Benenoch closing in on a commitment

Four has been the magic number for Caleb Benenoch for quite some time now, but it looks like those times are about to change.

The Four-star Katy (Texas) Seven Lakes offensive lineman has had four programs in front of his recruitment since early in the fall. There have been others who have hung around at times like Stanford, Alabama, and Michigan, but for the most part his top four has been his top four. As he heads into the first week in December his four remains unchanged.

"Baylor, UCLA, Texas, and Oklahoma in no specific order," Benenoch said.

"UCLA, because of the youth, the coaching staff, and the atmosphere. What they're doing with that program is unbelievable and attractive to me and something I would like to be a part of.

"Baylor because the coaches they have - coach Briles, coach Clements, coach Kaz - they do what they need to as far as developing talent. They can do something special with their program once their defense plays better.

"Oklahoma, they've won a lot of games, put a lot of talent in the league, and done things the right way.

"Texas, because it's a childhood favorite to me. Playing in the state of Texas when UT offers you look. I like coach Searels a lot and you have to be one of the top offensive linemen. It's an honor to be recruited by Texas."

The last few weekends he has had an opportunity to check out two of his top four. First was a trip to UCLA, and it was easy to see the Bruins left a strong impression on the standout.

"The thing with UCLA was unless I had a bad trip, the trip was going to help them out because I like UCLA," Benenoch told BruinsReport.com's Edward Lewis following his trip. "But it was a good trip, I think it helped them out and I'll talk to my mom about that and we'll sit on things. I have an official to Baylor this weekend, and about a week after that, I should be wrapping it up."

His second visit, which occurred this past weekend, was to Baylor. Benenoch has grown familiar with the Baylor program over the years taking multiple visits as well as visiting his brother Josh Benenoch who is already at Baylor.

"I've always wanted to go up there and get a more in depth look. I got to talk to some people from the law school which is one of the best in the country. I got to hang out with coach Kaz, the strength coach, who I absolutely love. The things he does with the players is absolutely amazing. I got to spend a lot of time with coach Clements who is one of the best offensive line coaches."

There was also talk of a possible official visit to Texas this coming weekend, but he is not so sure about that one.

"I'm not sure, after this visit I feel like I'm pretty much done, but we'll see how things go over the next couple of days," Benenoch said.

Before taking his two visits, Benenoch indicated he had an idea about where he would head to college, but did not want to give too many clues. With his visits over now, the question is whether or not the picture has now grown clearer.

"Yes, I should be making a decision by the end of this week," Benenoch said.

He does not have any in-home visits scheduled and does not have a date set for his announcement, but unless something happens we are now heading into the final week.

"It feels great," Benenoch said. "It's been a long ride but I've had a lot of fun. But it feels good that it's almost over."