

When you get more than 30 calls in one day, it’s really easy for them to blend in. But Louisville (Ky.) Central defensive tackle James McKinney said there are a few teams that stood out from a long day of calls, which all started while he was still at school.

“I just got off the phone with coach Stoops and coach Shipp at Oklahoma,” McKinney, the nation’s No. 99 player and four-star selection, said. “Coach Stoops is a real great guy. He and coach Shipp were talking about how they need to get some impact defensive tackles.”

McKinney, who is 6-foot-2 and 277 pounds, liked the pitch so much that he’s added an official visit to Norman. He’ll visit Oklahoma on December 10. This is the third scheduled visit for McKinney. He’s slated to visit Nebraska first on October 10, Clemson on October 22 and then Oklahoma in December.

With all the calls it’s easy to get confused about who impressed him. McKinney highlighted coaches from Ohio State, Oklahoma and Tennessee really standing out. For the record he remembered calls from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Kentucky, Louisville, Clemson, and Tennessee.

“I really liked talking to coach Tressel, too,” he said. “He’s a great guy. I was kind of surprised to hear from Tennessee. He left an impression on me because I didn’t even know they were into me.

“I knew they liked me, but I didn’t know I had an offer from them. The coach said they offered me last spring, and talked to me about really looking forward to my visit. He thought they were sending me letters and stuff, but I guess they just messed up somehow.”

The first calls of the day came from Kentucky and Oklahoma State, who both called McKinney while he was at school.