"It
really was a lot more than I expected," added Chris Wilkes. "I had heard
about how pretty the campus and girls were before I came on the visit, but Ole Miss beat my expectations by a 1000 percent. It was everything I had hoped it
would be and more."Why was it better than expected?
"They
just have top of the line everything, from the indoor facility, to the new Fed
Ex center, just everything. They have real nice facilities. I have been all over
the ACC and SEC, and Ole Miss' are the best I have seen so far. I do not know.
I was expecting them to be nice because I have heard other people talking about
their facilities, but I had no clue they had those kind of facilities. And besides
the facilities, I knew Ole Miss was all about football, but it is more than I
thought. The whole town is centered around football. It is crazy over there. They
love their football at Ole Miss."
Chris' player host on Saturday was
the starting QB at Ole Miss, Seth Adams.
"Seth is just a really down
to earth, cool guy. He told me about how he grew up a die hard Ole Miss fan, and
how he had always dreamed about being the starting QB for Ole Miss and now he
has it. It is like a dream come true for him. Seth said it makes it even more
special to him because nobody believed in him and now look at him. Everywhere
we went Saturday night, he was treated like a king. I have to admit, I am kind
of hoping that is going to be me one day (laugh). That looked pretty fun (laugh)."
Chris
actually arrived on the Ole Miss campus Thursday on his own, so he could get in
an extra day on his visit because this is the only off weekend that his high school
team has this Fall.
The official visit did not start until Friday, and
the extra day gave him some insight into the town.
"I got a chance
just to look at everything without it being just about football. I loved Oxford.
Like I said, everywhere you go, everyone is talking football. It is lively but
small at the same time. It is the perfect college town for me. I can't wait to
be a part of the daily life in the Oxford area."
On Saturday, Wilkes
focused on the offense and recognized a few things.
"I noticed they
run a very similar offense that we run. They put the FB in the offense, just a
lot of the same things and formations we run. I also wanted to see what type of
wide receivers are going to be with me, and the best word that comes to my mind
is fast. And they are playmakers too. But the biggest thing is how fast they are.
I have never seen a group as fast as they are. I also like the big one they had,
#84 (Michael Hicks). He had great hands and ran great routes. I left the game
feeling real good about my future receivers. I know that."
Wilkes
left the game and headed to the Grove with his player host and several more players.
"There
is nothing like the Grove, nothing. It is the biggest tailgating party in America.
There are people everywhere. I love how everyone parties together, hangs out,
and welcomes complete strangers to their tent to come have some food and drinks.
Everyone just welcomes you in the Grove. It is the most unique experience I have
had in my life. They are just so friendly over there."
When Chris
woke up Sunday morning, he went to the IPF and watched some film with Coaches
Werner and Orgeron.
"We were just going over different types of plays
they run. It is not too hard to learn their offense. It is just like the one we
run at home. We went over the formations and things like that. They run the same
formations, but then they will run maybe 30 different plays off of that formation
while we keep it the same. That is what I will have to learn in the offseason,
but it looks very doable."
Thinking back on the visit; what stood
out the most?
"I just like the fact that Oxford is a football town
with the Grove in it. Everybody just supports the team, and the players are so
together. We went out on the town Saturday night and everyone stayed together.
It was not splintered off in a bunch of little groups. Everybody on their team
goes out together, and then they all go back to somebody's house together to hang
out. You can just tell that they have a good chemistry over there. And the tradition
at Ole Miss, man, you can't beat that."
Is it a given that this visit
solidified the 6' 4", 225 pounder's commitment?
"Yea, this just
closed the book on it. I was already sure I was going before I went on my visit,
but there are no questions now. You are going to have to drag me away from that
place. I am just counting down the days until I get there now."
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