Four new offers come for Rivals250 QB

Recruiting is really starting to pick up for Virginia Beach (Va.) Bayside quarterback E.J. Manuel. The 6-foot-6, 203-pounder claims approximately a dozen offers. In just the past few days, Manuel added four scholarships including two from national powers.

"I've got 12 or 13 scholarships from Virginia Tech, Virginia, Maryland, Florida International, Marshall, Duke, Oregon and North Carolina," he said. "The most recent ones came this week from Eastern Michigan, East Carolina, LSU and Miami.

"The LSU and Miami ones are big. My dad and I are going to LSU on April 10th through the 12th. We're going to hang around there for a couple days and then I'm going to try to go to Miami in May. Both of those are good schools that everyone wants to play at and they provide me a good quarterback situation. Plus they are traditional schools that win and it does make them stick out a bit more."

Manuel discussed the two big offers a little more in-depth.

"I talked to the Miami coaches recently," he said. "I called coach Shannon and Nix on Saturday and they are really cool guys. Coach Shannon was a great guy to talk to and he didn't put any pressure on me. He told me he was going to be very upfront and said if they offer another quarterback, I'll be the first person to know. It seems like they are going to bring back the dynasty and winning attitude at Miami.

"As for LSU, I haven't talked to their coaches too much. I did get a chance to talk to Les Miles and that was cool too. He came on the phone and was the one that offered me. He's a very nice person and intelligent. I can tell he knows a lot about football."

In just over a week, the Hampton Roads prospect plans to make a trip down to Baton Rouge. What's he hoping to see there?

"I haven't been before, but I just want to go and relax and check out the school, coaches and players," he said. "I want to see how an average school day is for them there and get a feel for the program so that I can make more evaluations."

Following the trip to Louisiana, Manuel plans to make more visits later this spring.

"I'm going to Maryland for their spring practice on either the 14th or 28th," he said. "I'm also looking at going to Duke, Virginia and probably Virginia Tech. All three of those schools told me to call whenever I want to come up."

Meanwhile, the Rivals250 quarterback wants to begin narrowing his decision soon.

"I'll probably start narrowing things down in May or June," he said. "I want to have a decision by June or July so I can be a lead recruiter for other guys to the school I pick. Most likely I'll have a top five in May. I'm doing this so I can get ready for my senior season at Bayside."

Besides cutting his list, Manuel plans to attend the Elite College Combine, Nike Camp at Penn State and Elite 11 at Penn State in May.