SAN ANTONIO – Four-star wide receiver Henry Ruggs has been recruited since blowing up as a junior, but the bulk of his recruitment will occur over the next month as he takes his first official visits and prepares to sign on Feb. 1.

THE LATEST

Ruggs told me his current top five consists of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State and Penn State. He has not taken official visits to any of those schools, but has scheduled official visits to Florida State the weekend of Jan. 13 and to Alabama the weekend of Jan. 20. The Jan. 27 official visit weekend remains open, but Ruggs said Penn State is pushing the hardest to get that final visit from him and he said they definitely have a chance at getting it. In the immediate future, though, Ruggs is preparing for the trips to Florida State and Alabama.

IN HIS WORDS

“I love just being down in the state of Florida and (look forward) to connecting with the players and the coaches.

“Pretty much everybody seems to think (Alabama is the favorite) just because they are the in-state school they are supposed to be the top school, but that’s not the case for me. My case is, what is the best opportunity for me?

“That (Alabama) official visit will be about building stronger bonds with the players. I already know a couple of them, so I’ll try to connect with different ones. The family atmosphere, everybody pretty much gets along and everything is business-oriented.”

RIVALS’ REACTION

Although he denies Alabama being his leader, the rest of the schools in Ruggs’ top five have to look at the home-state program as the team to beat. Florida State is going to get their shot to make a first official visit impression, though. Then, the question becomes, can a team further back in the pack get that last official visit and become a dark horse candidate? Ruggs said he did watch Penn State’s Rose Bowl performance and was impressed with the big plays their wide receivers made. When asked on a timetable for a final decision, Ruggs said probably late January.