New Lenox (Ill.) Providence Catholic junior outside linebacker recruit Mariano Sori-Marin (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) added a recent offer from Minnesota and gave the Gophers his verbal commitment late last Friday night.
"It's been pretty overwhelming," Sori-Marin said. "Minnesota just offers the best fit for me so I committed. Minnesota offers strong academics plus they also play in the Big Ten. After I visited I knew that Minnesota is a great place to be so I talked it over with my family and I committed."
Sori-Marin filled us in on how he went from Gophers prospect to verbal pledge in just a few week's time.
"Both Coach (Brian) Callahan my recruiting coach at Minnesota and the defensive coordinator (Robb Smith) came to watch one of my workouts in person a few weeks ago. The Minnesota coaches called me and invited me to come up and make a campus visit. I went to Minnesota last Monday with my parents for a visit. We sat down and had a chance to take a full tour of the campus and the facilities. I also had a chance to sit down and talk with some of the people involved on the academic side along with talking to several of the coaches at Minnesota. Minnesota did offer me before we left campus. We went home and talked it over and gave it a few days to sink in and in the end Minnesota is a great fit and I'm very excited to commit to the University of Minnesota."
Sori-Marin also pointed towards head coach PJ Fleck and the excitement around the football program as another big factor in his decision.
"Coach (PJ) Fleck is just a high energy guy who is also very down to earth. Everyone on the team and around the football program are all in and everyone is committed to the team. It's just a really exciting time at Minnesota and I definitely want to be a part of that excitement."
Did Sori-Marin ever think that he would end up playing in the Big Ten?
"I thought it would eventually happen. I worked really hard and I know that God has a plan. The coaches at Minnesota recruited me when they were at Western Michigan so we always had stayed in touch even after they left for Minnesota. It's just an amazing feeling right now to be committed to Minnesota."
Mariano Sori-Marin is verbally committed to Minnesota.
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