One of the nation’s top defensive tackles continues to list Duke among his favorite schools.
6-foot-6, 310-pound Vince Oghobaase will make an official visit to Durham this weekend. One of the nation’s top 50 players in the class of 2005, Oghobaase has scholarship offers from 31 schools, including every school in the Big XII, his coach Wade Luker said. The Alief, Tex., native is considering the Blue Devils along with Arizona, Miami, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M.
“They’ve been on him ever since spring training after his junior year,” Luker said of Duke. “The kid wants to go to a really prestigious university and get an education. He wants to be a really good football player, but he’s also real academically-minded, too. That was one of the drawing points of Duke.”
Oghobaase’s size and strength have made him one of the nation’s premier run-stuffing tackles. As a senior, the 300-pounder tallied 9 sacks and 96 tackles.
“He runs well, he’s extremely strong and he’s a very intelligent kid,” Luker said. “He’s got all the tools he needs to be a really good football player. He just needs to keep working.”
Oghobaase’s trip to Duke will be his third official visit as the lineman traveled to Arizona and Oklahoma State earlier in the year. In addition, he has visits planned to Miami and Oklahoma in the next month. Oghobaase will make a decision sometime in December, Luker said, and he plans to enroll in college in January. Should he choose Duke, Oghobaase would be one of the highest-profile football players ever to commit to the Blue Devils.
Oghobaase, however, is not the only big-name recruit visiting Duke this weekend. Dalton, Ga., athlete Marcus Jones will be visiting campus as well. Jones, a 6-foot-5, 211-pound prospect, played multiple positions for his high school team, including quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker, safety and even punter. An impressive athlete, Jones has garnered scholarship offers from Duke, N.C. State and a host of SEC schools, including Tennessee.
“He’s just an extremely versatile kid who can do just about anything,” said David Gann, one of Jones’ assistant coaches, adding that Jones’ coachability makes him a prime Division I prospect.
Head coach Ted Roof and the Duke coaching staff have piqued Jones’ interest.
“He’s extremely impressed with what they’re doing and what they’re trying to do at Duke,” Gann said. “He really appreciates their honesty and their being straightforward with him.”
Two other three-star prospects, linebacker Adam Leonard and defensive tackle Patrick Kuntz, will be in Durham this weekend for official visits, according to the recruiting website scout.com. Leonard, one of the top 100 players on the West Coast, lists the Blue Devils as a solid favorite over interest from California and other Pac-10 schools. Kuntz, one of the top prospects in the state of Indiana, has received scholarship offers from Louisville, Michigan State, Indiana and Northwestern, among others. Both have received scholarship offers from Duke.
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