Georgia, Florida, among those in mix for touted defensive end

APHARETTA, Ga. – It’s early for class-of-2019 prospect Derrick McLendon. The defensive end has plenty of time to choose a school, but he already lists a number of major offers.

He also already knows that talking about those offers sometimes, for whatever reason, requires semantics. It’s why he briefly juggles his word choice when asked which schools lead his recruitment.

“My top … well, not really my top, a few schools that are high on my list are Florida, LSU, South Carolina and Georgia,” McLendon said on Sunday.

The in-demand sophomore is already a veteran of the recruiting game. He knows that there are different levels of scholarship offers. The contrast between “committable” and “uncommittable” is not lost on him.

“I left Georgia yesterday,” McLendon said on Sunday. “I have coaches talking to me on Twitter. I’m finally starting to feel like they really ant me now. I’ve had the offer, but now I feel like they are really coming for me.”

According to McLendon, his visit to UGA’s spring game seemed like a turning point of sorts. It made his offer seem real and made him understand his fit should he select the in-state program.

“The coaches told me what position they want me to play,” he said. “I play defensive end ta my high school, but they are recruiting me as n outside linebacker … like a Lorenzo Carter type. I watched him play, and I was just like “wow.”

McLendon, who attends Georgia’s Tucker High School, plans to visit Tennessee and Clemson this spring. He is yet to set dates for such trips but intends to pin down specifics before the end of the month.

RIVALS REACTION: Georgia will certainly be a player here, but it’s too early to project where McLendon may land on Signing Day 2019. More offers will arrive and his views of the current schools on his list are likely to shift as he takes more visits.