Poteat breaks down his favorites

Four-star Pennsylvania Jameel Poteat has spoken about the recruiting process at great length already, but he's just now starting to narrow down his options.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound running back actually had to put the recruiting scene on the back burner recently, as one of his friends and someone he grew up playing football with was shot and killed. That's the kind of thing that will give a heavy dose of perspective to anyone, so Poteat has been focused on other things.

That said, when Rivals.com caught up with Poteat on Wednesday he was ready to talk about some favorites.

"It would be Florida, USC, Notre Dame, Iowa, Cincinnati, Pitt, Rutgers, Illinois and UConn," he said.

Poteat didn't stop there. He went ahead and talked about what he likes about all of those schools.

"I like Florida's coaching staff," he said. "I've got to take a visit down there but I've been hearing good things about Florida.

"There have been a lot of running backs to come out of USC so that seems like a good way to go to be successful. They've got a lot of stuff going on out there right now, though.

"Notre Dame has reall good tradition. Ricky Watters came out of there and that's my man. I've got to see about the new coach. He seems like a spread guy so I've got to see about that.

"Iowa runs the ball. The coaches came to visit and they left a real good impression on me. They're real cool guys. Everything about their program is positive, too. You don't hear negative things about Iowa.

"With Cincinnati, I love the coaching staff. I love the running backs coach and the head coach. Those are my guys. I just love them. I really think running backs at Cincinnati got a raw deal from their last coaching staff, with how much they threw the ball. I went on a visit and I had a real good time there. They're talking about running the ball more ... a lot more.

"I've known Pitt since I was in 9th grade. That was my first offer. Coach Wannstedt is a cool guy. They've put a lot of running backs into the NFL. Coach Walker is a cool guy, too.

"Coach Schiano is doing a great job with Rutgers. That's a program on the rise. He just seems like a real good coach. He's a good motivator. I could see myself playing for him. He's one of those coaches you just love and you'd just give your all for him. My recruiting coordinator from Rutgers is their offensive coordinator and that's a big help. It's nice that they're real close to home, too.

"I really don't even know too much about Illinois. I can't tell you too much about them, but I'm looking at them. I heard they might even get a new coaching staff.

"I like UConn a little bit, too. They've had some running backs come out recently, like my man Donald Brown. They've been successful. They're close to home. I'm up in the air, really."

Between the tragic passing of his friend and his own track season, Poteat hasn't been on the road much for recruiting visits this summer. He still hopes to visit some schools later in July but he is less sure of his plans now than he was a couple of weeks ago.

Harrisburg (Pa.) Bishop McDevitt competed in a 7-on-7 on Wednesday, and Poteat is excited about the upcoming season. He said his squad is young but talented and should surprise some folks.