DC end finished with summer visits

It's not even mid-June, but Washington (D.C.) St. John's defensive end Tony Tucker has already finished up his summer visits. The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder made a stop through four schools in the South last week.

"I just finished a trip to North Carolina, Clemson, Georgia and Tennessee," he said. "I went to UNC first and it was nice. The coaches showed us around the school and facilities. I know they have a lot of good defensive ends come out of there, but overall nothing stood out from the visit.

"After that, we went down to Clemson and I loved that visit. It was very nice because I got to spend time with the defensive line coach. He joked around with me and talked about what I need to work on. I also saw the stadium and that was very nice. I think the biggest thing from that trip was all the tradition they have there. The team takes a bus to the stadium and then touches Howard's Rock and runs down the hill. I thought all that was pretty cool."

Following his trip through ACC country, Tucker headed to the SEC first making a trip to Athens.

"My trip to Georgia was real quick because the coaches were busy. I didn't really get to spend much time with them, but I did see the locker rooms and took a tour around the facilities. It was nice and their stadium is humongous.

"I finished up my trip by going to Tennessee and I loved it there. Tennessee and Clemson showed me a lot of love and I got a chance to see their stadium and talk to everybody there including most of the coaches and even some of the players. All the players told me how much they loved it at Tennessee and I was even able to meet with an academic counselor. It was a real nice visit."

Clearly from his four visits, Clemson and Tennessee stood out.

"Both of those schools made a very good impact on me in relation to their schools and programs," he stated. "I don't think the visits hurt anyone, but it definitely helped a couple schools."

Tucker confirmed that he is finished taking visits this summer.

"That is all the visits I'm going to take until my officials in the fall," he said. "I really am going to focus on working with my team for the rest of the summer. I want to continue to get myself ready for the next level by working on my legs, strength, flexibility and motor so that I can change the game the way I want to."

The defensive end prospect currently holds just over 20 scholarship offers and is beginning to narrow down his list of choices to a top ten.

"I'm pretty wide open, but I plan to cut my list to 10 probably right before my season starts," he said. "At the moment I can say that Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Boston College are in my list.

"I like Georgia Tech because they have sent me a lot of handwritten letters and probably have shown the most love for me. Just about everybody on the staff writes me. Meanwhile, I got to talk with Frank Beamer and coach Wiles at Virginia Tech. They were both good guys and I especially like their defense. They hustle to the ball and have a lot of team chemistry."

Though he is beginning to get an idea of his favorites, Tucker isn't close to a decision.

"Right now I'm still saying I'd like to make a decision on Signing Day, but it could be sooner. Anything is possible."

Tucker registered 65 tackles, 17 for loss, 12 sacks and one interception last season on his way to earning second team all-conference, area and third team Dream Team in Maryland.