Highly regarded linebacker Derek Nicholson of Winston Salem (N.C.) Mt. Tabor has more offers than he can remember, so it's obvious that narrowing down his list of schools would be difficult. Has he begun to do that?

"I'm starting to," said Nicholson. "It's taking a lot of time and thought, and it's kind of draining, but I'm beginning to get around to it. There are schools out there that I'm definitely going to look at. Miami, Florida State, Oklahoma, Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan -- you know, the programs that are up at the top of the rankings every year. Then I'm looking at schools kind of near here that have impressed me -- North Carolina, Virginia, Clemson and some others. I'm also interested in Notre Dame."

The 6-foot-2, 228-pound linebacker from Tobacco Road runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds and is the brother of Florida State linebacker A.J. Nicholson. His brother originally gave a verbal commitment to North Carolina before switching and signing with Florida State, so another interesting recruiting battle could take place for the younger Nicholson.

"I haven't been doing too much this summer in terms of going around to schools," said Nicholson. "I mean it would be nice, but I've already got enough offers and schools already know about me. I'll just be focused on narrowing down my list, getting a group of schools I like more than the others, and preparing for my senior season. I want to have a lot of the recruiting done so I can focus on school and football, but I won't have a decision for a while."

Nicholson is rated the No. 2 inside linebacker in the nation and is a member of the Rivals100 team.