Four-star OL lining up visits

Four-star Columbia (S.C.) Spring Valley offensive lineman Leon Hart has scheduled his first official visit and is close to setting the remaining four.

“I went on an unofficial visit to the South Carolina game against Florida this weekend,” he said, “and I decided to set up my official visit with them while I was there. I’ll be going for my official visit on Jan. 17.

“Three other ones I know for sure will be Ohio State, Virginia and Auburn. For the fifth one, I’m trying to decide between Georgia and Maryland. That will probably be a gut feeling in the next week or so.”

Any favorites in the mix?

“Right now, I would say they’re all even,” he said.

Hart (6-4, 290, 5.1) is a member of the Rivals100 Team and the No. 5 rated guard in the nation. He has graded out at 92 percent and recorded 84 knockdown blocks this season in leading Spring Valley to a 6-6 record and the second round of the state playoffs.

Asked to break down his current leaders, Hart offered the following:

“South Carolina has a chance for me to come in and compete right away for a starting job, and it’s here close to home. That’s a pretty good situation for me. I’ve been interested in them since the beginning.

“Ohio State is a great program for O-Linemen. They have a lot of prestige for putting guys in the pros. Plus, they have five senior O-Linemen leaving this year, so there’s a good chance to go there and compete for a starting job.

“With Virginia, I really like the combination of football and academics they have for me. It’s a good school for my major, either computer science or electrical engineering. They’re not really losing that many linemen, but it’s a place where I really feel comfortable with the program as a whole and the offensive line coach.

“Auburn is really in need of some offensive linemen right now. Coach Knall told me he’s had to start a walk-on player, so you can tell they’re in need of some offensive linemen. There’s a pretty good opportunity to come in and help them next year.”

Hart said he’ll likely wait until the team’s playoff run is over to schedule his other visits.

“I want to do them in December if I can, but I need to make sure our season is over first so I don’t have any scheduling conflicts,” he said.

Academically, he maintains a 3.1 GPA and has scored a 940 on the SAT.