"I brought Uncle
Buck and Mike with me," added Darius Winston. "Uncle Buck went over
there with me to their Jr Day and Sr camp, and he already knows their coaches
really well, but Uncle Mike had never been over there. I think he loved it as
much as I did, I believe (laugh)."
The nation's #34 overall prospect
in the country, according to Scout.com, had previously seen everything
there was to see about Ole Miss during his last two unofficial visits over the
summer but one thing.
"I had never been over there for gameday. I
got to witness the atmosphere yesterday. Man, so far, that is the best atmosphere
I have seen yet. And the Grove, I know I will not see anything better than that
place. But really the whole atmosphere is what stood out to me the most about
Ole Miss. The fans are just so into Ole Miss over there, and the Grove is just
a cool place to tailgate. Like I said, it is the best atmosphere I have seen yet
for any game I have been to at any school."
Winston also witnessed
the Walk of Champions.
"That was nice. A lot of the fans knew who
I was and were telling me how glad they were to see me at Ole Miss. That made
me feel good. I had never seen that many fans at a walk through for the players.
And the best part of it was that it was in the Grove, and I can't describe it,
but the Grove is just different than anything I had ever seen. Their walk through
was exciting, real exciting. I would love to be a part of that some day."
The
6' 1", 180 pound cornerback got to meet up with an old friend from West Helena
before and after the game.
"OL Maurice Miller went to my same high
school. He showed me around and made me feel comfortable. I pretty much hung out
with him and Brandon Bolden and Enrique Davis the whole time. We went out together
Saturday night and went to a big party where all of the players were. It was a
lot of fun. I did not know Oxford ad that much going on. Ferbia Allen from Dollarway
was my host too. It was good having some Arkansas natives around me."
When
Winston arrived at the game Saturday; he had one thing on his mind.
"I
wanted to see how the cornerbacks played. They play man to man at Ole Miss, very
aggressive, just like the way I like to play. I pretty much knew how they were
going to play because I have been following them since they were at Arkansas,
but I just wanted to see if they were going to do the same things at Ole Miss
and they did."
The position coach at Ole Miss is also one that the
West Helena Central product had previously known.
"Me and Coach Vaughn
are real cool. I have been knowing him since he was at Arkansas. He coaches my
style of play, and I trust him. He is good friends with my Uncle too, Coach Buck.
I guess you can say that we are real familiar with Coach Vaughn and all of their
coaches really."
What did Coach Nutt have to say to Darius during
his visit?
"He just said Ole Miss was my home, and that he was going
to go get a lot of great players to come in with me, if I commit to them."
Winston
reported to us last time that he had already made a decision but wanted to wait
until September 5th to make his decision public. Did this trip change anything
with that decision?
"Nothing has changed at all. I feel real good
about my decision, real good. I just want to wait until my press conference on
Friday to announce it."
Did Coach Nutt ask Winston where Ole Miss
stood before he left?
"Yes sir, he was real happy about it."
Which
schools will Winston choose from on Friday?
"Clemson, Tennessee, Michigan,
Arkansas, and Ole Miss."