Nowicki has some thinking to do

Ryan Nowicki has some thinking to do.

The Glendale (Ariz.) Cactus offensive tackle committed to Penn State in early January but that has not stopped colleges from recruiting him and Michigan is the latest to send an offer.

The Wolverines are pushing for a visit this weekend but Nowicki's family and coach said there has been no decision made whether he'll go to Ann Arbor or not.

Cactus coach Larry Fetkenhier said he has a long-standing relationship with new Michigan coach Brady Hoke but promises he won't steer Nowicki to the Wolverines. Fetkenhier said he'll let his three-star standout make his own decision about which program best suits him.

It's not only Penn State and Michigan working Nowicki, a 6-foot-5, 280-pound prospect, either. Fetkenhier said USC linebackers coach Joe Barry had an in-home visit earlier this week and the Trojans aren't going to give up until National Signing Day.

"This is how I approach the recruiting bit and this is the best way I can describe it," Fetkenhier said. "My job is to help the parents and the players navigate through the recruiting process. Once they get to the point where they can dock, I'm never going to tell them where to put the ship.

"I've never done that I'll never start doing that. I never told Ryan to go here or go there. I told Brady I'm not going to tell him to go to Michigan. Brady said that's fine with me. My big thing is how can this kid lose? He has Penn State, Southern Cal spent three hours with him last night and coach Barry said 'Hey, this kid is a big deal to us and until he signs the document we're not going to back off him.'"

Michigan has made a late run at Nowicki and Washington and Oregon State were also heavily involved in his recruitment. Rivals.com rates Nowicki as the No. 31 offensive tackle nationally but Fetkenhier said that's a miss and his star player should be a four-star recruit.

"He could not do the combine parade and camp parade and I think it really cost him in the star world," Fetkenhier said. "He's 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds and he's not fat and he can run well.

"He has been pretty fluid. As a junior, we went 13-1 and won the state championship. He improved his aggressiveness and technique. The thing that made him so special was his size and what made him so different was his ability to run."