LSU makes an impression on Garrett

Rivals100 linebacker Clifton Garrett of Plainfield (Ill.) South has said he is starting to shy away from the Big Ten and look more to the south. This past weekend Garrett was able to travel to SEC country to visit both Alabama and LSU.

LSU has been on Garrett's offer list for some time and came out of last weekend's visit as one of his favorites.

"When I got down there, it was a huge welcoming feeling. It just felt like family," Garrett said. "Every college has the great academic support and facilities, so the people are going to be what's important to me. As soon as I got to LSU that was a huge thing I realized is the people are great people. That's definitely a school I could see myself playing for the next three to four years."

Garrett was in attendance for LSU's spring game on Saturday. Despite the coach's responsibilities with that event, Garrett was able to spend plenty of one-on-one time with several staff members.

"I sat down with Coach [John] Chavis and we got a chance to go over some of my film," Garrett said. "We compared it to some of his linebacker's film, and he gave a lot of great praise and told me he likes me a lot.

"I got to sit down with Coach [Les] Miles for an extended amount of time. When I got there Friday night we had dinner at the stadium and were hanging out there for a little bit. We talked for about two hours with me and him, his wife, Coach Chavis and his wife and one of the linebackers, Kwon Alexander."

Also around that night was Ethan Pocic, one of LSU's mid-year freshman enrollees who is from the state of Illinois and worked out with Garrett at Core 6 Athletes for the last year-plus. Garrett used the opportunity to solicit feedback on his old friend's first few months in Baton Rouge.

"He is loving it," Garrett said. "He said it was one of the best decisions he's ever made. I can definitely see why, it is definitely a great place."

Prior to this past weekend, Garrett had made visits to Ole Miss and several schools throughout the Midwest. These trips have allowed him to get serious about the schools at the top of his list.

"I feel like I have a pretty good idea of the top few schools that I am liking right now," Garrett said. "Pretty soon I will probably start giving some coaches a call and eliminating some schools.

"LSU is definitely up there high on my list. Ole Miss is still in the mix as well. There are a few schools and I'm not going to put them all out there right now, but those are just a few."

Prior to visiting LSU, Garrett spent time at Alabama where he added an offer from the Crimson Tide, but the four-star linebacker is still learning about that program.

"I had a good experience when I went down there, but at this point I don't want to throw them in my top list," Garrett said. "We just started building this relationship, so I want to see more of them. I might take another visit down there, but just want to take it slow and see how it all plays out."

The visits this past weekend are likely the last for Garrett before the end of his school year. He does expect to see more schools in the summer, and has expressed interest in visiting Florida during that time.