LB excited about new offers

In the past few weeks Union City (N.J.) Union Hill linebacker Manny Abreu has picked up a couple major offers from the Sunshine State. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder even has talked to coaches from both schools this month.

"Probably my most recent offers are from Miami and Florida. Now I'm up to about 22 offers I believe," he said. "I was very excited to get the Miami offer and I spoke with the offensive line coach Mario Cristobal. It was cool talking to him because he's Cuban and speaks Spanish like I do. It was really neat talking to him and I felt very comfortable.

"I also talked recently with Florida head coach Urban Meyer. That was very interesting and I felt like I have a lot in common with him. He talked about how interested he was in me and then discussed about how he's a Mormon. That was very interesting because I am one too, but I don't practice anymore. He then talked about his experiences in Utah and talked about the temple on the lake there which I've seen before. It was a really cool conversation and nice to get to know him better."

Despite having great bonding conversations with coaches, Abreu still has no leaders.

"I'm still undecided and I'm trying to get a better idea of what I like and don't like. I don't want to jump too far ahead of myself and then fall off track," he explained. "In general I'm just looking for a school with good facilities, a solid education and somewhere that'll play me at linebacker. I don't want to be a defensive end and I don't like pressure from coaches. I'm only 18 and if a coach pressures me that'll make me back off."

In other big news, the Garden State linebacker confirmed he has planned his first official visit.

"I don't have the exact date set up yet for the visit, but it looks like I'm planning to take a trip to Florida during my bye weekend. I believe they have a game then."

Meanwhile, Abreu is looking forward to next season.

"I can't wait for football to get started again because it's been a while since I've played," he said. "Right now we're just running and lifting and then we'll start up mini-camp in mid-June. I really want to improve on my game by finishing tackles this year. Last season I made the hit, but I always needed help bringing the players down."

Abreu all-state honors on offense and defense as a junior after registering 90 tackles and seven sacks as a junior.