Difficult situation for Cohen

Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh offensive lineman Jared Cohen's recruitment has taken some crazy turns in the past month but he remains confident that he will choose the right school.

"It's been a bumpy ride with Penn State switching their coaches and then Maryland's offensive line coach leaving," said the 6-foot-4, 290-pound Cohen. "I would say it's been pretty difficult lately."

Cohen was committed to Maryland for about 10 months then decommitted when he received an offer from Bill O'Brien. The Terps still have a chance to bring him back into the fold.

"Obviously, I really need to know my position coach before I decide to go there," he said. "Right now I just want to see who they hire and I want to meet him as soon as possible. If I make a good connection with him Maryland would definitely be a good option."

"I was supposed to be meeting coach DeGuglielmo on Wednesday night but he just went to the Patriots," Cohen said. "Coach Dudzinski came by my house and we talked about this whole situation. We agreed that, as soon as they get someone hired, I can just go down there one day after school and just chill with him. I wouldn't say they have a bunch of ground to make up. I just need to meet the guy and make sure I'm comfortable with him."

The Nittany Lions had a lot of momentum with Cohen before Bill O'Brien left.

"I talked with coach Franklin on Saturday after I came back from vacation," he said. "He said that he is going to get some coaches in contact with me. We don't know much about each other. I haven't talked to him since then. I haven't talked to coach Hand or know much about him either."

The North Carolina Tar Heels have been making great progress with Cohen.

"I'm going to North Carolina this weekend for an official visit," said Cohen. "I watched their bowl game and that was my first good impression of them. They've been in contact with me pretty much every day and have been showing me a lot of love. Coach Kapilovic has put multiple guys in the NFL. I want to study business and their business school is one of the best in the country. They have been wanting me to get down there. Unless the visit completely blows me away I don't think I'll be committing."

There is a lot that can change between now and signing day for Cohen and his decision timeline is unclear.

"It's down to these three and it all depends on how much contact I'm in with Penn State and how I like the coaches," he said. "I'm not sure of the likelihood that I take another visit. If Penn State starts contacting me more and I feel like I need to, I'll take that visit. If I'm not visiting Penn State, I'll probably commit before signing day. If I do take that visit I could be making a decision on signing day."

Cohen's only official visit was to Maryland on December 13. The official visit to North Carolina this coming weekend will be his second.