Summer Decision

"It's all been happening so fast," Joey Fontana said. "It's hard to keep up. I'm interested in so many schools that I can't say I have a favorite or top five or anything. Next month I plan to take several unofficial visits and see as many schools as I can. I want to play my senior year worry free (and commit early) and just give my all to my senior season..."

Joey Fontana, the 6-foot-3, 280 pound three-star offensive center from Brother Martin High School in New Orleans, La., has five scholarship offers so far and is interested in a slew of schools without any real favorites.

"It's all been happening so fast," Fontana said. "It's hard to keep up. I'm interested in so many schools that I can't say I have a favorite or top five or anything."

Fontana has a busy spring and summer ahead of him. "Next month I plan to take several unofficial visits and see as many schools as I can.

"Academics are big for me because I want to get a good degree," he said. "I'd like to go to a big school and one that feels like home, but a smaller school isn't out of the question either."

Despite being wide open now, Fontana plans to make a decision during the summer. "I want to play my senior year worry free and just give my all to my senior season."

While denying a current favorite, Fontana admits that growing up he always followed LSU. "They are a dominant power in the SEC and me and my friends always go to their games and tailgate," he said. "It's only like an hour to Tiger Stadium and it's a really fun atmosphere there. People out here bleed purple and gold and they've just been such a great program recently. I also really like the coaches there and the facilities are first class."

Despite his love for the Tigers, Fontana admits he also followed Alabama because his mom is an alumnus. "I used to like Alabama a lot too," he said. "My grandpa was a huge Bear Bryant fanatic and he would school me in "everything Bear" so I know a lot about their history and tradition.

"Coach Nick Saban was able to come in to LSU and turn things around and he's picking things up at Alabama too," he said. "Give him a few years and they'll be back to what they were known for and that's winning. I think coach Saban can get them to that Bear Bryant level."

Even though Fontana's mom was an Alabama alum, he says that his parents don't have a preference. "My mom is a flight attendant for Delta, so they can always hop on a plane and come out and see me wherever I am."

While Fontana is interested in both the Tigers and the Crimson Tide, neither have offered yet. His only offers thus far are from Nebraska, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana Tech and Tulane.

"Kentucky was the first school to officially offer me," he said. "It's a real nice area over there and I love the surroundings. It's in the SEC and really all the SEC schools have top-notch facilities and great coaches. You can't survive in the SEC without it."

Despite the nice facilities at Kentucky, Fontana is most impressed by the facilities at Arkansas. "Their facilities are unbelievable," he said. "The weight room is one of the best I've ever seen and it's like 110 yards long. It's huge and has the best equipment."

The one school that has offered him that Fontana hasn't visited yet is Nebraska. "Now that they have Bo Pelini, I really think they'll turn it around," he said. "He knows what Nebraska football is about and he's a defensive mastermind."

Although he's unsure about which summer camps he'll be attending, Fontana does plan to head out west for a few unofficial visits. "I want to check out UCLA, USC and Stanford," he said. "California is awesome. You can be surfing one day and the next day be skiing in the mountains.

"USC is pretty dominant and UCLA is picking things up and getting better," he said. "I want to go out there and really get a feel for those schools this summer.

"I talked to (offensive line) coach Pat Ruel (from USC) and told him that I'll be out there in June and they are really excited to see me.

"I get a lot of letters from Stanford, but I haven't talked to their coaches yet," he said.

Fontana says he may also visit Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Connecticut this summer. "Uconn seems to really like me," he said. "They send me a ton of letters and they were at my practice last week."

He is Scout.com's No. 2 offensive center nationwide. Fontana says he can bench 315 pounds, squat 500 and power clean 285.

"I try to be as physical as I can and play until the whistle blows," he said. "I try to put someone on their back on every play. My footwork and quickness are pretty solid and I drive hard. The only thing I think I need to work on is staying lower. I can play a bit high sometimes. I'd say that I'm low about 95 percent of the time, but I want to be at 100 percent."

Fontana reports a 3.2 core GPA and a 23 ACT, which he is retaking in June.