Signing Day decision for Devine
One of the nation's top running backs likely will come down to a Signing Day decision, according to his high school coach.
North Fort Myers (Fla.) head coach James Iandoli told Rivals.com that star running back Noel Devine won't be making an early decision about where to play college football.
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"(Waiting until Signing Day) is definitely going to happen," Iandoli said. "And a lot of the major schools are waiting, too. He's going to take all of his visits and he's going to see both the in-state and out-of-state schools. He's more into seeing what's out there.
"He understands that he needs to find a school that meets his needs academically with the tutoring and things of that nature."
Rumors have persisted in recent days that Devine has been leaning toward Florida State, based on an alleged interview with a Fort Myers radio station.
"No truth," Iandoli said.
Iandoli did say, however, that the Seminoles were one of the teams involved with Devine.
"I would say heavily involved," he said. "There is communication on a regular basis."
Southern California and Nebraska are the other two programs most often mentioned when Devine's recruitment is discussed. Iandoli addressed the Trojans and Cornhuskers involvement with the 5-foot-7, 175-pound running back.
"(Southern Cal) flew a coach down personally during the spring evaluation period," he said. "There have been several teleconferences with the coaching staff and with the head coach Pete Carroll."
Like the Trojans, the Cornhuskers remain strongly in the mix.
"They are another one that is heavily involved," Iandoli said. "We've had many teleconferences with their coaches as well."
There is a newcomer to the Devine race, according to Iandoli, an out-of-state SEC program.
"LSU has been recruiting him hard," he said.
Florida also has been in the mix, but Iandoli admits that he hasn't "heard much" from the Gators during the summer.
During the summer, many haven't heard much from Devine and Iandoli, either. The coach and his team have been taking a different approach, scaling back camps and combines to work on preparations for the forthcoming season.
"We're not heavy into camps and such this year," he said. "We've backed that down. (Devine) has worked on his schooling. He went to summer school. We just kept it in-house.
"Camps and stuff are great, but you end up not doing half of your stuff. So we are here working on our stuff."
Part of that is installing a new offense, which features concepts derived from the Wing T. It worked well for Devine during North Fort Myers' spring scrimmage. The electrifying back rushed for more than 200 yards in just three quarters of football.
Devine is on vacation this week.