Florida DE Russell has a favorite

John Russell, a standout defensive end for Jacksonville Bolles, used a strong senior season to build up interest from some hot programs, one of which he is beginning to favor.

“I have offers from Duke, Cincinnati, Clemson, Louisville and Central Florida,” Russell said. “I kind of have a slight lean to Louisville because they’re such a good school right now. I’ve also sent tapes to Wake Forest, Tennessee and Georgia Tech, and the tapes were really strong. I think that when everyone sees the new tapes I’ll get some real interest from them.”

Though Louisville is beginning to emerge as his leader, Russell said he is far from writing any team off.

“All the schools talking to me are always in contention,” he said. “All those places are great programs, and then some of the schools that have struggled a little more this year, like Wake Forest and Duke, are a fantastic academic opportunity.

“I’m really just going to try to decide based on how comfortable I am at a school and then what their academics are like. I know that even if I go and get to the league for a few years, I’m still going to need to do something afterwards. You can’t play football forever.”

Russell said that while he is still working out where he will make his official visits, his status as a boarding student has started to complicate potential in-home visits.

“I’m a boarding student at Bolles, so it’s kind of hard for coaches to come visit me here,” he said. “Some coaches have talked about going and visiting my parents, and they’re only about an hour-and-a-half or so away, so I may just try to go drive up there when the coaches visit. It won’t be too hard to just see them there.

“I’m still thinking about my official visits, too. I might not take an official visit to some schools that are nearby so I can save those visits. I might just take unofficials to those places.”

The large amount of indecision is putting a delay in Russell’s final decision, which he says is still in the relatively distant future.

“I’ll probably make my decision pretty late in the game,” Russell said. “I have to evaluate each school that comes along, and I want to take advantage of the opportunity I still have in front of me in the high school playoffs before I move on to my future.

“I feel like I’ve really come full circle as a player this year, and I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished. I have a lot of sacks, pressures, and tackles-for-loss coming from the edge. The team is doing great, and I hope it all ends up in a state championship so I can focus on my future.”