Cuffee visits ECU, picks up more offers

Offensive tackle Billy Cuffee out of Chesapeake (Va.) Deep Creek has already taken official visits to Virginia and Maryland. Last weekend the 6-foot-5, 330-pounder took a trip down to Greenville to check out East Carolina. What did Cuffee think of their program?

"It's a very well rounded school and it's a lot better than people imagine it," he said. "I had no clue how strong the academics were and how nice the campus is. People had been telling me stuff, but they are mostly judging it off the name rather than the actual school, but I kind of liked it. I especially liked the whole environment because they have a wonderful family atmosphere where everyone gets along."

What did Cuffee do on his trip?

"I got there on Friday and went to their football banquet which was pretty extravagant. They showed off the official highlight film and gave out awards," he said. "Then Saturday morning I toured the whole campus, checked out the classrooms and hung out with my host Gary Freeman. It was really great hanging out with him because he told me everything they do including lifting plans, dieting and more. It was really nice to have a host that has been through everything and had a veteran's outlook, now he's getting ready for the NFL.

"On Sunday the only thing we did was meet with coach Holtz for personal meetings. My conversation with him was good and for a head coach he's really easy to talk to. He mostly asked me how I'm feeling and discussed how there was a limited number of scholarships left and how they need a lineman really bad."

The two-star prospect rated the Pirates visit an 8.5 or 9.

"I just felt good about the whole trip and I'd say they are in there with the rest of my top five which includes Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina State, East Carolina and Virginia Tech," he said. "This visit was very comparable to Maryland and Virginia. We did mostly the same stuff and I liked them all."

In the last few weeks, Cuffee has picked up a handful of offers from Virginia, North Carolina State and Marshall.

"I like that Virginia offered because I'm real comfortable with the program and like their atmosphere a lot," he said. "This week I've scheduled a visit to North Carolina State and I want to see how I feel about the program and fit in. I like their football program a lot because it looks like they are heading in the right direction and overall they're a pretty good team."

Following a trip to NC State, Cuffee still has his final visit lined up with Virginia Tech who still hasn't offered.

"Right now they are waiting for my ACT scores and then they'll get back to me."