Curtis building a bond

Orlando (Fla.) Olympia three-star offensive tackle Shawn Curtis says his main focus during the past month has been to help prepare himself and his team for their upcoming season.

"Spring has been going good," Curtis said. "I feel like the team is much closer as a unit. I have been working to get bigger, stronger, and more aggressive. I do feel like I have made an improvement in those areas, but there is room for more improvement."

The 6-foot-5, 270-pound offensive lineman's most recent offer came from Mississippi State. The Bulldogs join Cincinnati, Connecticut, Florida International, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, and South Florida in offering. Other schools such as Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern Purdue, and UCF have shown interest.

At this point in the process, Curtis says they are all in the running.

"When the spring is over, I will probably start narrowing it down, but not until then," Curtis said.

A trio of schools have made a strong impression upon Curtis. He is developing a strong relationship with his position coach at each of those schools.

"Out of my offers, I think I connect well with USF, FIU, and now Mississippi State," Curtis said.

Curtis spoke a bit more about each of those three schools.

"I am dealing with Coach (Steve) Shankweiler," Curtis said of USF. "I think our relationship is great because we talk all the time. I have been up there a couple of times. He always talks to me about what I think I need to improve upon and what I have been doing in practice."

"I am dealing with Coach (Alex) Mirabal," Curtis said of FIU. "I finally did get to go on a visit down there and I really liked what I saw. It is a lot bigger of a campus than I imagined. It is a nice, new campus. They are creating a bigger stadium. I can tell the program is definitely going somewhere."

"I am talking with the offensive line coach there (John Hevesy)," Curtis said of Mississippi State. "We talked the other day and we began to build a pretty good relationship. I will probably call him back here in another week or so to talk again."

Curtis intends to take a few visits over the summer.

"I will take two or three trips, but I plan to stay around Olympia most of the summer and take on a bigger leadership role and try to help us prepare for next season," Curtis said.

A decision will likely come in either August or September.

"I was thinking end of the summer or a couple of weeks into the season," Curtis said.

Curtis is drawing interest from schools to play both offensive tackle and offensive guard.