Making The Case: Jared Casey
The early signing period is rapidly approaching, leaving just two months until most of the nation’s top prospects will sign their official letters-of-intent. With that in mind, several elite players have started to narrow down their lists and prepare for commitment announcements. One of those players is four-star Kentucky linebacker Jared Casey, who will announce his decision Thursday night.
Today, experts from the Rivals.com network examine where the four-star linebacker will end up. The candidates are Oregon, Kentucky and Wisconsin.
THE SITUATION
Casey was a virtual unknown in recruiting circles until May, when he wowed at camps and impressed college coaches during spring practice. Despite missing his junior season with an injury, several schools stepped up with offers once they saw Casey’s potential. After taking long looks at several schools, Casey trimmed his list to four, but most think the hometown Louisville Cardinals are out of the mix. So where will Casey land when he announces his commitment on Thursday night?
We asked our team experts to state the case for their respective programs and let National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell issue a verdict.
KENTUCKY
"During the summer, Casey visited Kentucky about four times in the span of three or four weeks. That really jump-started the relationship, particularly with assistant coach Vince Marrow, who took over the program's recruiting duties in the city of Louisville during a banner year for talent there. Casey returned to Kentucky for the program's season-opener against CMU, with commit Demontae Crumes and fellow Louisville resident JJ Weaver. He took his official visit over this past weekend and with UK's strong start on the field, the development of the defense, Kentucky did all it could do to convince Casey to come to Lexington. But I’m picking Oregon because my sources don’t seem to be overly confident at this point.” – Justin Rowland, CatsIllustrated.com
WISCONSIN
“If you’re a Wisconsin fan, you have to like that head coach Paul Chryst and his staff got the last crack at Casey during an official visit under the lights at Camp Randall Stadium this past weekend. One of the perceived hurdles standing in the Badgers way was entering the picture a bit later in Casey’s recruitment. But the four-star prospect acknowledged that UW had been in contact for a good amount of time as it waited for academic clearance, which came earlier this fall.
'I loved everything about the official visit,' Casey told BadgerBlitz.com on Sunday. 'I finally got to meet all the coaches in person. I was able to kick it with some of the players and I got to see the city a lot, too. Wisconsin offered just recently but I’ve been talking to them for a while. I just had to get academically cleared for them to offer me.'
"With Wisconsin fresh in Casey’s mind and the opportunity for early playing time available, the Badgers have a chance to steal a big-time prospect from the state of Kentucky on Thursday." – Jon McNamara, BadgerBlitz.com
OREGON
“The Ducks are in the running for Casey because he loved his official visit to Oregon and the coaches made clear to him that he was a priority. Eugene is by far the furthest from home of the three schools he is considering, but if he wants to get away and blaze his own trail as many Oregon recruits do, the Ducks have a serious shot.” – A.J. Jacobson, DucksSportsAuthority.com
THE VERDICT
“I think Casey goes with Oregon as they have a ton of recruiting momentum and have done a great job showing him he’s one of their top out-of-state targets.” – Mike Farrell, Rivals.com National Recruiting Director