Last time I spoke with 2011 outside linebacker prospect, Ray Drew (Thomasville, GA/Thomasville County Central), he was still in the beginning stages of tackling his recruitment. Since that point, things have started to become clearer to the Georgia star.
"Right now I'm starting to decide where I want to go on my official visits," said the defensive stud. "I'll be taking one of my official visits to LSU for sure. I also want to take an official (visit) to UCLA and Notre Dame."
As of right now, Drew does not have the date set up for his visit to Notre Dame, but its something that he is working on. When I asked Ray if there was any target date for when he'd like to make his visit to South Bend, he replied simply:"(It's) still in the works."
As of this moment, the only date that Drew has set in stone is his official to LSU on October, 2nd.
When I first spoke to Drew he was interested in Notre Dame, but they did not appear to standout at that point. I asked the Thomasville County Central star what changed Notre Dame's status and why the Irish are now in line to get an official visit?
"I've always liked Notre Dame," noted Drew. "But just last night one of my good friends (Stephon Tuitt) committed there. Thats another reason why I have to go check them out."
A lot has been made about the fact that the Georgia boys Drew and Tuitt are close friends. Drew previosuly suggested that the two players would like to play together at the next level. While the 245-pound defensive end/outside linebacker recruit isn't ready to commit to the Irish, he isn't about to retract that statement either.
"It would be fun, we've talked about," said Drew. I guess you could say that Stephon committing there (Notre Dame) makes me even more interested."
Despite his obvious interest in Notre Dame, Drew is still working on becoming comfortable with the idea of playing outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense, rather than defensive end in a 4-3 defense.
"Its still something I'm thinking about," explained Drew. "I'm not too sure if I'm completely comfortable with it yet."
Note
Last time I spoke with Drew, he told me that his family was really excited about Notre Dame. They loved Notre Dame's history of academic success with their students. Academics are also a big thing for Drew himself. In fact, he has told me in the past, that academics will play a greater role in his decision than football. As for his reservations about playing outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense, my last story on Drew explained that his uncertainty is mostly due to the fact that he doesn't know a lot about the 3-4 outside linebacker position. Drew has done some of his own research, with help of his recruiter, Mike Elston and slowly I get the feeling that he is starting to warm up to the idea. I think what Drew is really waiting for is an opportunity to sit down with the coaches in South Bend in order to have a thorough discussion regarding what his role would be in a 3-4 defense. Luckily for the Irish coaches, it looks like they are going to get that opportunity.
