Four-star Omar Payne turning attention to visits
RANKINGS: 2018 Rivals150 | 2019 Rivals150 | 2020 Rivals150 | 2018 Team | 2018 Position
With the July recruiting periods behind him, Omar Payne is moving forward with the recruiting process and will work to start narrowing down his list this week. Setting visits will also be on the docket for Payne, his family, and his coaches.
With the way the four-star prospect played during July and the way he’s developed over the past year, it will take some time for Payne and his team to whittle his list down. Among the schools he’s looking at are Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, LSU, Ohio State, Texas, UConn, Wake Forest and more. He’s already been on campus for unofficial visits at Florida and LSU.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Payne talked about some of the schools involved in his recruitment.
Florida: “It’s a great program. I like the way they play. The atmosphere is nice. Their coaching staff is nice. They are good people. I talk to them a lot. We have a good relationship.”
Florida State: “They are about to lose a couple big men the year I come in, so I know they need a big man like me with some versatility. The way they run the offense, they run it through their bigs and let them do a lot.”
LSU: “It went pretty well. They like the way I play. They play through their big men. I like the coaching staff. They are cool and I think they know what they are doing.”
Wake Forest: “It’s a good program. Chaundee Brown played pretty well for them. Coach (Danny) Manning is a good coach. As a former big man, I know he’s good at coaching up big men.”
RIVALS' REACTION
The schools Payne talked about above all seem to be in pretty good shape as he starts to trim his list down and set visits. Coaches involved in his recruitment think it will be hard to pluck him out of Florida as both the Gators and the Seminoles have done a great job with him so far. His visit to LSU has the Tigers as a more-than-realistic option, while his admiration for what Manning has done with post players in his career gives the Demon Deacons a fair shot as well. Payne said his visits will likely take place within the next month or two with a decision coming afterwards.