ATH Jennings still thinking

Baltimore (Md.) Gilman School athlete Darius Jennings has narrowed down his list of schools to three and has some in-home visits left before he sits down with his family and determines where he'll play his college football. So where does each school stand and when will he decide?

"I'm down to Wake Forest, Ohio State and Virginia in no real order," said the 6-foot-0, 180-pounder. "I have to give it a lot of thought and it will be a tough decision for me to make. There are some factors I'm looking into."

Jennings has taken official visits to all three schools and has visits with coaches from each this week.

"Coach Tressel was here from Ohio State on Monday night along with coach Fickell and Haynes and that was good and I have Wake Forest coming in Tuesday and Virginia on Wednesday," he said. "After that I'll sort of shut it down and talk it over with my family. I'm making my announcement on Feb. 2 at my school I think, I just don't know what time yet."

Jennings said he does not have a leader and is looking at the coaching staff, academics and overall feel of each program to make his choice. The position he will play likely won't come into play.

"Wake Forest talked to me about playing quarterback like I do in high school and said I could play wide receiver, running back or cornerback if that doesn't work," he said. "Ohio State is as an athlete, either as a wide receiver or a cornerback and Virginia is mainly as a wide receiver. It really doesn't matter all that much to me. I jsut want to play."

As for his meeting with coach Tressel, it was important for a few reasons.

"It was his in-home even though he didn't really come to my house, he met us at my basketball game," he said. "It was good because my mom never got to meet him. That was the one trip of mine she didn't get to make because we flew there. So it was important for her to meet him. I think she got a good feeling for him. We haven't really had a chance to talk about it that much though yet. Like I said, after everyone comes in this week, we'll sit down and figure all of this out."

Virginia has the clear geographical edge, will that make a difference?

"Being close to home is nice, but it's not everything," he said. "Ohio State and Wake Forest about about the same driving distance and both are a quick flight so it's not really an issue. I just want a place with good academics, where I feel comfortable and where I feel at home. That's why I have these three as my finalists and why I have a tough decision to make."