Sykes enjoys Indiana game experience
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Lombard (Ill.) Montini linebacker Nile Sykes is in the midst of an active college recruitment. Game visits have been an important part of that process, and he made his most recent on Saturday to Indiana.
"They ended up losing, but I had a really good time," Sykes said. "I got to see how the coaches were on game day and got to talk to them a little bit."
With just over four months before he has to sign a national letter of intent, Sykes sees these visits as an important part of the selection process.
"I take these trips to get a feel for the school itself and the program," he said. "With Indiana I definitely see an opportunity to come in and get early playing time, and they continue to stress that when I talk to them.
"I had a really good vibe there. The atmosphere was great and everybody was having fun tailgating when we were going around outside. I can tell they have really good fan support. They were really rowdy out there and I got a good vibe from that.
The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Sykes made the drive to Bloomington with his father and teammate Jamal Baggett.
Indiana ended up dropping Saturday's contest to Missouri. The game made for interesting viewing for Sykes because Missouri is a team that has ramped up their interest in recent weeks.
"They are really interested," Sykes said of Missouri. "I talked with the defensive coordinator/outside linebackers coach (Dave Steckel) and he told me they had watched my film as a junior, liked what they saw, but wanted to see me as a senior. When he saw my senior film he said he instantly got fired up.
"I think they are excited about me and I'm excited to get an opportunity to learn more about them. There could be some exciting news coming soon from what I have heard."
The trip to Indiana was Sykes' latest of several trips he has taken already this season. Another may be scheduled for this upcoming weekend, but the next trip currently on the docket is actually the three-star linebacker's first scheduled official visit.
"I am going to take an official to Syracuse Oct. 6 when they play Clemson," Sykes said.
Sykes would like to take all five of his official visits before making his final decision, but which schools will receive his remaining four trips remains to be determined.
"I think I am at the point where a lot of schools are just starting to see my film at linebacker and I want to see what else comes my way before I break it down to a top five," he said.
Other schools that have offered Sykes and remain in close contact include Cincinnati, Illinois and Iowa State.
Josh Helmholdt is the Midwest Region football recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.
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