Tar Heels, Gamecocks, or Longhorns? LB Bryce Steele previews his decision
College football recruiting never stops, even through the COVID-19 pandemic and the NCAA recruiting dead period. Alexandria (Va.) Episcopal star linebacker Bryce Steele has been a well-known prospect for a few years now and he is ready to make his decision. North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas are his three finalists, one of which he will choose on Saturday at 1pm ET, exclusively on Rivals.com. Check out what Steele had to say about each of his finalists below.
IN HIS OWN WORDS...
North Carolina- “First and foremost, North Carolina is the hometown school,” Steele said. “They started recruiting me early. They stuck with me through my injury as well. I've developed a really good relationship with coach Thigpen. I was first offered when coach Fedora was there and then coach Brown came in and it felt like he kind of picked that relationship up that I had with coach Fedora. Coach Brown is an awesome coach, legendary coach. He's a very noble person. That 2021 class in one of the top in the country so they're doing really good things that you'll see signs of in the future.”
South Carolina- “South Carolina was one of my first offers,” he said. “They've been recruiting me from the very start. I've had the past two and a half years to really build a relationship with the staff over South Carolina. I love what they have going on over there. I love the coaching staff. They're very personable people. They stuck with me even though I was injured this past season, stuck with me through it all and that just shows that they're, in a way, as far as recruiting me. They play in a good conference as well. SEC football is the best of the best. South Carolina is also pretty close to home, not too close but not too far away as well. I also know several players on the team that I have started to build really good relationships with.
Texas- “Growing up Texas was one of my dream schools,” said Steele. “Coach Hutzler, when he was a South Carolina, he was recruiting me for them and then left to go to Texas to be the defensive coordinator over there. He told me the day he left that just because he's leaving for another school doesn't mean that he's not going to recruit me anymore. From that day on he continued to hit me up and tell me about all the good things going on at Texas. The university is a great school academically. Austin is a beautiful place. Coach Hutzler is a great coach and a great person. I've known him for a while and he's a person that I trust.”
RIVALS' REACTION...
Steele played mostly safety in his early years of high school but an injury sidelined last season. He has previously shown great speed in space and can quickly read and react to what he sees in front of him. Physically, Steele passes the eye test with flying colors and there is still room for the strength and conditioning staff and whichever school he picks to develop his frame.
As far as which school will get Steele’s commitment on Saturday, North Carolina and South Carolina hosted Steele in March before the recruiting dead period began. Texas was a fairly recent offer, coming once Coleman Hutzler joined Tom Herman’s staff after leaving South Carolina as the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach for the Gamecocks. Hutzler has played a big role in Steele’s recruitment thus far and, now as the defensive coordinator for Texas, he is hoping their relationship is strong enough to get Steele to commit to Texas, sight unseen. That being said, North Carolina and South Carolina are the favorites to land Steele’s commitment and both have plenty of reasons to be optimistic.