Derrick McLendon picked up his first offer almost two years ago, so he has a very good feel for the recruiting process.
The end may be in sight for the No. 17-ranked defensive end out of Tucker (Ga.). He plans to be committed before or very early in his senior year.
"I should be ready commit right around the first of August," said McLendon. "I think I will be committed before my senior year. I wouldn't say I am close to committing right now, but I think I will be later in the summer."
Over two dozen schools have offered McLendon, one of the select underclassmen who was invited to the Rivals 100 Five-Star Challenge last summer and he is ready to name his top five schools.
"In no order, my top schools are Georgia, North Carolina State, Florida, Tennessee and LSU. I have already visited Georgia, North Carolina State and Tennessee this year. I will be visiting LSU April 6-8 for an official visit and I will be back to Florida this spring or summer."
McLendon talks each of his favorites.
FLORIDA: "Florida was the first SEC school to offer me and I have visited there three or four times, so I have been high on them for a longtime now. The new staff came in and they have been on me from the start. Todd Grantham has recruited me everywhere he has been, so we have a good relationship. The new staff looked out for me and made sure I knew the offer was still valid, so my interest is still high."
GEORGIA: "I have known coach Kirby Smart since I camped at Alabama in 8th grade. I like him a lot and he has always been honest with me. The whole staff at Georgia knows me, so that is cool too. I was up there Thursday for practice and coach [Dan] Lanning showed me some moves and I liked it. I saw Brenton Cox out there getting a lot of reps, so I like how Georgia is playing freshmen too."
LSU: "I have not visited LSU yet, so I am ready to see what is out there. I know Arden Key and he says great things about them and how they helped him develop. They have had a lot of other top defensive linemen too, so I want to check them out. I like how coach O (Ed Orgeron) coached defensive line, so that only helps them."
NC STATE: "I was up there for my first visit a few weeks ago and I was really impressed. I spent a lot of time with coach [Kevin] Patrick and we really have a good connection. We had a good film session and he really broke down how they coached up Bradley Chubb. The development of Chubb speaks for itself. I also like the Raleigh area and the job opportunity there after football."
TENNESSEE: "I know coach Jeremy Pruitt is going to win. He is just that type of guy. He is going to build something at Tennessee, so I like that. I like the vibe up there now too. I also like how I almost know the entire staff from where they coached before. I have been recruited by coach Pruitt, coach [Chris] Rumph, coach [Kevin] Sherrer and coach [Tracy] Rocker, so I am comfortable with a lot of the coaches. I like what I saw up there."
McLendon said he is going to take a long look at the depth charts when he takes visits and does research on his top schools.
Florida State is a school McLendon plans to visit soon that has yet to offer. Willie Taggart did offer when he was at Oregon, so if the Seminoles offer, they could jump right in this race.
