Horns247 Board

By Gerry Hamilton

Shreveport (La.) Evangel Christian defensive end Jermauria Rasco posted three sacks in a half of play in a recent jamboree scrimmage showing yet again why he has been offered a scholarship by more than 40 programs, including the likes of LSU, Florida State, Texas and Alabama. Those four schools have sat atop his list of choices for a couple of months.

But there is a new development in the recruitment of Rasco.

“I want to take a visit to a school in California (USC or UCLA),” Rasco said before practice on Wednesday. “I’ve never been out there. I’ll probably take a visit to a school in Florida and Florida State is the only school in Florida looking at me, so probably Florida State. Notre Dame is another school. I don’t know why I’m looking at them, but they are starting to stick out a little bit to me and Georgia is sticking out a little. Georgia always has outstanding defensive ends and outside linebacker types,”

With the college season getting underway this weekend, all of these programs are working to get Rasco on campus for an official visit.

“As of right now, I’m just trying to see how our schedule is going to look,” said Rasco. “I’m not sure if I want to take any (visits) during the season or wait until after the season. I’m just trying to see when we have a weaker game and see what college I’m considering has a home game that weekend,”

Rasco has been on the campuses of Texas, Alabama, Florida State and LSU numerous times in the last year.

Rasco had originally considered choosing a school prior to his senior season, but that thought has been put on hold.

“In July, my mom had wanted me to make my mind up on Thursday of this week before I step on the field for my first game,” he said. “but I told her it would put too much stress on me. In July, I started hiding from the recruiting process because it was putting too much stress on me. I just pray everyday that the Lord will lead me to the right decision and I don’t know when that will be.”

Notes:

* On the first day college coaches could call 2011 recruits, Alabama was the first to make contact with Rasco. The Crimson Tide made contact before Evangel hit the practice field Wednesday. “I talked to Coach Bo Davis and Nick Saban from Alabama. They called me as soon as I got out of school.” Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp also spoke with Rasco Wednesday night.

* In the past, Rasco has talked about not having a desire to play standing up. He is beginning to change his tune. “When I first thought about playing some at linebacker, I thought that I really didn’t want to do it. Then I played linebacker this summer during 7-on-7 and did pretty good at that. My coach, Coach (Byron) Dawson, is going to move me around a lot this year, so honestly it’s not going to be a big factor until the end of the season and I see how I did moving around. I love playing with my hand on the ground, but I’m considering playing standing up as well.”

* The schools with the best chance to get Rasco on campus for official visits appear to be Texas, Alabama, Florida State, Notre Dame, USC, Georgia and LSU. He said he was unsure what the deciding factor will be when it’s time to sit down and reach a final decision in his recruitment.

* According to Dawson, Rasco checks in at 6-foot-3 and about 245-pounds. He is a fifth-year varsity starter (yes, he started for the varsity as an 8th-grader).

* Scouting: In a discussion with Dawson, he spoke at length about how well Rasco is playing so far this year. Technically, Dawson says he’s very sound and is affecting more plays than ever. When Rasco is closing in on the quarterback, he’s hitting the quarterback high and changing the timing and trajectory of the pass leading to a number of arrant throws in their jamboree game. That’s just one of many things he’s doing that are disruptive to an offense’s timing. From my own observation in video of the scrimmage last week, Rasco took away the flat routes on a couple of occasions making the quarterback hold the ball and force a late throw to a second read. Even when he’s not making the eye-catching big play, he’s proving to be a disruptive force.

He’s also taken on a much more vocal leadership role for the team and it showed in practice. He’s a strong voice in drills, is the one to hustle from station-to-station in drill work. He is clearly pushing and encouraging his teammates.