Decision time
Camden (N.J.) Woodrow Wilson safety Antwine Perez has a big decision to make and he knows it. After taking official visits to Michigan and Southern Cal, he's ready to announce his college destination on Wednesday, sometime in the morning. So what's the decision-making process been like and when will he know which school is the right fit?
"It's been tough and continues to be a hard decision," said the 6-foot-1, 199-pounder. "Every time I think I'd like to go to one school, I wonder if I'm missing out on the other. My family and my coach and I will talk it all out soon and come to a decision. I should know for sure by Tuesday night and I'm not sure if I'm announcing at 10:30 AM or at noon, we haven't set that up yet."
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Perez has good things to say about each of his finalists.
"Michigan is a great program and I really like coach English," he said. "They put defensive backs in the NFL and will always be a top 10 program even if they're down a little bit this year. They also have great tradition and a need for defensive backs so I could play early. The coaching staff overall is great there and the fan support is impressive. Playing in front of that many people would be amazing."
"Southern seems like they'll be No. 1 for a long time, so that's a plus because I don't like to lose. The weather is great out there and I've talked to Dwayne Jarrett and Brian Cushing and they love it. Even though it's so far away, there is a Jersey connection there with players and coaches. My recruiting coach, Todd McNair, I've know forever and he's a South Jersey guy. I think I could also play early out there, they play freshmen."
Perez is coming off a great game this weekend as he threw four touchdown passes and ran for 150 yards on just 9 carries from his quarterback position. The big hitter hasn't seen too many wide receivers come across the middle this year.
"I've had about one really good hit per game, but the middle of the field is empty most of the time," he said. "I love to hit so hopefully that will change."
Back to his decision, what will be the factors?
"Where I can play the earliest and how comfortable I feel with the players and coaches," he said. "Location doesn't matter, they're both far away. We'll all know this week I guess, I'm just glad to be getting it over with early."