Maryland leads for LB

Morristown (N.J.) Lawrenceville Prep linebacker Ben Pooler holds one offer from Maryland. The 6-foot-1, 238-pounder believes the next few weeks could result in more scholarships.

"There are a few schools that are still evaluating me like Rutgers, Iowa, South Florida, Purdue and Virginia," he said. "I've talked to coaches from all those schools and basically they just have to convene with the rest of the staff to see what is up with offers. If they are impressed with my tape I should hear real soon."

One school apparently stands out for the Garden State linebacker.

"I definitely like Maryland, but all the schools I mentioned are in the running," he stated. "I like Maryland for a variety of reasons. The location is great and they've got a comfortable environment for playing football. There is a family atmosphere there and the coaches are very receptive. In particular, I like John Donovan. He's a very cool guy."

At the moment, Pooler has just one visit scheduled to his favorite in mid-June when he heads to College Park for camp. Pooler has no other camps scheduled for this summer.

Overall, what is the linebacker looking for out of a school?

"Basically I want somewhere I'm going to be able to graduate and get a good degree in case the NFL isn't attainable," he said. "I'm very interested in going to a school that is excited about football and has a nice environment. I also want to be able to be seen, so ideally a place that gets a lot of national exposure."

Pooler earned all-state prep and honorable mention Trenton Times after accounting for over 500 yards of offense along with 47 tackles, four sacks and one interception.