Rising Florida OL has new options

Coming off a strong senior season and having displayed a nice surge in his academic situation, Miami (Fla.) Krop offensive lineman Chris Rutledge is a player to keep a close eye on in the weeks to come.

Rutledge (6-6, 270, 4.9) has posted a 1010 on his SAT, which had helped yield scholarship offers from a group of schools that includes Miami, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Florida, Rutgers, N.C. State, Maryland and UConn.

“I’ve got a lot of good options now because I worked hard to raise my GPA and get my test score,” he said. “I wanted to put myself in a position where I could pick and choose wherever I wanted to go to school.”

Three possible destinations are Rutgers, N.C. State and Maryland, which he’s scheduled official visits for consecutive weekends from Dec. 5 to Dec. 19.

Asked who was in line for the other two trips, Rutledge said: “Miami, Ohio State, UConn, Ole Miss or Florida. I’m not sure right now. It’s a pretty hard decision. I would say maybe Miami and Ohio State, but I’m still open. One of the reasons I scheduled my first three at the start of December was so I could have the rest of my schedule open for the schools who are still recruiting me.”

Rutledge said Rutgers has remained strong throughout his recruitment after getting in early.

“They’ve been there since day one,” he said. “They were the first one to offer me, even when I had a 2.1 GPA and a 760 on the SAT. They showed a lot of faith in me, and never backed away. That means a lot to me. They deserve a shot.”

N.C. State is aided by the presence of family members in the area, as well as “a chance to be part of a program that’s on the way up and ready to compete for a championship.”

He said Maryland has impressed him on the field and off, having established a good relationship with the Terrapin coaches. “I’ve never been there, but I’m looking forward to going and seeing what that part of the country is like.”

Miami would seem to be the obvious favorite, and he noted that “every kid down here dreams of playing for UM,” but he is also intrigued by the idea of going away from home.

“Every now and then, I feel like I could use a change of pace,” he said. “I’ve been up to Ohio State for camp and the Michigan State game. I liked it up there. It was something different. I liked the town and the people there. They were really nice. It would be fun to be somewhere that you got to experience the change of all four seasons. It’s pretty much the same all the time here.”