DT Brown schedules three officials

Defensive tackle Garrett Brown out of Fairfield (Conn.) Fairfield Prep appears to have narrowed his list of schools to three and has scheduled officials to all of them. Who has the 6-foot-2, 286-pounder scheduled visits to and what makes these schools stand out to the Connecticut prospect?

"I scheduled visits with Rutgers this weekend, Illinois next week December 9th and Minnesota on December 16th," he said. "I'm going to all of these to see what school I fit into best and I think I'm planning to announce my decision sometime around Christmas. I don't know if I'm exactly down to these three, I might be I'm just not quite sure yet, but we'll see how the visits go."

What does the three-star prospect like about the Golden Gophers, Scarlet Knights and Fighting Illini?

"Minnesota is a great school and they've been with me throughout the process," he said. "Plus I've seen that they've made a lot of bowl appearances recently and I know they aren't exactly full on the defensive line.

"Meanwhile, I wasn't really looking at Rutgers or Illinois much, but both of them contacted me. That's always something you like to see as they are coming to you and I'm not going to them.

"Rutgers is a good school and they are a young team that I could possibly play early for. I saw how they played this season and they stepped it up and now are playing in a bowl against Arizona State. Hopefully if I go there I can continue that tradition. Illinois hasn't had the most successful season, but I know they are really young and I could get some early playing time which is a big factor for me."

Previously schools including Michigan State, Ole Miss and Maryland seemed in good standing for Brown, but have obviously dropped off.

"I'm not interested in Ole Miss and Maryland at all anymore," he said. "I'm still looking at Michigan State some, but I'd say these other schools are my leaders."

The No. 12 player in New England finished the season with 70 tackles, 43 for loss, 14 sacks and three fumble recoveries as he was named all-conference and all-state.