R250 OT Chuck Filiaga in Oklahoma this weekend, more visits to come

What’s not in question with Rivals250 offensive tackle Chuck Filiaga is he’ll commit to a team in his top-ten on January 9 at the Army All-America Bowl.

What is still uncertain, is to whom that commitment will be, and before that, where he’ll be taking his fifth official visit to. Nebraska is in line for his fourth - but still unscheduled visit - and he’s yet to decide between Arkansas, Ole Miss, Tennessee or Texas for his fifth.

First on his agenda was his trip this weekend, when Filiaga traveled to Oklahoma to check out the Sooners’ 56-3 win over Kansas. The trip was his third official visit this season; he’s already taken others to Oregon on September 10 and Michigan on October 1.

All in all, it’s been a pretty successful weekend for Filiaga. The visit to Oklahoma to see the Sooners’ breezy win followed his own dominating performance, as he paved the way for Aledo’s offense on Friday night en route to a 61-27 win over Justin-Northwest.

On his expectations heading into his Oklahoma visit

“I’m expecting that visit to go well,” he said. “I’ve been to Oklahoma before, but I can’t wait to get a feel for the game atmosphere there since they fixed up the stadium and it can hold a lot more people, but it’s going to be fun. I just have to go see everything for myself; spend the night there and get a feel for it.”

“I’m going to be looking forward to spending more time with the coaches,” he said. “We spent some time together on my unofficial, had some lunch together. They’re real cool guys, but I’m ready to see how they are during a game.”

On the latest with Nebraska

“I was supposed to try and make it out there for Maryland,” he said. “Playoffs are starting though and you know coaches don’t really like it when their starters off for those. I talked to Nebraska and we’ll figure it out, probably sometime after the season.”

“Coach (Mike) Cavanaugh loves his island boys,” he said. “Every time he calls me he tells me he’s cooking something up, he’s like ‘Chuck, I can’t wait for you to have this meal,’ last night they had steak - big ole steak and potatoes.”

His current assessment of Michigan and Oregon following his visits

“Michigan, they’re definitely a great team - they’re number two in the nation right now; they’re doing really good and there’s a lot to like about them,” he said. “With Oregon, they’re still battling-through. They have to fix some things, they need some players, but they always come together.”

Filiaga doesn’t get too high, low, or specific when getting into the details about where the teams on his visit list stand. He did make it clear that while the officials are important to him, they are not necessarily indicative of a top-five, only that they are programs he wouldn’t otherwise very easily get the chance to see. He added that by now, he has a good rapport with many of the head coaches, but an unsurprising name has been a little more memorable so far to this point.

“I’d say Coach (Jim) Harbaugh makes me laugh the most,” he said. “He’s a funny guy.”

The four-star prospect showed last weekend that he’s still likely a better run-blocker than pass blocker, but he also was so imposing that defenders didn’t have an answer for him while doing either. He’s a vicious blocker when he can get his hands on an opponent and always works hard to take him out of the play altogether. He has all the potential of a player to come in and make an impact on day one, wherever he chooses.