Stove toying with offseason travel

COCOA BEACH, Fla -- Elijah Stove does not lack for college options.

The junior wide receiver lists more than 27 scholarship offers as things stand now, and the list is likely to grow in the near future. It's why he Stove to find a way to concentrate on a smaller number of programs. He hasn't officially trimmed his list, but even at such an early juncture, some schools stand out from the pack.

"it's mainly Auburn, LSU, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee," Stove said when asked to name the schools that have made the biggest impact on his recruitment to date.

But while the Rivasl100 wide receiver's early leaders are all from the same conference, he says geography won't be a factor in his impending decision.

"It really doesn't matter where the school is," Stove said. "It's just going to be about where I love the environment and where my family feels at home."

So Stove will travel the region this summer looking for a fit. He intends to tour the campuses of Auburn, LSU and Georgia in the near future. He also plans to see Michigan. And while the Wolverines are the outliers from a location standpoint, Stove's father seems like an ally of the program in this instance.

"My dad wants me to take a trip there," Stove said. "He wants me to see Michigan to find out if it would be a good fit for me."

Stove intends to announce a commitment sometime before his senior season but has not set a date in stone as of yet. He does, however, have a somewhat unique checklist he'll review when it comes time to choose a landing place.

"Not to be weird, but I like food," Stove said. "The food at that training table has to be good if I'm going to be eating it for four years straight,. That, the coaches and the academics. That's what's important."