Weekend trips impress Texas LB

Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend Elkins linebacker Blake Slaughter is a busy man.

Slaughter, who is 6-foot and 219 pounds, opened up spring practices on Monday afternoon in front of coaches from Iowa State, Arkansas and Rice. He was pleased with the first day out there, especially since he said he was a little tired from a weekend long trip to two Big 12 schools.

"I just got back from Oklahoma State and K-State," Slaughter said. "I liked them both. They were both just great. Then today I had our first spring practice. There was a nice turnout from the scouts. I didn't pretty good for the first day out there."

But back to the visits over the weekend. So what did he think about his time in Stillwater?

"I went to Oklahoma State first, and they welcomed me with open arms," Slaughter said. "They showed me the trophy room with Barry Sanders' Heisman Trophy. That was really cool. They have a real impressive weight room, and they're building some new stuff. They have something special going on up there.

"Coach Joe DeForest is recruiting me. He's a good guy. I didn't get to speak to the head coach, though. We couldn't hook up with him. Still, I had a great time up there and liked everything I saw."

The same goes for what he saw in Manhattan for the Wildcats' spring game this past Saturday.

"First off Manhattan is a beautiful city and a beautiful campus," Slaughter said. "The fans, wow, the fans are incredible. They're completely behind their football team. They've also got a great coaching staff. It was a great experience."

Slaughter got to spend some time with K-State coach Ron Prince.

"He's a very impressive man," Slaughter said. "He's wise beyond his years. He seems like a father figure to me, and he's definitely a coach I could play for."

With offers on the table from Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Rice, Slaughter did recently add a new offer from Northwestern. With a 4.4 grade-point average, he said academics will be key in his decision. But it looks like it's a decision that's going to be a long, long way from now.

"I'm definitely going to take my time," he said. "These trips gave me a better idea of what type of programs I'm dealing with. I'm definitely going to take my time, because there's no need to rush it. I'm going to be hunkered down with spring ball for the next three or four weeks and then I'm going to check out a lot of other schools this summer."

Slaughter said he talked Monday night with Iowa State assistant coach Jay Rodgers.

"They're really considering offering me," Slaughter said. "He was the coach that was at my practice. He came down to see how big I was in person. He said I was plenty big enough and now he's going to work on getting me an offer."