Akas decision on hold
Indianapolis (Ind.) Pike defensive end Pierre Aka was closing in on a decision earlier this summer, but with his senior season drawing near the 6-4, 265-pound prospect is not ready to make his college selection just yet.
"I think I am just going to hold off for a little bit, take more visits and evaluate my options," Aka said.
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"I've still got to visit Minnesota, which is a school I am looking into. I've got to visit IU [Indiana] and some other schools. I know a lot of these schools that haven't offered yet want to see some early season film, so I think it will be a longer process for me."
Iowa State held a lead for Aka at one point this summer, but the field has narrowed in the weeks since and he goes into the fall with a crowded leaderboard.
"Right now, everybody is in the mix," he said. "Minnesota is up there and Iowa State is up there. As far as the schools that haven't offered - Northwestern and Stanford - they are up there too if they were to offer. It's pretty open right now."
Other schools showing interest in Aka and evaluating him for an offer include Nebraska, Indiana and Mississippi State. His two most recent visits were to Iowa State and Northwestern in July.
"At Iowa State I liked the coaching staff and I also liked, with the academics, how they helped out the students and athletes," he said. "Northwestern was a beautiful campus and I think Coach [Pat] Fitzgerald is a great coach and a tremendous person. It's a great school academically."
Now that he has postponed his decision, Aka is looking to set up official visits to coincide with home football games this fall.
"I'm trying to visit Minnesota probably for their first game," Aka said. "Then, I will possibly take an official visit to Iowa State, but I haven't scheduled that one yet."
While most schools are recruiting Aka for the defensive end position, Iowa State and Minnesota project him to their H-back or tight end spots.
You can follow Rivals.com Midwest Recruiting Analyst Josh Helmholdt on Twitter @JoshHelmholdt