Shittu waiting until signing day

Aziz Shittu is so familiar with Stanford, he had even been committed to the Cardinal for a short time, that his official visit last weekend wasn't to tour around campus but to meet some potential future teammates.

The five-star defensive end from Atwater (Calif.) Buhach said his main objective last weekend at Stanford was to spend time with the players and coaches since he already knows all about the campus, the stadium and the academics.

The 6-foot-3, 275-pound prospect said he had a great time and Stanford remains among his top three along with Cal and USC.

"It was pretty good," Shittu said. "I got a chance to meet all the commits out there and some potential recruits. It was good meeting all the guys. I've been out there so many times before so it was nothing new I really saw. It was mainly to meet some of the guys who are going there and meet them.

"That was mainly the goal for me. I've been to Stanford so many times, I've seen all of it, so the main point of going there was to see who the guys were who could potentially be around me the next four years. I wanted to hang out with the coaches, get a better relationship with everybody and compare it to other schools."

The next step for Shittu, rated as the third-best strong-side defensive end and No. 27 in the 2012 class by Rivals.com, is to take his official visit to USC this weekend. Then he will trip to UCLA the last weekend before National Signing Day.

Shittu said he won't announce his decision until signing day and that it's still so tight between Stanford, Cal and USC - with UCLA as the dark horse - that his recruitment is too close to call.

"I'm going to finish off my last two officials," Shittu said. "I'm excited about getting the chance to see USC and then I'm going to sit back and see which program is best. I know USC is going to be great. It's going to be a really hard decision to make.

"I can't really decide between the three. They're all great schools."