Ward sets announcement date

With one visit left, Oakland (Calif.) McClymonds tight end NaDerris Ward said he has basically narrowed down his list of schools to two. Ward has also set a date for when he'll make his announcement and raved about his recent official visit to Georgia.

Ward, 6-5, 250 pounds and one of the nation's top five tight end prospects had already visited LSU, Arizona and Tennessee and took a visit to Georgia this past weekend. The Dawgs have been leading for Ward since the summer and they did nothing to drop down on his list.

"It was a great trip, my best visit so far," Ward said. "I had been around the area before because I have a cousin in Georgia that I've visited but this was my first time really checking out the campus. When I visited before, school wasn't in session but this trip, I got to take everything in and really enjoyed myself.

"The people were great to me, almost a little too friendly. When we were walking in to the stadium, people were cheering for me and then were grabbing on to me, trying to hug me and stuff. I actually moved my name tag and tucked it in to my shirt so no one would know who I was but it didn't work. You really can't beat the game atmosphere in the SEC and I really like all the coaches and the opportunity to play early at Georgia.

"They have a great tight end in Leonard Pope but I think there is a good chance he could leave early and after him, they have a few other players that are talented but I think I can compete with them for playing time. That's what they're telling me and that's what I want to do. All of the schools I picked and tripped to are schools that I think I could play early at but Georgia especially has a favorable depth chart for me."

Ward took his visit to LSU and after every other trip he took, kept coming back to the visit to Baton Rouge as the place where he bonded the most with the players on the team.

"Georgia was right there with LSU in that regard," Ward said. "The LSU visit was incredible mainly because of how great the players were with me but at Georgia, I felt the same way and those two are the main schools I'm looking at now. Tennessee was a good trip and Arizona was real cool too and they're building something but for me, it's basically going to be Georgia or LSU for me. I'm still going to visit Florida this weekend and then I'm going to make my decision during the CaliFlorida Bowl on December 31.

"If I had to name a leader right now, it would still be Georgia. They have been with me since the summer and have recruited me harder and longer than anyone. Plus the trip was great and I really got to see what it would be like for me if I went to school there. LSU is right there though and I'm going to have a lot of time to sit back and think things over between my last official visit and the CaliFlorida game in late December."