Perry beyond impressed by ASU visit

Armand Perry plans to announce his college choice before he plays a down of his senior season at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High School. And that, it seems, might be good news for Arizona State.

The three-star cornerback recently finished off an outstanding offseason on the camp circuit and interest in him is rising with haste. New schools are getting involved, but at this point, the newcomers are solidly behind the curve.

ASU, on the other hand, has been there all along. So when Perry visited the Sun Devils over the weekend, he left the school's Tempe campus excited. In essence, the trip served as an affirmation.

"It was amazing, honestly," Perry said of the visit. "It was sweet. I like the coaches there so much. They were just really cool. They're really moving forward. Honestly, they laid out the red carpet for me. That little bit of a look into what they are doing out there really just made me realize I was right about them."

According to Perry, ASU was one of his favorite schools going into the trip. What he saw over the weekend only solidified his feelings. The way he talks about his recruitment now, only California has a chance to snatch him away from the Sun Devils. The two schools co-lead the defensive back's recruitment for the time being.

Perry is set to visit Cal on Aug. 10, mainly in an effort to see how the program stacks up to Arizona State's. That said, he's already formed certain opinions about the Golden Bears.

"Cal's academics really stand out to me," Perry said. "I just kind of like it up there. I like what the coaches there have to offer. They think I can come in and help the defense."

Barring a new offer from one of college football's heavy hitters, Perry's recruitment has become a race between two coaching staffs. He's flattered by the new interest that has crept in over the last month but doesn't plan to wait forever for new offers.

In fact, he doesn't intend to wait more than a month.

"I'm going to decide shortly after my Cal visit," he said. "I'm going to check out Cal, and then I'm really talk to my parents about ASU and Cal. Then I'll make a decision. I want to have it done before the season for sure."

Perry, who currently holds five scholarship offers, says his unofficial visit to Cal will be his last trip of the offseason. He was a standout at camps on the campuses of both USC and UCLA and remains in frequent contact with the coaching staffs of both.