Rivals250 safety Leon O’Neal was one of the standout defensive players at the Rivals Three Stripe Camp presented by Adidas in New Orleans last Sunday. Of course, plenty of top programs have already figured out he’s a top prospect.
This week, he’s picked up an offer from LSU, in the week prior to that, he picked up offers from California and USC. In the weeks before that, O’Neal was spotted on campus at Texas and Texas A&M.
With the A&M being one of the closest programs to O’Neal geographically, there is naturally an opinion that the Aggies have the early advantage in his recruitment. His review of his most recent visit doesn’t do much to dispel that theory or fuel it, but it certainly was positive.
“The visit was awesome and it felt like home,” he said. “They were excited to have me and the players treated me just like another player there. The main thing with them right now is A&M is close so it’s easy to visit.”
O’Neal, having been a little more unfamiliar with the Longhorns compared to the Aggies before his visit at the end of February, seemed to leave with a better understanding of the new coaching staff.
“Great school, great opportunity,” he said. “With Coach Tom Herman it’s going to be scary and Coach (Craig) Naivar has a great energy. Coach Herman is like that guy that is going to be there for you no matter what.”
O’Neal has been a tough read as to which teams he seems to like better than others, as he’s received so many offers from across the country, but he did say one thing which seemed to indicate his first preference would be to stay relatively close to home.
“Being able to see my family and stay home is kind of important,” he said. “At the same time, if I have to sacrifice that and go play ball someplace else to live my dreams, I’m going to do that too.”
All that said, there is some mutual interest from him toward the west coast teams that have jumped into his recruitment as of late.
IN HIS WORDS
On California
“They have a bright future there because they have a lot of people who want it,” he said. “I think the statistics say they might be the No. 1 public school in the country and I’ll consider that because I need to find the fit that’s right for me – not just the hypest team on the radar.”
On Oregon
Coach (Marcus) Arroyo, he was at Oklahoma State and now he’s at Oregon – he recruited me from before and I love him,” he said. “It’s far as hell out there, but it’s a big opportunity too. They’re going to get you there and he stays consistent with his communication with me and all that.”
“I’ve talked to everyone on that staff,” he said “They facetime me and they all say ‘what’s up man’ and they’re all pretty cool.”
On USC
“I know everyone loves USC,” he said. “I know about Adoree’ Jackson and the history there it’s amazing. It’s one of the top-top schools, when you ask someone to name who they think the top-ten of schools are, USC is usually going to be in it.”
“It was cool talking to Coach (Clay) Helton,” he said. “Talking to every head coach is cool, but I’m looking for the most chill ones and guys that think the future is important and that want you there.”
RIVALS REACTION
O’Neal admitted he’s a little road-weary from his busy spring calendar, but said that making a west coast trip to see those schools that have offered him is a priority for him.
“I’m definitely taking a trip to California,” he said. “I have to see all those schools; UCLA, USC, Cal – I want to see all those schools and if I’m going to be in California, I might as well make that drive up the road. I’ve just been on the road with my 7-on-7 team for 21 hours, I know I could make that trip.”
For now, his more immediate plans include a visit to Clemson on the second weekend of April. The only other school he mentioned by name that he wanted to take a visit to this spring was Ohio State.
