One more visit to go before decision

The decision clock is ticking for three-star defensive tackle Fred Thompson (6-4, 290, 5.1) from Oakland (Calif.) Tech. He will be taking his last official visit this weekend to Oregon State and he could close in on a decision. He took an official to UCLA last weekend and enjoyed his visit.

"It was a good trip to UCLA," Thompson said. "I really liked the environment. That was one good thing, the environment on campus is something I could really get used to. That wouldn't be too hard.

"Like I said UCLA was a fun trip," Thompson said. "It opened up my eyes to a lot of different things, but overall I had fun and it was a good trip.

"We were able to go the Rose Bowl and UCLA's home stadium and stuff like that," Thompson said. "I know it was crazy to see their home field where they play their games, where they just played the national championship game in the Rose Bowl. It was crazy to see all the confetti and stuff from the national championship game.

"One thing that I like about UCLA is that Coach Neuheisel, he really took an interest in the recruits," Thompson said. "Compared to all the other schools I've been to, most of the head coaches, you usually see them probably five to ten minutes before you leave to go on the airplane to come back home and with Coach Neuheisel, he spent a lot of hands on time with us.

Was Thompson tempted to commit while on his visit?

"No not really," Thompson said. "I knew I wanted to come to Oregon State because they were my top team and with Oregon State being my top, I wanted to make sure that I gave Oregon State the full everything with coming on a visit to see the coaches.

"One thing that I like about Oregon State is the fact that they were my first offer," Thompson said. "They offered me early in the recruiting process. They offered me as a junior during the summer.

"Coach Mike Riley and Coach Keith Heyward they have come on a home visit," Heyward said. "It was good. My family really liked him and I had a strong feeling for them. It was a good overall home visit.

"I am really close to making a decision," Thompson said. "This trip is really going to be a big difference maker on where I end up going."

There is one school that hopes he waits until they get one more chance for some face time.

"The new defensive coordinator from Arizona (Greg Brown) wants to meet with me," Thompson said. "I believe it was Mark Stoops, Mike Stoops brother, took a job somewhere else, I think at Florida State, so the new defensive coordinator wants to meet with me.

"I spoke with him one time before," Thompson said. "Arizona called me when everything was happening to let me know what was going on.

As a senior, Thompson racked up 90 tackles, seven sacks, and had one interception that he returned for a touchdown.