Mississippi OL trims list to four

Three-star Southaven (Miss.) offensive guard Josh Winchell says he’s narrowed his list down to four schools he’d like to visit later this season.

“The four schools I’m looking at are Arkansas, Michigan, Nebraska and South Carolina,” he said. “I don’t have one favorite out of those. They’re all about pretty even right now.

“I like Arkansas because of the way they run their offense and play smashmouth football,” he said. “They’re also losing a bunch of guys off their O-Line, so they think I’d have a chance to come in and compete for a starting job.

“I like South Carolina because of Lou Holtz. I think he’s one of the best coaches ever. It would be great to play for him.

“I like Michigan and Nebraska because they both put out a bunch of great O-Linemen, they run the ball a lot, and they’re always going to contend for the national title.”

Winchell (6-5, 310, 5.0) says he hasn’t picked out his dates for official visits yet. He has, however, made several unofficials.

“I went to Arkansas for their game against North Texas,” he said. “I went to Mississippi State’s game against Oregon. I went to two Ole Miss games – Memphis and Louisiana-Monroe. I also went to watch Auburn’s spring game.”

Thursday night found him watching the Cornhuskers whip Southern Miss on ESPN’s national broadcast.

“I’m watching Nebraska right now as we speak,” he said. “They look great. I think Jammal Lord is the most exciting all-around athlete in the country. He’s fun to watch. I was thinking about going to that game, but I wouldn’t have gotten home until about 3 in the morning, and I have a game tomorrow, so I just decided to stay here and watch it on TV.

In addition to his top four schools, he’s received offers from Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Memphis.

Winchell is known as a physical player with a mean streak. He’s tremendously strong, boasting a 395-pound bench and a 650 squat. Those attributes helped him rack up 40 pancake blocks as a junior.

Academically, he maintains a 2.8 GPA and will take his test in October.