Etienne Sabino, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound four-star linebacker from Krop High School in Miami, Fla., says he now has 47 scholarship offers. All this generosity isn't helping him decide. "I don't have a top five yet," Sabino said.
"I've visited Georgia Tech, Auburn, Tennessee and Georgia in June and I plan to visit Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida and North Carolina again in July."
Sabino, ranked No. 16 in the Southeast by Scout.com, said that the campus that impressed him the most was North Carolina. "I really liked it," he said. "I went there during the spring and just loved it. It's a great place and the environment is nice. I felt very comfortable there."
While North Carolina was Sabino's favorite campus, he says that Tennessee has the best facilities. "They have the best football facilities I've seen," he said. "They have these indoor facilities which are very impressive. You go there and they just stand out. That's the first thing I noticed.
"I also really liked the campus and stadium at Georgia Tech," Sabino said. "It's just a cool place and it's another one of those schools that have top academics and good football."
He says that Notre Dame is recruiting him the hardest. "I keep in contact with them a lot," he said. "I love the tradition and they are changing their defense and I think I'd have a good opportunity to play early there. When you graduate from Notre Dame you are pretty much set.
"Ohio State is known for producing linebackers," Sabino said. "They are very competitive every year and know how to win. I went to their camp last summer and really liked it a lot."
Although he hasn't scheduled any official visits yet, Sabino says he'll definitely visit USC in the fall. "I'm planning to make that my first visit," he said. "Pete Carroll is great to talk to and I like the linebacker coach Ken Norton a lot too. He knows the game and said they are graduating all three linebackers this year and that I'd have an opportunity to play.
"When you think of football, you think of USC," he said. "They are always in the top five and always send guys to the NFL."
Sabino says he'll narrow down his list before the end of summer. "I want to make sure I'm comfortable with my choices and just want a great balance between football, environment and academics. I like talking to the players about their experience because they know best," he said. "They live it everyday and it gives you some good insight."
Speaking of insight, he grew up following Miami, a team he expects to do well. "They'll be back," Sabino said.
He reports a 3.0 core GPA and a 1180 SAT.