OL eyes Appalachian State

Class of 2015 offensive guard Evan Crowell of Plant City (Fla.) has offers on the table - just not the one he really wants. While Florida Tech and Air Force have offered, Ivy League schools including Harvard, Penn and Brown have also shown interest. But Appalachian State is the school he said would move to the top of his list fast, and the Mountaineers are another school looking at him.

It started when Mountaineers defensive line coach Mark Ivey came to a Plant City practice, where he saw Crowell lined up on defense. Apparently Ivey liked what he saw because he told Crowell to attend a camp over the summer.

Crowell decided to make the 12-hour drive and it proved to be worth it.

"So I went up there and I absolutely loved it," the 6-foot-1, 278-pound Crowell said. "It's in the mountains, it's beautiful and I really enjoyed the campus. The coaches were awesome, the camp was great and I learned a lot. I see it as a place I could see myself going to and fitting in really well."

Crowell said he got positive feedback from the coaching staff.

"They said loved my explosiveness," he said. "They loved my first step off the ball and bringing my hands with it. They loved how athletic I was for how big I was. They saw how aggressive I was and how much I want to play football. I got after every drill."

Crowell said the next step is for Ivey to talk with the staff and that Ivey will push hard for Crowell.

"He told me that by the end of the summer or the first few weeks of the season, more than likely they'll be able to offer me," Crowell said.

Crowell would be open to the change of scenery Appalachian State would provide in contrast to Plant City. Also, he'd be far from home, but not far from relatives.

"I have a lot of family in the area," he said. "Plus, living in Florida, it's constantly in the 90s. There it's in the 70s all summer and I love it. I love the school, it's a beautiful place. And I love it up there just in general."

Crowell doesn't have planned visits to any schools the rest of the summer.