New school moves in on Cushing

Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic linebacker Brian Cushing had been set on a pretty solid top five until Sunday. That's when he met one of the best young coaches in college football.

"I met with Urban Meyer," said the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder. "He's friendly with my coach (Fred Stengel) because he recruited Matt LoVecchio from Bergen when he was at Notre Dame. I was very impressed with coach Meyer, he's a great guy and Florida is a great program. He impressed me enough to take an official visit down there."

With all five officials scheduled, who gets dropped?

"I'm not sure yet," he said. "I could either do Boston College on an unofficial or I might drop Virginia. There have been a lot of coaching rumors going around about Virginia that are disturbing. I dropped Notre Dame because they lost their coaches and if those guys leave Virginia, they're out."

In fact, Cushing has dropped Notre Dame altogether.

"I don't like the way they handled the Willingham situation," he said. "I don't know coach Weis at all, but it doesn't matter. I don't really feel good about ND anymore."

Cushing does feel good about his leader -- Southern Cal.

"I'm taking my official there from Jan. 16 to Jan. 18, right after the All-American Bowl," he said. "I'm leaving from San Antonio. I have Louisville this weekend (Dec. 17), Miami is Jan. 21, BC is Jan. 25 and Virginia is Jan. 28. I have to drop one of those visits to fit in Florida, I'm not sure how I'll do it yet. I want to wait and see how some things shake out."

Cushing can't keep track of all the coaches coming in and out of school.

"I can't really remember," he said. "I know Miami, Louisville and Virginia will probably be in this week and BC head coach Tom O'Brien is coming in Wednesday night. Beyond that, they just kind of show up. I know Penn State is coming in as well even though I'm not really interested. They are still recruiting me hard though."

Recent commitments at USC and Miami at his position don't effect Cushing.

"There's competition everywhere," he said. "I feel I can compete. I wouldn't be looking at these schools if I couldn't."