Kemp enjoys Stanford stop

Four-star defensive end Carlo Kemp has not shied from designating a list of top schools and he had an opportunity to visit one of those over the weekend.

The Rivals250 member from Boulder (Colo.) Fairview traveled west to see Stanford with the hopes of landing a scholarship offer from the Cardinal. Though that didn't happen on the trip, it was nonetheless an enjoyable and worthwhile expense.

"I was at junior day with a bunch of other top athletes from California and it was just an awesome trip," Kemp said. "The campus was amazing and it was great being able to see how coach (David) Shaw runs things there. He's very humble and takes a ton of pride in what he does. They stress that the football players there are student-athletes above anything else and they put in real effort into making their players into men and preparing them to enter real life after football."

For the 6-foot-3, 250-pound prospect, the education factor is an important one. Kemp wants to major in either business or law, and knows how prestigious Stanford is in those fields.

"They are students before athletes there and not just athletes," Kemp said. "One of the great things about the visit was learning about all the options they have and how many things have started from people that went there. The connections you build people there are what sets it apart."

Kemp wants to make a decision this fall and then enroll early at his school of choice. Stanford, though, doesn't allow midyear enrollment, so he would have some serious thinking to do if the Cardinal extended an offer at some point.

"The offering process at Stanford is really different," Kemp said. "I'm sure if they offer, I'm going to have to really consider everything. At Stanford you can't come in early, but going there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so I don't know if I could turn that down just because of all the connections."

Kemp also got a chance to talk football with Shaw and the other coaches. They didn't go too in depth about what he would have to prove to land an offer, but Kemp said he was optimistic that it would happen at some point.

"We got a chance to chat right before we left," Kemp said. "We did an awesome tour of the weight room with strength Shannon Turley, and he brought a new perspective into what lifting should be and how you should do it. It's not how big you are, but how functional you can be with that size and weight. Watching practice there, everything seems so physical and I feel that I would fit right into what they're doing."

Kemp has a select list of schools he's considering. UCLA, which he visited last year during the season, is definitely one of those, he said. There are a couple others he wants to see before narrowing things down even more.

"I want to look at Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon," Kemp said. "If I got those, I'd be pretty set. There are only a few schools I want to go to, so I don't really see the point of playing games with the process."

Kemp had 66 total tackles, including 20 for a loss, to go along with eight sacks as a junior last season. He also contributed on the offensive side of the ball, rushing for 11 touchdowns.