Marcus focused on five

As defensive end Jamal Marcus of Durham (N.C.) Hillside hits the homestretch of his recruitment, five schools are standing out. They are (in alphabetical order): Auburn, East Carolina, Florida, Georgia Tech and North Carolina.

"All of them are about the same," Marcus said. "Those are basically my leaders right now. Those are the five I'm looking at the most. I've got offers from all of them. Some of them are recruiting me at defensive end, some at outside linebacker. Mostly likely, I'll be a standup in the 3-4. I see myself coming off the ball and standing up … and dropping into coverage."

Marcus added that he has no favorite at the moment.

Of the five aforementioned programs, the 6-feet-2, 228-pounder said he has been to all but Florida.

"I'm going there, maybe toward the end of the season," Marcus said. "It most likely will be an official for the FSU game (Nov. 26)."

Besides the Gators, Marcus said East Carolina and North Carolina are strong contenders for officials. He's still trying to figure out his visits.

"As time goes, I'll narrow it down to the five I want to take," Marcus said.

Thus far this fall, Marcus said he has been to Duke, East Carolina, North Carolina and N.C. State.

"Every school I've been to so far has been great," he said. "At this point, I'm taking the time to evaluate the coaches and everything."

In nine games this season, Marcus has recorded 17 sacks.

"I think I'm playing exceptionally well," he said. "But there's still room for improvement."

Keith Niebuhr can be reached at kneebs01@aol.com. You can follow him on Twitter @KeithRIVALS.