Ballard breaks it down

Rivals100 tight end Christian Ballard of Lawrence (Kan.) Free State has said all along that he was going to take a look at a few other schools before finalizing on his decision to stay committed to Kansas or change his mind and pick another school.

The first step in that process will take place in two weeks when he takes unofficial visits to both Georgia and Oklahoma. He and his family are scheduled to be in Athens on August 12th, and he will be in Norman the following weekend on August 19th.

"I'm going to Georgia on August 12th," Ballard said about his unofficial visit to UGA. "I want to get down there and see what their facilities are like. If I'm going to go that far away from home, and it is a long way, then I need to make sure that they have top-notch facilities and make sure that I feel comfortable there.

"I'm going when they have a scrimmage, so I can get to talk to the players and see what it really is like down there. I want to see if the players are cool, and if I feel comfortable with them. I also want to spend some time with the coaches. If I'm going to go that far away from home, then I need to be at ease with the whole situation."

Ballard is also looking forward to his visit to Oklahoma.

"Oklahoma is a lot closer," he said. "It's only about 4 hours from here, so that's something that's a good thing for me. It's close, but not too far from home, so the facilities aren't going to be the biggest thing I look at when I'm down there.

"I've heard that they have some great ones, but I want to see what it's like on the depth chart for the offensive line and tight ends. One of the things that I'm looking at is how quickly I could probably get on the field. Coach Kevin Wilson has told me about all the offensive linemen that they're sending to the NFL, so that's something that has got me excited about Oklahoma. I know they have a good offensive line tradition."

If he likes what he sees at both schools, Ballard said the next step would be to schedule official visits with those schools for the fall. Kansas, the school that he committed to back on March 2 and is right in his own backyard, will also get several chances to play host to him over the next couple of weeks. Before his practices start on August 14th, he plans on visiting with the KU coaches again.

He'll also probably head over to hang out with Blake Lawrence and several KU players, like incoming quarterback Tyler Lawrence.

"I like to go up there just to hang out," he said. "I always have a good time when I'm there at KU. Nothing has changed, though. I'm still committed to KU. Ryan Murphy and Brian Murphy talk to me all the time about playing together at KU."