Two schools make strong impressions on 2020 5-star LB Mekhail Sherman

Five-star Mekhail Sherman isn't rushing his recruitment but he is starting to address it. The class of 2020 linebacker out of Washington (D.C.) St. John's College High, with his extensive offer sheet, has taken visits to Penn State and Georgia over the last two weekends. Sherman took a few minutes to give the highlights from those visits as well as update where his recruitment stands.

IN HIS OWN WORDS...

"What really stuck with me about the Penn State visit was the welcoming, family environment, and how they introduced me to the academic staff," Sherman said. "It was pretty nice. They welcomed me with open arms. They showed me a lot of love. I was treated like a top priority recruit and my family loved it there. They did a really good job of impressing me.

"One thing that I did find surprising was when I was doing chalk-talk with coach Pry, the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator, was that we were really clicking on all cylinders when we were talking about what they run," he said. "It’s really similar to what I’m running now and I feel like I could fit right into their system.

"Georgia did a really good job of making an imprint on me," said Sherman. "I got to talk to coach Kirby Smart, coach Dan Lanning, the outside linebackers coach, and a couple of the other coaches. They were telling me everything about the athletic and academic sides of UGA. They broke down how UGA works. I got the same feeling with Georgia that I did when I was at Penn State. Georgia utilizes hybrids a lot and I do a lot in the box and on the defensive line as well. They were talking to me about how they used No. 7 (Lorenzo Carter) and No. 15 (D’Andre Walker). They did a lot with those guys and were saying I could do the same things.

"The environment was different but it still felt like home," he said. "I have family down in Buford. When I said this visit made a big imprint on my recruitment, it definitely did. They showed welcoming arms and it made a big imprint on my family too.

"Clemson, Oklahoma, Florida, and Ohio State are all doing a good job recruitment me and I want to take a closer look at them," Sherman said. "I just spoke to coach Lincoln Riley last night. One day this summer I’ll hopefully be able to make it down to Oklahoma for a visit. I’m sure they’ll be reaching out to me more after September 1st.

"Ohio State is the same way," he said. "The conversation is pretty basic right now because they can’t really reach out to me right now. I’ll really know who is recruiting me the hardest after September 1st.

"I might get down to Florida this summer and I think I’m going to Alabama on June 2nd," said Sherman. "That’s a possibility. I would work out with coach Tosh Lupoi, the outside linebackers coach, and I would talk to coach Nick Saban about an offer. (Former St. John's linebacker) Terrell (Lewis) isn’t really trying to push me one way or the other but every now and then he sneaks in a ‘Roll Tide’ behind my back. Other than that, he just has Alabama shirts he’s wearing all the time when he comes around. We play the same position and his ‘big brother mode’ kicks on and he gives me some coaching tips.

"At Florida, the conversations are pretty basic," he said. "We’ll try to pick that up once September 1st hits. I’m expecting my visit there to be similar to what I experienced at Penn State and Georgia. They talked about athletics, where I’d be living, playing situation, academics, and everything else.

"Clemson is Clemson," Sherman said. "What more can I say? They have great academics. It’s a small school that is similar to St. John’s. They do a lot with their front seven and produce a lot of great good defensive linemen and linebackers."

RIVALS' REACTION...

Penn State and Georgia have to like where they stand right now but it is far too early in Sherman's recruitment to declare one or two teams have an edge. Sherman's future visits and the relationships he builds with coaches will tell the story of his recruitment moving forward. Schools that emphasize their ability to maximize Sherman's versatility will give themselves a strong chance.