OG Golden takes first official

Offensive guard Monte Golden out of Jacksonville (N.C.) Northside took his first official visit a week ago. The 6-foot-2, 287-pounder headed to Memphis.

"I took my official visit to Memphis last weekend, a week ago," he said. "It went well. I had a good time I enjoyed it.

"The first night I took a tour of the campus and got to see what Memphis is like inside and out. We went downtown to a restaurant called Rendezvous. They are the best ribs ever," he said. "Then, the next day I went to their game against UCF. I could see they definitely have a lot of potential. They have a great coaching staff. The line is definitely where they were kind of lacking. The biggest thing is they are changing the face of the line as they are putting in a new scheme and it's taken a while to learn from the old coaching staff."

On the visit, Golden was hosted by Fred Harvey and Al Bond.

"They are Memphis natives," he said. "I had a great vibe with the players."

Meanwhile, Golden and his family spent time with the coaches too.

"My family sat down with Coach Porter before we drove back," he said. "He just told me it's my decision and he's not going to push anything on me, but mentioned they are looking to possibly start me as a freshman.

"As for the other coaches, they just said they really, really like me. They thought I fit in well with their kids and they liked my athleticism and size."

So, what's next for Golden?

"From here I have the Shrine Bowl next week," he said. "I'm not taking anymore officials until I play in that game. Then, I have the NUC All-World Gridiron Classic.

"After that, I'll focus on my recruiting more. I've heard depending on my performance I could end the year with new offers. I did get one new offer from Elon this past Thursday."

What is the lineman hoping to show in these games?

"I just want to go and the biggest thing is to show my consistency," he said. "I want to show my strength and explosion, different things off the ball. I just want to show I can play with the big names."

A few other schools continue to stay in touch including East Carolina, Citadel, Tennessee and Georgia Tech. Golden also mentioned he is eyeing an official possibly to UT-Martin in January.