R100 OT Menet set to commit

After narrowing his list of scholarship offers down to two, Rivals100 offensive tackle Michal Menet is ready to announce his commitment. The Reading (Pa.) Exeter Township Senior star will play his college football at Penn State or Duke.

Many people think the Nittany Lions lead for the in-state prospect.

"They were one of the first schools that I started to build a relationship with," said the 6-foot-5, 268-pound Menet. "Academically they do very well and the alumni base can carry you very far as well.

"I was at the white out game against Ohio State and the stadium was rocking like no other game I've been to," he said. "All the support is great. Everybody was going nuts on every single play. It was a great atmosphere.

I'm confident enough in my abilities and work ethic that I would see the field regardless of where I go," Menet said. "It definitely helps when they're struggling up front.

"I really think the coaches are really dedicated and passionate about getting Penn State to where they want it to be," he said. "At first it was coach Spencer. He is my area coach so I spoke to him a lot before I really started talking to coach Hand. Coach Hand is the one that I talk to the most. He's really caring about all of his guys. He honestly treats them like they're his own kids. He has all their best interests at heart. He has a great track record as far as coaching goes. He's sent a decent amount of guys to the NFL. I've talked to a couple guys that he coached previously and they've had nothing but good things to say about him."

The transformation the Duke football program has undergone is not lost on Menet.

"I was at Duke for a spring practice with my family," said Menet. "We did a tour and saw the Duke and Notre Dame basketball game. It was a little while ago but it was a good visit.

"I see a great improvement at Duke over the past however many years," he said. "Coach Cut has done a great job turning that program around. I see nothing but ups in that entire program. It's very enticing.

"Coach Knowles is my area coach," Menet said. "He was the one I talked to in the beginning and as things started to get more serious I started talking to coach Latina. I have a great relationship with everyone there. They've all done everything they absolutely could to make this decision."

Menet has taken the recruiting progess very seriously and has a specific set of criteria he has kept in mind.

"Academics are first for me," he said. "That's been stressed by my whole family since day one. Of course I want to go play big time football but football has to end at some point. That's one of the biggest things for me. After that it comes down to relationships. It will be whoever I feel more comfortable being around. I've built relationships with these coaches for a while now and I've gotten close to all of them."

Menet will announce his commitment on Friday at 3pm at a ceremony at his school.