Blackwell continues to explore options

Victor Blackwell was one of the best wide receivers at Sunday's Los Angeles Nike Camp, smooth in his routes, great hands, precision timing, tough against cornerbacks jamming him at the line.

Programs across the country have offered the 6-foot-1, 186-pound prospect from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei but more than any school, Cal stands out most to Blackwell, who talked about the Golden Bears after the Nike camp.

"It's very family-oriented up there," Blackwell said. "The whole team is like a brotherhood and if you get a degree from there you're set for life. It's more like a brotherhood up there, the receivers coach is really good, he develops his receivers for the next level and he gets them prepared."

Cal is the frontrunner for Blackwell but don't count out UCLA, Notre Dame, Washington, Florida State or any of the other teams that have already offered. Blackwell said he's starting to like Georgia and Miami more and plans to visit both of those programs before a decision is made.

"I'm liking down south a little bit with Miami and Georgia," Blackwell said. "I know (Georgia has) a great program, I have family that lives out there and I'm looking forward to going down there and seeing more about them. It's the same thing with Miami."

Blackwell heard about Mater Dei quarterback Max Wittek's commitment to Southern Cal only minutes after it happened Sunday so he wasn't prepared to extensively comment on it. Southern Cal has not offered Blackwell yet so it was difficult for him to say whether Wittek's decision would influence his choice down the road.

"I'm happy for him but I'm not going to lean toward anywhere just because he's going there," Blackwell said. "I have to see what the best option is for me and SC hasn't offered me yet so I'm just going to take it step by step."

Cross-town rival UCLA looks to be in good shape with Blackwell, who said the Bruins were one of his three favorites along with Cal and Notre Dame last month at the Rivals.com Five-Star Academy held at UCLA.

If the Bruins could lock up Blackwell, that would be huge for their 2011 recruiting class. Rivals.com recruiting analyst Barry Every wrote that Blackwell could double his offer list if he just gets a little more physical, which shouldn't be difficult to do.

Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollison was quoted on the Los Angeles Times Web site as saying, "Those who pass on him have made a big mistake. I'll put him up against any receiver in the nation."