Recruiting on hold for Buie

Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian earned a hard fought 42-41 triple overtime victory over Jacksonville (Fla.) Providence on Friday evening. The hero of the game was 5-foot-10, 190-pound running back Andrew Buie, who scored his fourth touchdown of the evening and converted a two-point conversion which proved to be the difference in the victory.

Buie and Trinity Christian advance to face Bratt (Fla.) Northview in a semifinal game that will see the winner advance to Orlando, Fla. for the state championship game.

"Expectations this season were high because of what we did last year and having so many seniors," Buie said. "It is like anything less than winning it all would be a disappointment. We came in with the right mindset, ready to work, and now we have a chance to win it."

With Friday's game being so demanding on Buie, he took the final full weekend of the college football regular season off, opting to remain home. He had hit the road a few weeks earlier to check out some action though.

"I just stayed home and rested a little bit," Buie said. "The last game I went to was at Auburn for the Auburn-Georgia game. It was a nice environment, great fans, nice college town, great offensive system, good coaches, great players. It is like an all-around good thing over there."

Auburn is one of Buie's many offers. Joining the Tigers is Arkansas, Iowa State, Louisville, Maryland, Memphis, Michigan, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Purdue, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia. In the past month, another SEC program officially threw their hat into the ring.

"My most recent offer was probably Georgia, about a month ago," Buie said. "I don't really hear from them that much. When I do get a chance to talk to them, Coach (Tony) Ball is just trying to get me caught up because they offered late in the recruiting process. He just tries to fill me in on everything about Georgia and such."

At this point, Buie has yet to establish a list of finalists but has a few main schools in mind.

"I would probably have to say Auburn, Louisville, South Carolina, and a couple of other schools in the mix," Buie said. "When I have time to sit down and think after football is over I will sort it all out.

"I haven't set up any visits yet," Buie added. "More than likely I will visit those three (Auburn, Louisville, South Carolina.)"

While he has three schools near the top of his list, nobody has claimed the top spot for his services.

"I don't have a leader right now," Buie said. "I haven't sat down and done pros and cons yet. Once football season is over I will do that."

After taking some official visits, the Rivals250 running back plans to determine which school best fits him as a player and individual.

"I am going to look at how they use their backs, how their coaching works with the players, and how the people around the football team are," Buie said. "I just want to find a place where I am comfortable."