Vallone takes two unofficial visits

In the past couple weeks, Long Island (N.Y.) St. Anthony's defensive tackle Scott Vallone took unofficial visits to two schools. What did the 6-foot-3, 255-pounder think of the trips and where is he going from here?

"I went on trips to Rutgers and then Syracuse," he said. "The Rutgers visit was very good. I got to sit down with all the coaches and it was small, there were only 12 or 13 kids there. We toured the facilities, met with coach Schiano and I had a good time. My conversation with him was nice. He talked about how Rutgers has a family atmosphere and they are trying to win a national championship. For me, the trip to Rutgers was like a mini official visit.

"Then I went to Syracuse. It wasn't as detailed as Rutgers. I toured the facilities there and met with coach Robinson briefly. I did get to go to the Connecticut basketball game which was crazy, but I liked the visit to Rutgers a bit more."

This weekend, Vallone plans to take two more visits to Virginia and Maryland on Saturday and Sunday.

"I want to meet with my former teammate John Kevin Dolce at Virginia," he said. "Other than that, I'm going into these visits with an open mind and I'm ready to take everything in."

Currently the junior lineman still holds four offers from Virginia, Rutgers, Maryland and Minnesota. He maintains there are no leaders.

"Everybody is pretty even for me," he said. "Obviously the schools that have offered puts them ahead, but other than that it's an even playing field."