Gilbert schedules visits, talks leaders

Following offers recently for offensive tackle Justin Gilbert, the Richmond (Va.) Monacan lineman is setting up summer trips. The 6-foot-6, 280-pounder plans to take at least half a dozen visits in the next couple months.

"On Saturday I'm going to Virginia Tech and then Sunday I'm headed up to Marshall," he said. "After that, I've got to go to ECU, Penn State, Virginia and then Maryland on the 24th through the 27th. I'm also looking at going to JMU and Richmond.

"On these visits, I want to see how the campus is spread out and check out the facilities. I'd like to also go see the classrooms and the school itself."

At this time, Gilbert claims a couple programs have caught his eye.

"I like Marshall and Maryland a lot," he said. "I like Maryland because it's kind of close to home and if I want to do political science, it is right in D.C. I like the campus a lot too and they treated me real nice when I was there for the spring game.

"The coach from Marshall is very interested and he told me their head coach loves me. They want me to get up there and said they'll probably offer. I also like how it's a small town, but football is the big thing there."

Along with the Terrapins and Thundering Herd, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Richmond, ECU and more schools have shown an interest in Gilbert.

With potentially impending offers coming, is Gilbert close to a decision?

"If schools offer it'll probably sway my rankings of the colleges, but I don't want to make a decision right away," he said. "I want to go through the summer and start off the season next year to see what happens. I want to see if somebody else comes in and then probably decide around November or December."