McReynolds talks first official

Rivals250 defensive tackle Kevin McReynolds out of Washington (D.C.) St. John's College High headed out on his first official visit this past weekend. The 6-foot-2, 281-pounder crossed the country to check out UCLA.

"It was a tremendous trip," he said. "I saw a lot of good things. They had a rough year, everybody in the country knows that, but I look at it and I see what is going on. They have an incredibly young team; all they need is experience. They got it this year and that experience will be valuable down the road. They are in my top five.

"Coach Neuheisel is a players coach and I'm happy with the direction the program is going."

McReynolds arrived in Los Angeles on Friday night.

"My visit didn't start until Saturday, but I spent a lot of time with the players," he said. "I got to know them and the coaches' families. I went over to Coach Neuheisel's house.

"I also spent time with my hosts, Owamagbe Odighizuwa and Jordan Zumwalt. I got to get in their minds, I got the feeling of the morale of the players and things like that."

On Sunday, McReynolds saw more of the school and got time with the coaches.

"We got a tour of L.A. and then I sat down with the coaches that night," he said. "All the coaches are different in the way they do things, but they are very genuine people at UCLA."

So, did he enjoy the trip?

"It's a beautiful campus and it was actually cold in L.A.," he said. "It was like as soon as I got there it got cold and when I left it was sunny, but I enjoyed myself."

This week, McReynolds heads out on his second official to Syracuse.

"I kind of have a standard now to match all my visits up," he said. "That's a good thing to have and now I can compare the schools and then sit down with my family and weight them out to see how I like them."

Following this visit, McReynolds will take a break and participate in a few all-star games.

"I'll be in the Under Armor game, the Chesapeake Bowl and the Team USA game," he said. "You know, I want to show a lot of people my ankle is fine cause I suffered a high ankle sprain towards the middle of the season."