Bradenton, Fla. — Isaac Nauta, the nation’s No. 1 tight end, has named four of his official visits. UGA, TCU, Michigan, and Southern Cal will all get the opportunity to court the former Buford standout.
What about that fifth visit?
Nauta, who transferred to Florida’s IMG Academy for his senior year, told the AJC there were four schools still currently in the running for his last spot.
“The schools that will probably end up with my fifth official will probably end up coming between Alabama, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State and Oregon. It will between those schools. They all have something different to offer.”
Ole Miss was the first school he mentioned. That may not be a slant to priority, but simply because 5-star Ole Miss verbal Shea Patterson is the quarterback at IMG. Nauta said that Patterson has been on him “like crazy” to commit and eventually sign with Ole Miss. He’s in his ear about it.
Nauta gave a breakdown of his thoughts on each school.
Ole Miss: “Its a school where I could come in right away and make an impact. That’s a school that was in my Top 4 when I originally committed.”
Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has made him a priority.
Alabama: “Alabama is a school that really didn’t recruit me while I was committed. They said they wanted to respect what I had going on (at FSU) and I respect that about them, too. But since I de-committed they have been all over me. Coach (Lane) Kiffin hits me up all the time on Twitter so they are definitely a school that is going to be contender for that fifth spot.”
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy has a pitch tailored for a top tight end.
Oklahoma State: “It is kind of a school that has came on just recently, but coach Gundy wants to put in a Cowboy back and they are definitely going to be using the tight end more. It is something that’s going to be cool to watch this year to see what they do with the tight end.”
Tight ends coach Tom Osborne is his lead recruiter at Oregon.
Oregon: “Coach’s Osborne’s resume speaks for itself. He’s put a lot of tight ends in the league and he’s been really successful with them. The facilities they have over there are second to none and that’s something definitely I might want to see in the future.”
Nauta has already told each of those schools how he’ll decide his fifth visit.
“All the five schools I will take the five officials to will have a legit shot of getting me,” Nauta said. “I’ve already told all the coaches that the school that recruits me the hardest from this point to this point will get that fifth official visit. So it is all fair game.”
Jeff Sentell covers UGA recruiting for AJC.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges.