Plantation safety adds to his offer list

Lauderhill (Fla.) Plantation safety Vladimir Emilien is gaining offers at a steady rate these days. The 6-foot-1 188 pound safety has made a strong impression on college coaches due to his impressive frame, his hard hitting style and his athletic play on the highlight film.

On Wednesday, Emilien added two more offers to his list.

"I got offered by Auburn and Illinois today," Emilien said excitedly. "Auburn came in today and Illinois just told me over the phone and he said that he was going to send the offer out tonight."

The Auburn offer came despite any previous contact with the safety and gave Emilien a lot of reason for excitement.

"That came in and that was real good," he said of the Auburn offer. "I was just excited because that was like one of the top schools that I really wanted. They're always contenders for the BCS. I feel like they'll contend for the BCS the next two or three years. They're really serious and they have a great football atmosphere."

Though Emilien didn't know quite as much about the Illini, he has already learned some facts that have him very interested.

"Coach was saying how he wants to bring me in and start me as a true freshman. That would really sway my options a little because I really want to play as a freshman. I'm definitely learning more about them now because they told me that they beat Ohio State last year and they were ranked 11th in the country."

Emilien's visits are also getting kicked off this weekend with a trip up to Ohio State for its Spring Game.

"I'm going up there tomorrow morning," he said. "This is my first unofficial visit to a school. I'm looking forward to being very impressed. It's very early in the recruiting process so I'm trying to weigh my options and pick a school very carefully."