Four-star DB visits Cal, Stanford

Maxwell Tooley hasn't publicly listed a top list of schools but there are a few that stand out among his nine scholarship offers.

First and foremost are the in-state schools, as BYU and Utah have consistently recruited the four-star safety from Bountiful, Utah.

Next are two Pac-12 programs, California and Oregon State, which jumped into the chase with offers during the spring evaluation period. And, lastly, is Stanford, the dark horse pick that Tooley camped with over the weekend.

"The visit was really good," Tooley said. "I liked the campus and all about it. Coach (Lance) Anderson is my main recruiter, but I've also been talking to coach (Duane) Akina, my position coach. We been talking for a bit but they haven't offered me yet. I'm sure they will take a closer look at me this fall."

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Tooley, the No. 3-rated prospect in Utah for the 2016 class according to Rivals.com, also took a couple visits to BYU this summer and attended junior day at Utah.

Last week, he stopped by Cal to get a feel for what the Golden Bears have to offer.

"Cal was a great visit," Tooley said. "I've been talking to Garret Chacere, the linebackers coach. They actually talk to me quite often. They are recruiting me at outside linebacker because they like my size and potential.

"I was very impressed; I liked it a lot there. They're not just about football. They haven't been the best team recently but they are definitely improving. And, obviously, academically you can't get much better."

Tooley has no other visits planned yet but he intends to make it to some games this season.

"Oregon State used to talk to me more than they do now but I would really like to take a visit out there during the season," Tooley said. "There are a lot of Utah connections there. I'll also probably be able to head to a lot of in-state games.

"I feel like BYU and Utah have been recruiting me the most out of anybody and I liked them both. That's a big reason why I'm keeping them so high, especially with my relationships with the coaches."

Tooley wants to commit following his senior season once he gets a feel for which schools are still recruiting him and how certain teams do during the season. He totaled 55 tackles and had four interceptions as a junior last year.