One school stands out for Newell

In February offensive tackle Keith Newell out of Trenton (N.J.) Trenton Central picked up his first two offers from Illinois and Rutgers. The 6-foot-7, 280-pounder continues to receive interest from the Illini and Scarlet Knights as well as other schools.

"I've been hearing from Illinois and Rutgers a lot still, but I'm also getting mail from Boston College, Notre Dame, Michigan State and Virginia," he said. "I keep hearing that Boston College is about to offer, but I don't know how true that rumor is."

Currently Newell's leader is his longtime favorite.

"I wouldn't say I totally have a favorite, but I like Ohio State a lot," he said. "I was a fan of them growing up because they always have great teams. I really like the overall prestige of the program there."

With offers of course from Illinois and Rutgers, what does he think about both of them?

"I think the offer from Rutgers is real nice," he said. "It would be a very cool place to play since it is so close to home and I was impressed by the way they performed last year. The team is really turning it around and that interests me even more. As for Illinois, I still don't know a lot about them. I have to really look them up and get more information."

Newell is looking for a few things out of his future home.

"Overall I'll be looking at the performance of the program and how well they have done on the field," he said. "Then I'll be looking at the academics and average GPA of the players there. I'll also be checking out the environment to see how I connect with the people on campus and the players and coaches."

Last season the lineman prospect was named first team all-conference and all-area.

This spring Newell is heading to the Elite College Combine and probably the Adidas camp at Notre Dame. He is also looking at taking in the Boston College summer camp.