Irish-Bruin battle brewing

Long Beach (Calif.) Poly four-star receiver Terrence Austin has been leaning toward UCLA and Notre Dame for some time now and after the September calling period has begun, it doesn't look that is going to change any time soon.

"UCLA and Notre Dame are still my top two teams," Austin, who is 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, said.

"I'm also talking to Oregon, Cal and Miami for now. Last week I just talked to coach Jethro Franklin at USC. I actually got of the phone with coach Franklin a few minutes ago. They tell me to keep playing well and maybe something can happen in the next few weeks."

Would a USC offer change things at all?

"An offer from Southern Cal wouldn't put them on top," he said. "It would put them in the top five, but not at the top at all. I like UCLA and Notre Dame a lot, and I have a good relationship with coach (Brian) Polian. USC is a good school, but I'm not waiting on an offer from them or anything."

Austin already had an official visit to Notre Dame lined up for October 14, and now it looks like Oregon also has a date lined up.

"Right now I think I'm going to take my trips and then decide after that," Austin said. "I have a trip set up for Notre Dame on October 15th, and I have on set up for Oregon on November 5th, I think. I kind of don't know which other teams I am going to visit. I don't know my schedule for football because some games are TBA, so I don't want to schedule a bunch of trips and then have to cancel them."

Austin is the No. 85 player in the Rivals100 and is the No. 11 ranked player in the state of California. He is also the ninth-rated wide receiver in the country.

Austin will have an idea of what he's looking for when he does take those visits.

"I want to go somewhere I fit in," he said. "I want to play my freshman year. I don't want to sit out. I want to make an impact, so I want to take a look at the depth charts. Those will be pretty important to me. Being close to home doesn't count for me at all. It is just where I fit in the best.

"I'm going to take four or five trips and after my fifth trip I'll narrow it down and come to a final decision."

Terrence Austin VideoClick Austin did his part this past weekend in a 49-27 victory. He had catches for 62 yards and a touchdown. He also took an unofficial visit to UCLA for its game this past Saturday.Here to view this Link.