The recruiting process has been something of a roller-coaster ride for Houston's Jordan Elliott. The 4-star defensive tackle reopened his recruiting for the second time this year, decommitting from the hometown Houston Cougars last week.
Since April, Elliott has decommitted from Baylor and Houston. The last few months have been a chance for him to truly weigh all of his options and ultimately solidify his future before February's signing day. Elliott has 40 reported offers, and he said making the right decision is something he doesn't want to regret.
Is the process becoming too much to handle? Quite the opposite, according to Elliott, the nation's No. 14 defensive tackle and No. 94 player overall.
"It's not crazy, honestly," he said. "I've been focused on my season, so I'm just relaxing and bettering myself as a player."
As September marches on, Elliott is doing his part for the Westside High School varsity team, but he's also in the middle of setting official visits. The 6'4", 305-pound tackle—who has run the 40-yard dash in less than 4.9 seconds—has one official set so far, to Oklahoma the weekend of Nov. 20. Officials to USC, Texas and Michigan also are pending.
This weekend, Elliott said he's visiting Texas on an unofficial. The Longhorns host Cal on Saturday, and he wants to take in the game environment before setting up his official. Defensive line coach Brick Haley has been Elliott's primary recruiting contact at Texas.
Elliott originally set up his first official to USC for this weekend, but he said on Tuesday that he will reschedule the visit to October. USC is a school to watch, as he's been a fan of the program for quite some time. Defensive line coach Chris Wilson has been spearheading the Trojans' recruiting efforts to land Elliott.
Elliott's official visit to Oklahoma could fall perfectly in the hands of the Sooners. He said that he wanted to take a trip that weekend to help celebrate his birthday, which is Nov. 23. He's being recruited to Oklahoma by defensive line coach Diron Reynolds and inside linebackers coach Tim Kish.
The Michigan official visit could be a wild card. Michigan has a 2016 class with 22 commitments but only has one defensive tackle pledge, 3-star Rashad Weaver. Defensive line coach Greg Mattison has been working hard to lure Elliott to the Big Ten.
And then, there's that possible fifth visit. Elliott said he is interested in schools such as Nebraska, UCLA, Texas A&M, Georgia and Tennessee, and any one of them can get that last visit.
Nebraska was his most recent offer, and the Cornhuskers produced one of the NFL's most dominant defensive linemen in Ndamukong Suh.
And what is Elliott looking for in a winning program?
"I'm looking for an attitude," he said. "A team with a chip on their shoulders that isn't complacent with where they are and has goals as a team to be at the peak of its game."
Texas leads his 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions with 54 percent of the votes. USC is second with 31 percent.
Damon Sayles is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand. All player ratings are courtesy of 247Sports' composite ratings. Follow Damon via Twitter: @DamonSayles.
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2567023-4-star-jordan-elliot-planning-visits-to-big-12-big-ten-and-pac-12-schools
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