MAC vs. Big East for DB

Last weekend Pittsburgh (Pa.) Penn Hills safety Barry Church took his second and what appears to be last official visit of the season to Toledo. The 6-foot-1, 203-pounder really enjoyed his visit last week to Cincinnati rating it a nine. Did Church's visit top his trip to Cincinnati?

"My trip to Toledo was really good and I liked it up there a lot. I have to say the coaches were the best part of the whole visit because they were all very energetic," he said. "I made it up there Friday and went to brunch with the players and their banquet. On Saturday, I went over to coach Tom Amstutz home and had dinner and hung out with my host Tyrrell Herbert. He was a really cool person to hang out with on my trip because he went to Penn Hills and we got along great. He basically told me that the coaches don't put you down for making mistakes, which was really good to hear.

"While I was at coach Amstutz home I got to talk with him for a little while. That was really nice and he told me that they want me to be their starting strong safety next year as a true freshman. That's what I was looking for. I want to contribute to the football team immediately so that was great to hear. I looked at their defensive schemes and it's very similar to what we run in high school so it should be an easy adjustment."

One other draw that Church liked about Toledo was assistant coach Andy Boyd.

"I've got to say he's my favorite coach there and is really close to my family," he said. "He's just a great person to be around and I like and respect him a lot."

The Rockets faired pretty well with the two-star prospect as he rated it a nine.

"The early playing time, coaches and my host were all great," he said. "I saw a lot of similarities between Toledo and my visit last week to Cincinnati. The coaches were really nice at Cincinnati and I liked my host too. The only difference is that Cincinnati is a bigger school and that's kind of what I'm looking for. Besides that they want me to play outside linebacker, but it doesn't matter to me as long as I get on the field."

Just last week Church scheduled an official to West Virginia for January 13th.

"I've contacted them back and I decided to cancel my official there as they offered just a little bit too late," he said. "I think I'm going to make my decision between Cincinnati and Toledo by the middle of next week."