Ferrara discusses Midwest tour

Defensive end John Ferrara out of Staten Island (N.Y.) Monsignor Farrell just got back from a Midwest tour taking unofficial visits to Michigan, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Michigan State.

"I'd say I liked all the visits because I really didn't know anything about those schools and it was my first time on all of their campuses," he said. "Most of them were really good academic schools which is important to me. They all have great football programs with a great tradition and a nice environment."

Ferrara now holds offers from Northwestern, Duke, Rutgers, Ole Miss, Michigan State and Penn State. He went on to talk about the Northwestern offer.

"I was kind of surprised by it, but I'm very happy," he said. "It's a great academic school that fights in the Big Ten and they could be a darkhorse to win it."

During his visits, the No. 8 player in New York said that a few of the schools mentioned a potential offer.

"Michigan said I'm in the thick of things for an offer from them and I could probably earn a scholarship depending on the first couple of games of the season," he said. "Notre Dame and Wisconsin said similar things, but I'd say Michigan is the highest on me of the three now. I really enjoyed my day there because they have the best of both worlds in terms of football and academics. You can get a great degree and compete for the National Championship. The campus there is really nice and beautiful and I could see myself fitting in."

One other school the 6-foot-4, 268-pounder may receive an offer from is Stanford.

"Over the last month they have been really interested and they made me apply and then most likely they'll accept my application and I'll get an offer," he said. "I'm very interested in them because they're a prestigious school and very competitive. Location isn't that much of a factor for me as I've heard wonderful things about their campus."

Ferrara may stop by local schools before the season starts including Boston College, Rutgers and Maryland. Currently, he still claims to have no favorites at this time.

The prospect plans to take his official visits at the end of the season and then make his decision sometime in December or January.

The season is quickly approaching for Ferrara and he's looking forward to his last year at Monsignor Farrell.

"Everyone tells me to enjoy my senior year because you only get one," he said. "The last two years we've lost in the championship in tough games. That's the most important thing for me this year to win a championship and then all the postseason accolades are nice."

Ferrara recorded 80 tackles, 13 sacks, 10 broken passes and three fumble recoveries as a junior. He was recently named to Sports Illustrated's top players in the Northeast and Sporting News No. 59 player in the East Region.