Four-star McDaniel down to five

Virginia Beach (Va.) Landstown receiver Damon McDaniel has confirmed he is down to five schools. The 6-foot-0, 192-pounder with 4.51-second speed has changed up his list from earlier.

"My top five are Florida, Miami, Florida State, LSU and Ohio State. I'm down to those schools," he said. "I've set officials to all of them and I'm not sure exactly when the others are, but Florida is on September 16th and LSU is on the 23rd. I also know Miami is in October."

What stands out about those schools to the No. 65 player in the country?

"Just the type of offense they run and the level of play at them," he said. "They all are high intensity schools with big stadiums and loud crowds. They have a lot of fan support and are football towns and I know that's the kind of atmosphere I want to be in. Some of them also have really good business schools which is another thing I'm looking forward to."

McDaniel talked about his recent scrimmage against a very competitive Hampton Crabbers team.

"We had a good scrimmage and we kind of let up on them when we were up by a couple touchdowns," he said. "We still got a lot of work to do and we've got to get the mindset to play the whole game for four quarters.

"I did alright, I could have done better. I could have gotten more balls and cut different ways. Some of the screens went the wrong way and there were plays I wanted back."

What did the four-star prospect learn from the experience as they head into the season opener this week against Tallwood?

"Basically, I learned that I just have to trust my blocking and concentrate on the ball like I do," he said. "I've got to do what I normally do and help my teammates out and do the little stuff. We just have to stay focused and we'll be alright this season."

The No. 3 player in Virginia accumulated over 1,300 yards of offense and 21 touchdowns last season. He was named first team all-district and first team all-tidewater.