Keck narrows it down

Harrisonville, Mo., defensive end Michael Keck has reduced his list down to a final group, and while he's not ready to name exactly who those finalists are, it's becoming pretty clear what teams are in and what teams are out.

"I know that Michael has kind of whittled things down," Harrisonville coach Fred Bouchard said.

"But he really wants to call all the schools that are recruiting him and tell them first. He kind of got started with that last night, but when I talked to him today, he said he 'didn't get them all called.'

"I told him before word that got out that you need to get calls into the schools that are no longer on your list. I would rather he tell the schools himself instead of having them read about them somewhere else first."

While Keck isn't ready to officially name who the final teams are, it's pretty clear who the front runners are.

"He's going to take an official visit to Arkansas on September 1 for their game against USC," Bouchard said. "And he'll go to Missouri on September 8, the weekend they play Ole Miss. I think those are the ones he's strongest with now. That's a good starting point for him.

"He said he needs to find out a little more about one team before he officially eliminates them or schedules a visit. He told me, 'I feel like I just need some more information about that school.' He's going to have to make a decision on whether or not he'll visit that school, or any other schools on September 16th."

Keck, the nation's No. 2 weakside defensive end, would like to take the Arkansas, Missouri trips and maybe one more and then come up with a final decision. He's also been linked to Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas State, Northwestern and Wisconsin.

He was supposed to recently take unofficial visits to Iowa, Northwestern and Wisconsin, but those visits never took place because of preparation for the start of practices. Harrisonville opens fall camp up next Monday evening.