http://story.scout.com/a.z?s=204&p=2&c=646332
Brandon Leslie, the 6-foot, 195 pound safety from Edison High School in Fresno, Calif., says his recruiting started picking up since attending the Nike camp at Stanford earlier this month. Air Force and Nevada has recently offered. But according to the four-star prospect, it was Notre Dame that was the most impressed with his performance.
“The Notre Dame coaches were at the camp and were really impressed with my size and they way I could move, said Leslie, who is ranked No. 53 in the West by Scout.com. “They said that I could maybe play corner for them and that an offer could be coming, which is huge because they don’t need safeties, but they do need cornerbacks. That’s why they haven’t offered yet.
“I went to their spring game last month and they told me they were really interested, but that they just had a safety commit, so they wanted to wait and watch more tape to see if I could play corner. They came out to the camp to watch me and they were happy, so I'm hoping there’s an offer soon.
“It was great at Notre Dame,” he said. “I was really impressed with their fan support. It was incredible. The fans are crazy there. All these people wanted my autograph. I couldn’t believe it! I really liked the coaches and the campus was really cool. They have a tradition that’s like nothing else. I know if I got an offer, I would definitely have to take a serious look about going there.”
Leslie, who now has seven offers, says Nebraska, Arizona, Washington, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame are still his top five, Earlier this month, he said he favored Nebraska. Now he denies a favorite and all have offered except the Irish.
“Everyone’s pretty much even right now,” Leslie said. “Nebraska was my favorite because they were the first to offer me and show me love, but a lot of schools have offered since, so I have a lot more options then I did before.
“I’m still really interested in Nebraska. I know I’m the only safety they are recruiting, which is a huge thing for me. I’m planning on taking a trip to there and Georgia Tech next month. Along with Notre Dame, I’m getting the most love from Nebraska and Georgia Tech.
“Georgia Tech has four safeties leaving this year,” Leslie said. “Coach (Chan) Gailey and Coach ‘BJ’ (Brian Jean-Mary) are great. I talk to them a lot. I know if I came in and did my job, I could see some early play time there.”
Arizona and Washington have also been courting the stand-out defender. “They both are definitely in my top five,” Leslie said. “ My best friend, Robert Golden (cornerback), just committed to Arizona and it would be cool to play with him in college. But Arizona is pretty deep at safety and I wouldn’t be able to play anytime soon.
“Washington really needs corners and I really like the coaching staff there,” he said. “Coach J.D Williams and I have known each other for a while and it would be great to play for him and Coach (Tyrone) Willingham. And I really like the Pac-10, being from California.”
Leslie says he wants to commit after his trips to Nebraska and Georgia Tech. “I don’t know if I’m going to take any official visits or not. It just depends on if I make my decision after seeing Nebraska and Georgia Tech. I think I’m going to commit by September at the latest. I really just want to get this whole recruiting business over and done with so I can focus on school and the season.”
Leslie reports a 3.3 core GPA and plans on taking the SAT in June.
