Hobbi down to three

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - With some of the best talent in the country assembled at the Disney Wide World of Sports complex this week for the Under Armour All American game, a player has to be pretty dominant to stand out among his peers. Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguarro offensive guard Cyrus Hobbi has been close to that playing interior line for the Red team.

The 6-foot-4, 285-pound lineman has had a chance to go against some very good defensive tackles in one-on-one and team drills this week and has more than held his own. He has lived up to his No. 82 overall ranking in the entire country. Colleges from all over the country have been trying to get him to visit and three schools have succeeded thus far with two final trips set for later this month.

"I've been to Oregon State, Nebraska and ASU," Hobbi said. "ASU was the most recent. It was a couple weeks ago. On Jan. 14 I'm going to USC and on (Jan.) 21 I'm going to UCLA."

The nation's No. 2 offensive guard prospect had good things to say about all three campuses he has visited.

"Nebraska, there was a lot of tradition," he said. "Walking around was great. I went there for the Texas game and they had like 85,000 people there that were all screaming. That was really cool for me.

"ASU was really good to meet the coaching staff and players. I had been there a couple times before but I never really got to really check things out until this trip. I played with some of the guys there so it was good to see them. Oregon State, I really liked their coaching staff a lot."

With planned visits coming up to the two rival Los Angeles schools, Hobbi says he has been in frequent contact with the coaching staffs at USC and UCLA.

"I've been talking to them about every week, every couple days," he said. "I've been in touch with them."

Though Nebraska and Oregon State received official visits from Hobbi, he says it was not quite enough for either team to make his final three. As for his final group, it is too early to name a favorite.

"I don't have a leader right now but I do have it narrowed down," he said. "ASU, USC and UCLA are my final three. They're in no order or anything. I really want to stay in the Pac-10 to play ball."

Once his visits are over Hobbi plans to sit down and weigh the pros and cons of each school before making a commitment.

"I don't have an exact date planned to have a decision by," he said, "but I'll probably decide some time after the UCLA visit. That next week or so, I'll probably make my decision."