Paige talks Texas trip, top five
Pre-evaluation Rivals100 wide receiver Ahmad Paige of Sterlington, La., is heading to Austin, Texas, this weekend for the University of Texas Junior Day and has an early top five.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pounder likes Arkansas, Florida State, Georgia, LSU and the Longhorns.
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"Those are my five schools," Paige said. "They are the ones that have been showing me interest. There are other schools that I sort of like, but they haven't shown me any interest."
Paige has one scholarship offer thus far, from Arkansas. The trip to Texas this weekend could bring a second.
"They are supposed to be giving me a scholarship," he said. "Any time you see an invitation to go and see the school that just won a national championship, it's something special."
Paige said he has become a Longhorns fan since Vince Young became a star player for Texas. In fact, Paige has met Young before.
"I went to Steve McNair's camp and Vince Young was there," Paige said. "Ever since then, I've been hooked on the Horns."
Paige also talked with Rivals.com about his other favorites. He grew up in Arkansas before moving to Northwest Louisiana.
"As a little kid, I was a big Hog fan," he said. "Growing up in Arkansas, you learn to like the Hogs.
"The thing about Arkansas that I love the most is (incoming freshman quarterback) Mitch Mustain. Everybody's telling me about Mustain and how he's the No. 1 quarterback in the country."
Despite growing up around Razorback fans that disliked the Bayou Bengals, Paige got a taste of the rivalry in reverse when he moved to Louisiana. He has strong family ties to LSU.
"My uncle walked on at LSU to play football," Paige said. "I went to camp at LSU this summer. My mother went to school at LSU. It's real, real homey.
"I love LSU."
He gets text messages from the Tigers coaching staff and received one surprising one a few weeks back.
"I got the text and I called the number back and it was (LSU head coach) Les Miles. He just picked up the phone and said 'this is Les Miles' like it was nothing.
"It's very exciting for me right now."
Paige, who will go to Baton Rouge for the Tigers' Junior Day on March 4, played against some of the freshman that will be reporting to Baton Rouge in the fall.
"I played against Richard Murphy and Charles Scott," Paige said. "So I know what kind of a high level of athlete that goes to that school."
Paige also is familiar with current Tigers 2007 commit Gabriel Bryant of nearby Jonesboro, La.
"I'm looking forward to meeting him," Paige said.
Georgia is a school that Paige has had on his list since early in the process.
"I was walking into school one day and my coach was like '(Georgia head coach) Mark Richt' is one the phone'," Paige said. "He was really excited about Georgia football. That was the first conversation I really had about recruiting."
FSU rounds out Paige's early top five.
"Florida State is a powerhouse," Paige said. "You've got to love Florida State. They sent me this card with a picture inside that said 'how would you like to be here?' and it was a picture of the Miami-Florida State game.
"I mean, who wouldn't want to play in the Miami-Florida State game? Some of the best athletes in the country play in that game every single year."
Paige hopes to make a final decision on April 22, which is his birthday.
"I want to wait until after I've gotten a chance to see all of my schools and check everything out," he said. "But I hope to decide by then."
Paige had 33 catches for 852 yards and nine touchdowns in 2005 and was a unanimous first-team Class 2A all-state selection.