Taylor narrows his list to five
Columbus (Ohio) Bishop Ready offensive tackle Brady Taylor has gathered 27 scholarship offers thus far in his recruitment. This week, the 6-foot-5, 270-pound lineman pared all but five.
"My five are Virginia Tech, Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio State - who hasn't offered yet, but I think should come through soon - and then Pittsburgh for defensive line," Taylor reported.
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"The last few weeks I haven't really talked to many colleges, I just talked with my family, my head coach and my assistant coaches and tried to figure everything out. I cut it down, and now am excited."
There was not one underlying theme that united Taylor's five schools, but individual merits that earned each a spot on his list.
"With West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Ohio State, they are all schools that traditionally win a lot of football games and have a great college atmosphere," Taylor said.
"With Kentucky, the fan base there is awesome too as is the recruiting class they have coming in. I have talked to a lot of the kids from Kentucky's recruiting class and Virginia Tech's. I'm trying to build relationships with those guys."
Pittsburgh is unique because they are the only school recruiting Taylor for defensive tackle, but the experience on campus was what really sold him.
"I really like the city," he said. "I have been there a few times for AAU basketball tournaments and I just think the city is a great place and there is a lot of tradition there. Their defensive line coach is a pretty awesome guy too and I think I could improve under him as a player."
With his list now down to five schools, Taylor does not expect to take much more time determining who his choice will be.
"I want to definitely try to get it done before the season," Taylor said. "I really want to focus with my teammates on winning a state championship this year, I don't want any distractions from [recruiting]. Hopefully I can make a decision by the end of July, but it might go into August."
Taylor and his family are still discussing whether they will take additional visits to these five schools. His most recent trip took place a week ago to West Virginia.
"That was last Thursday," Taylor said. "It is a cool place. I walked around the stadium and they showed us videos of playing there. Traditionally that is a powerhouse team."
The school who ends up with Taylor's commitment will be getting the nation's No. 57 offensive tackle prospect and the state of Ohio's No. 48 ranked player overall.