Colleges Rolling Out Red Carpet

TAMPA - There's nothing like hearing "We want you!"

At least not to Jahleel Addae.

Those words sealed the former Riverview High running back's verbal commitment to West Virginia University's football program.

Addae was on an official visit to West Virginia the weekend of Nov. 23, the same weekend the Mountaineers hosted UConn with the Big East title and a BCS bowl bid on the line. Addae was standing on the sideline when he began hearing fans cry out: "Addae, we want you to come! We want you on the team!"

"It was crazy," Addae recalled recently. "I felt like a little celebrity.

"I'd gone to West Virginia camps since I was in seventh grade, so I had been there plenty of times," said Addae, whose older brother, Jahmile, also played for the Mountaineers. "But that time, everything really caught my eye. It just felt like home."

That feeling of being "at home" is a phrase that spews like clockwork from the mouths of high school football recruits when describing why they chose a specific school. And there seem to be multiple ways college recruiters go about helping recruits reach that level of comfort.

Armwood's Josh Alston didn't know what to expect on his first official visit, which he made to West Point, N.Y., to check out Army two weeks ago. But it didn't take long for Black Knights coaches to catch the senior defensive lineman's attention.

Alston had a nice surprise waiting for him in his hotel room - a giant cookie in the shape of a football.

"Just coming in after a long flight, it was kind of funny to see that," Alston said.

One week later, on an official visit to another service academy - this time, Navy - Alston witnessed a similar recruiting tactic, though the Midshipmen coaches shook things up a bit.

"It was kind of weird," Alston said. "They gave my dad a bag of stuff in his hotel room."

While the gestures were appreciated, they didn't have much of an impact on Alston, who has offers from Army, Navy and Air Force but remains open in his recruitment.

"I'm not too concerned with that type of stuff. I'm not looking for them being spontaneous," Alston said. "That might have an impact on some other people, because they want to see how they're going to be treated. I don't want to be treated like dirt, you know. ... But I'm not going to base my decision off a cookie."

Jesuit's Phil Smith certainly wasn't treated like dirt during his official visit to Georgia Tech last weekend. Smith's visit went so well, he verbally committed to the Yellow Jackets before returning to Tampa.

While the Tigers senior offensive lineman said his decision to verbally pledge his services ultimately came down to the combination of academics, athletics and atmosphere Georgia Tech offered, a dinner trip on his first evening in town to The Capital Grille, an upscale steakhouse in Atlanta, certainly caught him by surprise.

"I was very surprised by that. I didn't know they would spend that much money on recruits," Smith said. "I don't think they were really trying to 'Wow' us. I think they were just trying to keep us comfortable."

Armwood's Eric Smith never felt more comfortable during a recruiting visit than he did on his final night in Auburn, Ala., two weeks ago. Smith was at dinner with his Auburn University hosts when he struck up a conversation with a daughter of running back coach Eddie Gran.

The young lady was telling the Hawks senior running back how everyone within the Tigers program was treated like family, a very important aspect for Smith. She emphasize her point by referring to sophomore running back Ben Tate as her brother.

"When I heard her say that, I think that's what really put me over," Smith said after announcing his decision Saturday. "It wasn't a recruiting tactic; at least I don't think."

Whether those cheers from the stands in Morgantown, W.Va., were a recruiting tactic, Addae isn't sure. He'd like to believe they were genuine, but he doesn't discount the possibility Mountaineers coaches tipped off the fans before the game to show some love.

The bottom line is it didn't matter.

"I just felt like I was a player already," Addae said.

Reporter Adam Adkins can be

reached at (813) 657-4533