Attention is picking up for Van Halanger
Offer number one arrived last week and offer number two could be on the way for Athens (Ga.) Prince Avenue offensive lineman Matthew Van Halanger.
"Charleston Southern offered me last Tuesday and that was my first offer," said Van Halanger. "I think West Georgia is going to offer me to, but I have not gotten it yet."
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Other schools are showing interest in the 6-foot-3, 255-pound offensive lineman.
"Vanderbilt and Wake Forest seem real interested and I am getting letters from West Virginia, Clemson, Auburn, Georgia, Alabama, and Furman is starting to recruit me now too."
"I am just now starting to get my film out, so I think that will help too."
At Prince Avenue, Van Halanger plays both sides of the ball, but he sees himself as an OL all the way on the next level.
"I will definitely play offensive line in college," he said. "I am better there and I like playing there a lot more too."
He talks about his game in the trenches.
"I think I have real good feet, I finish off my blocks, and I just get after it out there."
"I want improve my size this off-season. I really want to get bigger, then work on my quickness, and my lateral movement. I want to start the season at 260-pounds and then get up to 275-pounds by the end of the year."
Getting bigger is something Van Halanger is really focusing on over the summer and he could not have a better trainer than his father. Dave Van Halanger is the strength and conditioning coach for the University of Georgia and he has his son on the right track.
"It is a big advantage to have him as my dad," Van Halanger admitted. "He knows what it takes to get me bigger and stronger. He gets me doing the right exercises and he is a really big help."
Coach Van Halanger is a graduate of West Virginia and his son currently has the Mountaineers high on his list.
"I like West Virginia a lot because of Coach [David] Johnson," the OL out of Prince Avenue said. "He left Georgia recently and I really like him a lot. He coaches the offensive line there and I like that."
"I also like Charleston Southern and Clemson too. Both are close to home and I like the head coach (Jay Mills) at Charleston and I know Jon Richt and he will be at Clemson."
Last year, Richt, Van Halanger's former teammate picked up an early offer from Clemson and committed to the Tigers shortly thereafter. The first offer is in for Van Halanger, but he is not going to pull the trigger too quickly.
"I am going to visit West Virginia for their spring game and keep looking at different schools," he said. "I want to see who offers and then I will look at the coaches, location, and tradition at those schools before deciding."