Rating Trips

Jamal Womble rates his visit to North Carolina as a 9.5 out of 10. He rates his trip to Boston College as an 8. "When I first visited Boston College I thought it was a 9," Womble said. "Because I had nothing to compare it to. But after visiting North Carolina, I realized I feel more comfortable in the South and I've got family in North Carolina, so I just felt at home there..."

Jamal Womble, the 5-foot-10.5, 215-pound three-star running back from Buena High School in Sierra Vista, Ariz., has already taken official visits to Boston College (Sept. 7) and North Carolina (Oct. 6) and has trips scheduled to Wisconsin on Nov. 10 and South Carolina on Nov. 24. He says he also plans to visit Nebraska officially.

"I'd like to make my decision in early December," Womble said. "I'll be done with all my visits and should be able to make a decision."

Womble, ranked as the No. 49 running back in the country by Scout.com, favors North Carolina slightly over Boston College, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Nebraska. All of his favorites have offered (20 total).

"My North Carolina trip was great," he said. "I really enjoyed it. I love the game day atmosphere there and couldn't find anything negative about them. I love how involved everyone gets and how much fun it is there during the game. There's a misconception that North Carolina is a basketball school, but that's not true. The fans all knew who I was and really support the football team."

He says Tar Heels are recruiting him the hardest. "I talk with (running back) coach Ken Browning a lot," he said. "They call every week and I get handwritten letters from all the coaches."

Womble rates his visit to North Carolina as a 9.5 out of 10. He rates his trip to Boston College as an 8. "When I first visited Boston College I thought it was a 9," he said. "Because I had nothing to compare it to. But after visiting North Carolina, I realized I feel more comfortable in the South and I've got family in North Carolina, so I just felt at home there.

"Boston College is doing really good this year and they've got a pretty good atmosphere too, but it doesn't seem as crazy as in North Carolina," he said. "But Boston is a great city and I had fun hanging out in town. I also really like how they've got two big backs and are both getting a lot of touches per game."

Although Womble says he likes the South, he says location isn't going to be a major factor in his decision. Neither is the conference. "Every school I'm looking at is in a good conference," he said. "I don't really see the difference. The SEC, the ACC, the Big Ten, the Big 12, they are all great and have great schools."

While Womble hasn't visited Wisconsin or South Carolina yet, he says he likes the offense at both schools. "Wisconsin has pretty good tradition at running back and they are always a solid team.

"South Carolina has coach Steve Spurrier and they are still on the rise," he said. "They lost to Vanderbilt, which was disappointing but I think they are still young and expect them to be a top team for a while."

He says he still plans to schedule a visit with Nebraska as well. "They are going through some trouble right now and are having an off season, but I think they'll be fine," Womble said of the Huskers recent on and off-field woes. "They have great fans and always get great players, so I'm not worried about them. You can't take away all their success and tradition they have. It's just a down time for them."

Buena High School is currently 2-6 and Womble has 1300 yards (10+ yards per carry) and 15 touchdowns.

He reports a 3.0 core GPA and a 1560 SAT (3 sections).