Shayne Hale, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound linebacker from Gateway High School in Monroeville (Penn.) says he has around 30 scholarship offers, but has not begun to narrow down his choices.
Hale denies a leader, but likes Pittsburgh, Penn State, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Florida. All of them have offered. He also has offers from Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Temple, Mississippi, West Virginia and several others.
"I haven't even really begun to think about it," Hale said. "I'm really looking to have a good relationship with the coaches and see if I'll be able to start or play early. I'll make my decision after the season and hope to have a top five this summer.
"I have so many offers and schools to choose from that it's hard to narrow it down," he said. "I just want to learn as much as I can about these schools."
Hale has already attended junior days at Pittsburgh, Virginia and Maryland and is unsure about which summer camps he will attend.
Pittsburgh is only 15 minutes from his home and Hale says he grew up liking the Panthers. "I like the coaches a lot," Hale said. "I've gotten to know them and feel like we've connected well. I like to joke around with them and feel like we can talk about anything and not just football."
The other in-state school, Penn State, is three hours from his house. "I love the atmosphere at Penn State," he said. "I went to their Blue and White game last year and loved it. The fans were crazy and the coaches are the best. The have a great tradition.
"I also had a good time at the Maryland Junior Day," Hale said. "We got to go to the basketball game and that was a lot of fun. I also loved their facilities. Everything was really good."
Hale finished his junior season with 105 tackles, 15 sacks, four fumbles caused and four fumbles recovered. He benches 335 pounds and squats 425.
"I'm strong and pretty fast (4.55 forty)," he said. "I can overpower most guys and play hard. I'm tough and reckless out on the field. I don't care about anything else but the game when I'm playing.
"I want to improve on everything. I need to improve my leg strength and be more punishing when I drive guys back."
Hale reports a 3.0 core GPA, but has not scheduled a ACT or SAT yet.