Three on top for Mustafaa
Sometime this summer, junior defensive end Naim Mustafaa of Alpharetta (Ga.) is likely to pick a college. Right now, the 6-feet-4, 235-pounder has three teams on top.
"My early favorites are Auburn, Georgia and Georgia Tech," Mustafaa told Rivals.com on Tuesday. "But I'm still keeping my options open and taking visits."
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Mustafaa has been to each of his three top schools in 2012, along with Alabama.
"I really enjoyed those visits, and just the one-on-one time with the coaches - the defensive coordinators," he said.
What does Mustafaa like most about Auburn, Georgia and Georgia Tech?
Auburn: "I got a good vibe when I sat down and talked to the d. line coach [Mike Pelton]. I like what he sees me as in the future. In the classic 4-3, I can be a DE that gets after the quarterback."
Georgia: "With UGA I definitely like their fan support. I like their 3-4 defense. They want me at that outside linebacker position. I like that and I like coach [Rodney] Garner, the d. line coach. He's pretty cool."
Georgia Tech: "With Tech, it's definitely the academics. What I got from their coaches and all the players is that they really stress academics. It's not all about football. They really care about you getting an education."
According to Mustafaa, he plans to visit all three of his top schools again this spring to watch them practice. He also will attend the spring game at Oklahoma State.
"[Cowboys] Coach [Mike] Gundy came to my school a few months ago, and they offered me," Mustafaa said. "I told them I've always been interested in the Big 12. I'm going to take those visits just to get to chill with the players a lot and see how that goes."
All told, Mustafaa has 18 offers. Louisville was the most recent to offer, doing so last week. Middle Tennessee was the first. That offer came last October.
"It's still kind of a shock," Mustafaa said. "It motivates me to just keep working hard."
Keith Niebuhr can be reached at Keithrivals@yahoo.com. You can follow him on Twitter @KeithRIVALS.