Youngblood tries to keep centered

Houston Booker T. Washington super-recruit Reginald Youngblood has a busy December set up, which will bring him to LSU, Miami and Oklahoma for starters. Texas and Tennessee may also be fortunate to receive a visit.

Youngblood, the 6-foot-5, 280-pound offensive tackle and Rivals.com’s No. 8 prospect in the nation, wrapped up his season in a playoff loss against Kashmere.

“We had a pretty good season, but I already miss playing already,” he said.

While he’s not playing on the field anymore, he is playing the recruiting field nicely – not showing his hand to potential suitors. Texas A&M assistant coaches were on the Washington campus Tuesday just trying to get an official visit.

“The process has been crazy,” he said.

“There are college coaches at school everyday, and I try and spend time with them. I get home and I’m still getting stacks of mail everyday. It used to be shoeboxes, now it’s just gotten out of hand. The craziest thing I’ve received are letters from fans across the country that want my autograph. I just printed the picture off the Rivals site sent to me from a guy in Wisconsin wanting my autograph. It’s crazy.”

Youngblood does have some advice for upcoming recruits.

“If I can give national recruits in the future some advice, I would tell then to listen intently what coaches tell you and ask a lot of questions,” he said. “Don’t hold anything back because there is so much to learn.”

Youngblood has taken unofficial visits this fall to LSU, Texas A&M and most recently Texas, where he took in the Texas-Texas A&M game over Thanksgiving.

“I’ve always liked Texas and we drove up there to the game last week,” he said. “The fans were great up there. They all knew who I was and were calling my name and asking for autographs. It’s a great school with good academics. Getting a degree from Texas really means something.

“Coach Mack is a good coach, regardless of what the media might say. Their offensive line coach really has that line getting after it,” he said.

Texas will have to overcome Youngblood’s other prospective schools. He will be visiting LSU this weekend and LSU has always been near the top along with Oklahoma and Miami.

“Coach Saban knows how to win,” he said. “You don’t get much better than him.”

His second visit will be Miami the following weekend.

“Coach Cristobal is probably the coolest recruiter out there,” he said. “Playing in the NFL has been a goal of mine and I think about it all the time. Miami is like a mini-camp for the NFL. I’ve never been there so I’m really looking forward to that visit. You can get to the league from anywhere, but if you play well at Miami you are guaranteed a spot.”

Christmas comes early for Oklahoma, which will host Youngblood December 17th.

“OU has great tradition and Coach Stoops is a great coach,” he said. “I also wouldn’t mind coming in and block for (Adrian) Peterson. He’s killing it.”

It’s a good thing that Youngblood hasn’t let the process kill him. With so much pressure placed on his shoulders, it’s refreshing to see Youngblood keep his focus and begin to take the official visit process starting this weekend.