Desmond Scott begins a whirlwind tour

Unofficial visits are underway for one of the top running back prospects on the East Coast in Rivals100 tailback Desmond Scott. The Durham (N.C.) Hillside prospect took a trip to an ACC school and met a couple Super Bowl winning quarterbacks.

"Things are going good," he said. "I went to Maryland for their junior day yesterday and then I came back and went to the North Carolina-Duke basketball game. I had sideline seats right next to the famous people, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning.

"I talked to them for a bit before the game, not too much. There was a lot of media around. I went to the game for Duke, but I'm a UNC basketball fan ever since I could remember. I was cheering for North Carolina. I'm glad I got to experience what I did."

Earlier in the day on Saturday, Scott made an appearance in College Park.

"It was a good trip to Maryland," he said. "I went up with my quarterback and 2008 commit Gary Douglas. I had a good time. I went to some meetings, watched a few highlight tapes and talked to my recruiting coach, Coach Pearman. I didn't get a chance to talk to Coach Friedgen, but Coach Pearman did a good job selling the program."

The visits have just begun for the No. 40 prospect in the nation.

"Starting on the 22nd I'm going to Georgia for a junior day," he said. "Then on the 29th I'm going to Georgia Tech for spring practice and on April 5th to Clemson. On April 11th through the 13th I'll be headed to Florida with my school and on April 30th and May 1st I'll be in New Jersey. I hope to see Rutgers there. I'll finish it up by going to North Carolina's Nike Camp on May 2nd."

A lot of trips are coming up. What does Scott hope to see?

"I'm trying to get a feel for different colleges, the atmosphere, college life, the city that surrounds it and getting to know the coaches."

The 5-foot-9, 178-pounder makes it no secret he's a fan of North Carolina basketball. Does that effect his football recruitment?

"It doesn't, I don't really have a favorite college football team," he said. "First of all I want to see how the academics are at the school. I want to major in education and be a social studies teacher and eventually a school principal. Secondly, I'll look at the coaches and players and if I can get along with them and how I interact with them. Next, I'll look at the city life and what I can do there and weather I can stay or leave after college. Finally, location doesn't really matter as long as my family can come see me in a day's drive."

Meanwhile, the four-star prospect is taking up a new sport this spring.

"This is my first year running track in high school," he said. "I was a very good track athlete in middle school. We had our first meet last Thursday and won. I participated in the 300 hurdles and 4x1, I won in both."