Bone Crusher talks the talk

Some recruits like talking to reporters. Some recruits hate talking to reporters. And then there is Eric McLendon. Also known as the Bone Crusher, McLendon is a mountain of a man that eats up the attention and will talk to you for more than 30 minutes if you’ll let him.

“I don’t mind talking at all,” said McLendon, a 6-foot-6, 288-pound defensive tackle that is ranked as the No. 57 player in the nation, the No. 7 defensive tackle and the No. 21 player in the Southeast by Rivals.com

“It’s fun to talk about football, recruiting and what’s going on with everybody and your life. I enjoy it. I don’t mind at all.”

McLendon then began to talk about Vidalia’s schedule and how his team doesn’t back away from anybody in the state of Georgia.

“We scrimmaged Dublin last Friday and beat them 29-0,” McLendon said. “I played pretty well, but the coaches kept taking the starters in an out. We play Metter (tonight) and that’s going to be a big challenge since I know they have some players.

“And we start the season off against Swainsboro. We don’t back away from anybody in there parts. You have to play the best to be the best, and I like how our coaches have things set up. It’s a challenge, but you have to love playing and being the best.”

Playing for and against the best is what McLendon hopes to do in college, too.

He still lists Auburn and Georgia as his top two teams, and that’s followed up by Florida State, Miami and a newcomer to his top five – LSU, which replaces Florida.

“They’re still the same, except for LSU,” McLendon said. “They’re looking pretty good and LSU is moving up my list. They’ve bumped Florida out and are at No. 4 on my list.”

So who’s No. 1?

“Well, I go back and forth between Auburn and Georgia,” he said. “I haven’t set any official visits yet, but I’m supposed to be going to some games and see what it’s like on a few campuses on game day. I know for a fact I’m going to an early Georgia game at the beginning of the year and I’m also going up to Auburn.”