Three close to offering LB

Although he has no offers yet, Bani Gbadyu out of Gaithersburg (Md.) Quince Orchard thinks his three early favorites are close to offering.

"Michigan State wants to offer me, but they want to meet with me first," he said. "Maryland wants me to go to camp and they'll probably offer and Virginia Tech is on the verge."

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound linebacker is favoring those three schools, but two stand out.

"I'm really favoring Michigan State and Maryland," he said. "Michigan State was the first one to notice me and took interest in me. It shows they wanted to give me a chance and were willing to take a chance on me, while Maryland is in a great town and I like them a lot. Finally, Virginia Tech is in there too, because they won the ACC and I'd like to go to a winning program."

Gbadyu also made recent visits to Maryland, North Carolina and Clemson.

"It was a great experience at Maryland," he said. "The coaches are so open and free and easy to relate to. The program isn't just business, it's also on a personal level and the players really seem to enjoy themselves and it seems like a place you want to be at. What really surprised me was how everything was so close together, it's real easy to get around."

He also stopped by North Carolina.

"That school is great," he said. "The people are so friendly and nice and they are spending a lot of money to improve the program. The coaches have expectations for the players not just on the field, but also academically and that's important to me and my dad. We also saw the players working out, which impressed me because it shows they are trying to get better."

Finally, Gbadyu made a trip to Clemson.

"It was impressive to see Death Valley Stadium," he said. "The coaches knew what they were talking about and all the great players who have been there. I like all three of the schools a lot."

Of the visits, did one stand out?

"The Maryland visit really stood out to me," he said. "They took us deep into the program and even pulled me aside and talked to me. I felt like other schools beat around the bush, but Maryland came out front and told me I have to come to camp before I get an offer, while others just say you're one of our top recruits and weren't as up front with me."

Besides taking plenty of visits, the linebacker prospect has also gotten plenty of mail from schools like Syracuse, Boston College, Army, Florida, Virginia, Wisconsin and North Carolina.

He's also planning to take in a couple more junior days -- at Virginia Tech April 2nd and Syracuse in April as well.

This spring he is also putting a lot of work into his training by preparing for the combines and next season.

"I'm doing track right now and that has been going really well," he said. "I also work out three times a day, working on strength training, increasing my speed and becoming more flexible so that I can do more with my body. I've seen a tremendous improvement on my speed, I used to run a 4.55-second 40-yard dash, but by taking track I've improved it to a 4.47, which really impressed me. I'm definitely looking forward to using that to my advantage next season."

Gbadyu still hopes to hear from Michigan, Ohio State and Miami in recruiting.

"I'd love to hear from those schools," he said. "There's a lot of good players that went there and it seems that they give freshman early playing time and that's the number one thing on my list."

As for this spring, Gbadyu is planning on attending the Nike Camp at Penn State where he hopes to impress scouts and rake in the offers.

He is also planning on attending camps at Clemson, Maryland and Virginia Tech, along with the North Carolina State Adidas Camp.

Last season, Gbadyu recorded 15 sacks on the year.