Jamal Womble, the 5-foot-10.5, 215-pound three-star running back from Buena High School in Sierra Vista, Ariz., has set up three official visits and narrowed down his choices.
Womble, ranked as the No. 45 running back nationally by Scout.com, says he favors North Carolina and South Carolina slightly over Wisconsin and Nebraska. "North Carolina and South Carolina are tied for first, but Wisconsin is really close behind," Womble admitted. "I won't decide until after I take all four visits. I want to see who stands out and how I feel at all of them."
He attended camps at North Carolina, Wake Forest and Arizona and says the Tar Heels are recruiting him the hardest. "It's a really nice environment in North Carolina and I like their facilities," he said. "The coaches are good people and I think they'll do well rebuilding. They are really excited and that translates to the players. Even though everyone says they're a basketball school, their football program gets a lot of love."
Womble is from North Carolina and says all his family still lives there.
His first official visit will be to Nebraska on Sept. 16. "They are on the rise and this could be a big year for them," Womble said. "I also really like (running back) coach Randy Jordan. He's real energetic and we get along well. They produce great backs every year and get them the ball a lot."
In November, Womble will be visiting Wisconsin on the 10th and South Carolina on the 24th.
"Wisconsin does well every year and I think they'll do well this year too," he said. "I also think that South Carolina is going to make a strong run in the SEC this year. Coach Steve Spurrier is a great coach and they have a good team. I like that it's all about football there. It's a great football town."
Womble says he has approximately 20 total offers. Some of the other schools that have offered him are Louisville, Northwestern, Duke, Illinois, Indiana, Utah, Boston College, Arizona State, Arizona, Washington State, Purdue and Central Florida.
Buena opens their season on Aug. 24 against the 5A defending state champions Hamilton from Phoeniz, Ariz. "I think we'll surprise people this season," Womble said. "We're gonna make a run for the state championship."
He reports a 3.0 core GPA and a 1560 SAT (3 sections).