Coffeyville is ground zero

Coffeyville (Kan.) Coffeyville C.C. is ground zero on Wednesday as the mid-term junior college signing period opens up.

For the most part almost all of the top mid-term prospects have already made up their minds and are scheduled to sign sometime today. But with the coaching change at West Virginia, two of the nation's top 50 prospects are still in limbo as to what might happen with them.

The biggest prize still on the board at Coffeyville is three-star defensive end Larry Ford. The 6-foot-3, 245-pounder committed to West Virginia back on Oct. 16, turning down offers from Arkansas, Kansas State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, North Carolina and Texas A&M. However, Ford has not been available for interviews since Rich Rodriguez's departure for Michigan.

Even his junior college coaches have had a tough time reaching him while he's back home in South Carolina.

"Larry isn't taking calls, so we haven't heard anything," Coffeyville assistant Rico Cherico said.

"We've had a lot of schools from all over calling because they can't get in touch with him either. It's really up in the air what's going to happen with Larry. Nobody really knows what's going on right now – even the coaches trying to recruit him."

The other big name on the board is three-star cornerback Blair Irvin, who is 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds.

Irvin, the No. 48 player in the nation, said on Monday that he was de-committing from West Virginia and was back at square one.

Cherico said he still remains stuck in neutral and is not clear where he might end up at.

"I know he's talked to Tony Gibson, and they were trying to see if they can get him approved at Michigan," Cherico said.

"They want to take him at Michigan. I know they've told Blair they really want him up there in Ann Arbor, but they're not sure if they can get him accepted and approved to enroll up there since he's a juco. And he's not sure if he even wants to go up to a school he's never been to before."

Cherico said Louisiana Tech is another option that's in play.

"I know that La Tech is a factor because he's got six or seven buddies going to school there, and he's from Louisiana originally," Cherico said of Irvin, who's originally from Patterson, La.

Missouri and assistant coach Andy Hill have also made a strong play for Irvin in the past few hours. Irvin's new wife is from Joplin, Mo., and the Tigers have had a lot of success with Coffeyville prospects in the past.

Kansas State is also involved as two of the Wildcats top players this year – receiver Deon Murphy and safety Gary Chandler – played at Coffeyville.

"I told him not to commit to anything until he's ready," Cherico said. "He doesn't actually have to sign anything today. He's just trying to figure out what he's doing. He doesn't want to rush it, because this is a major, major decision."