Barrington returns from Pitt

One of the top running backs in the entire nation is back from a trip to Pitt, one of his five favorites. Barrington Edwards enjoyed his trip, and had a lot of nice things to say about the Panthers.

"I had a really nice time at Pitt," said the 6-foot-1, 210-pound star running back. "The thing about Pitt is, the school is really big in the town. A lot of what goes on in the area deals with Pitt and football, so everyone has an interest in what's going on. I got a chance to see Tommy Maddox and Jerome Bettis, because they share everything with the Steelers. One of my hosts was Brandon Miree, and he's had a pretty good year. I had a really nice time."

Edwards was one of the top backs in the state throughout his high school career at Bowie High School in Maryland. This year he had a new coach who installed a new system. He only rushed the ball 50 times, but picked up 750 yards. What other teams does Edwards like?

"Along with Pitt I like LSU, Maryland, Southern Cal and Michigan State. The coaching situation at MSU is definitely affecting me, because it's tough being in the dark. I would hate to see them pick a coach I didn't that I didn't think would be a good fit for me. I want to wait and see who they pick if they do it soon and try to schedule an official visit up there.

"I like all the schools in my top five because when I look at the depth chart I see some playing time available, and maybe the chance to start. All those schools have had guys that run the ball well recently. With Southern Cal, they haven't had great backs in a while, but the tradition is still there."

There had been some speculation that Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris was in Kentucky recently for an interview with UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart. Edwards says he spent time with Harris however, and says he was at Pitt the entire weekend.

Though Edwards doesn't have a leader, he clearly enjoyed the Pitt visit and the way he talked about his time there, it couldn't have hurt the Panthers at all.

"Everyone up there is really excited about the program," said Edwards. "They've got a bowl game against Oregon State coming up and it should be a great game. This is the second year in a row they've been to a bowl and they almost beat Miami this year. They definitely have potential.

"I'm thinking that I probably want to take all my official visits before I decide. I'm probably going to at least try to schedule one up to Michigan State, if their new coach makes an effort to contact me. They've been in touch with me while they're searching, and that's a good sign. I've got a visit to Maryland this weekend (Dec. 20) so the decision will at least be after that, probably even further along."