Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Santa Margarita defensive lineman Derek Wilkins has cut his list of schools down to six.
Wilkins continues to narrow his list of schools he’s considering and is still planning a late summer decision. The final six for him include Boston College, Cal, Nebraska, Stanford, UCLA and Washington.
The talented defensive lineman broke down what stands out about each of his finalists: Boston College- “I have family back East and I actually grew up a big Boston Celtics fan. I’ve been back East before in Connecticut and I like it there and feel comfortable there. The staff is recruiting me really hard and out of all the head coaches, I talk the most with coach Hafley. He’s a great guy and has been personally involved in recruiting me and that’s huge to hear from the head coach. He’s a great coach, a defensive minded head coach and had a lot of success at Ohio State and I know he knows what he’s doing.
“BC is an amazing academic school as well and that’s a big part of my decision. I’m looking for the best athletic and academic fit so BC is a school I’m very interested in and really want to visit. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to visit before I make my decision but no matter, I still want to try and get out there at some point this year and see the school up close.”
Cal- “They were one of my first offers and I have a great relationship with the coaching staff. I’ve been talking to them since last November and I’m really comfortable with everything about the school and have visited multiple times. It’s a great academic University as well in a prime location, right between San Francisco and Oakland.
“There are so many opportunities for life after football there with a Cal degree and all the networking that goes on. Coach Browning is the DL coach and he’s a great guy to talk with. I talk to him all the time about everything, not just football. He’s someone I feel has my best interest and sees me as more then just a player but a person as well. Coach Willcox is great too and like I said, the whole staff has been great with me this whole time. I’m also close with a lot of their recruits like Mavin Anderson and Akili Calhoun and that’s big for me.”
Nebraska- “I was able to visit Nebraska earlier and loved it out there. It’s a different vibe and feel out there but I liked it a lot. It would be fun to explore something new, playing in the Big 10 in a new environment. That’s big boy football out there and it would be fun to help bring Nebraska back to what they were.
“They have great tradition and had some great teams back in the day. I love the black shirts and that style of play fits me. The facilities out there are incredible and I have a good relationship with the coaching staff too. I talk with coach Tuioti and coach Chinander all the time and I like those guys a lot and I’m very comfortable they could develop me as a player and a person.”
Stanford- “Stanford has always been my dream school since I was young. Growing up, that was a dream school before I even thought about playing football, I just thought that would be a great place for me and my parents always loved Stanford too. I’m taking a business like approach to my recruitment now though and looking at all the different factors to figure out where the best fit for me is. “It was still a great moment when I found out I was accepted by their admissions last week. David Shaw is the one who called and gave me the news and that was incredible.
“An opportunity to attend Stanford is hard to pass up because you’re basically set for life after you’re done playing football. I visited a few times and have a great comfort level there and I like coach Reynolds, the DL coach a lot. I don’t talk to them as much as other staffs but that’s not really how Stanford recruits. They’re not going to ever overwhelm you with calls and texts, it’s more a case of, ‘this is who we are, and were giving you an opportunity to come here,’ and it has always been a pretty affective approach.”
UCLA- “UCLA is trending up for sure. I have a really good relationship with coach Nansen, the DL coach. When they first offered me, they didn’t even have a DL coach but I was talking with coach Kelly and now things have really picked up with Nansen and the rest of the staff. The location is great, that won’t be a huge factor but end of the day, it’s still cool to be close to home and be the hometown hero.
“I’ve been talking with a lot of the other commits in the class too and that’s been cool. Thomas Cole, Benjamin Roy, Devin Kirkwood and Garrett DIGiorgio have all reached out to me and building a relationship with players I could be playing with in the future is a factor to me. I know they have been down but I really think UCLA can turn things around. Chip Kelly is still a great coach, look at what he did at Oregon and I think UCLA is going in the right direction and it would be fun to help bring them back up.”
Washington- “A big thing with Washington is Maurice (Heims) is committed there and that’s my guy right there. He’s a a great friend and a great teammate and I’ve always said it would be fun to play with a good friend in college so we could push each other and make each other better.
“I was supposed to do a virtual tour with them last week but haven’t had a chance to do that yet so I’m still looking forward to that. I haven’t visited out there and not sure when I’ll be able to right now, so doing a virtual tour will be good to be able to see what the campus looks like. My relationship with the coaches is getting stronger and I’ve been talking with coach Malloe is my lead recruiter and I talk to Will Harris a little as well.”
Wilkins said he’s hoping to make a decision in August.
“I’m getting close,” Wilkins said. “I still have some things to weigh in my head and I don’t want to rush the decision until I’m 100% ready. I want to make sure I’m totally comfortable with it but like I said, I’m getting close and just want to continue to learn as much as I can about each school and get more educated on each of them.
“The biggest factors for me right now are finding a school that is strong academically, has a football program that is heading in the right direction, where I have a good relationship with the coaching staff and especially my position coach and where I fit in good with the other recruits too.”
Wilkins’ birthday is August 5th and he said he could make his decision sometime around that date. The big lineman is currently rated the No. 240 player nationally in the Top247.
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Wilkins continues to narrow his list of schools he’s considering and is still planning a late summer decision. The final six for him include Boston College, Cal, Nebraska, Stanford, UCLA and Washington.
The talented defensive lineman broke down what stands out about each of his finalists:
Boston College- “I have family back East and I actually grew up a big Boston Celtics fan. I’ve been back East before in Connecticut and I like it there and feel comfortable there. The staff is recruiting me really hard and out of all the head coaches, I talk the most with coach Hafley. He’s a great guy and has been personally involved in recruiting me and that’s huge to hear from the head coach. He’s a great coach, a defensive minded head coach and had a lot of success at Ohio State and I know he knows what he’s doing.
“BC is an amazing academic school as well and that’s a big part of my decision. I’m looking for the best athletic and academic fit so BC is a school I’m very interested in and really want to visit. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to visit before I make my decision but no matter, I still want to try and get out there at some point this year and see the school up close.”
Cal- “They were one of my first offers and I have a great relationship with the coaching staff. I’ve been talking to them since last November and I’m really comfortable with everything about the school and have visited multiple times. It’s a great academic University as well in a prime location, right between San Francisco and Oakland.
“There are so many opportunities for life after football there with a Cal degree and all the networking that goes on. Coach Browning is the DL coach and he’s a great guy to talk with. I talk to him all the time about everything, not just football. He’s someone I feel has my best interest and sees me as more then just a player but a person as well. Coach Willcox is great too and like I said, the whole staff has been great with me this whole time. I’m also close with a lot of their recruits like Mavin Anderson and Akili Calhoun and that’s big for me.”
Nebraska- “I was able to visit Nebraska earlier and loved it out there. It’s a different vibe and feel out there but I liked it a lot. It would be fun to explore something new, playing in the Big 10 in a new environment. That’s big boy football out there and it would be fun to help bring Nebraska back to what they were.
“They have great tradition and had some great teams back in the day. I love the black shirts and that style of play fits me. The facilities out there are incredible and I have a good relationship with the coaching staff too. I talk with coach Tuioti and coach Chinander all the time and I like those guys a lot and I’m very comfortable they could develop me as a player and a person.”
Stanford- “Stanford has always been my dream school since I was young. Growing up, that was a dream school before I even thought about playing football, I just thought that would be a great place for me and my parents always loved Stanford too. I’m taking a business like approach to my recruitment now though and looking at all the different factors to figure out where the best fit for me is. “It was still a great moment when I found out I was accepted by their admissions last week. David Shaw is the one who called and gave me the news and that was incredible.
“An opportunity to attend Stanford is hard to pass up because you’re basically set for life after you’re done playing football. I visited a few times and have a great comfort level there and I like coach Reynolds, the DL coach a lot. I don’t talk to them as much as other staffs but that’s not really how Stanford recruits. They’re not going to ever overwhelm you with calls and texts, it’s more a case of, ‘this is who we are, and were giving you an opportunity to come here,’ and it has always been a pretty affective approach.”
UCLA- “UCLA is trending up for sure. I have a really good relationship with coach Nansen, the DL coach. When they first offered me, they didn’t even have a DL coach but I was talking with coach Kelly and now things have really picked up with Nansen and the rest of the staff. The location is great, that won’t be a huge factor but end of the day, it’s still cool to be close to home and be the hometown hero.
“I’ve been talking with a lot of the other commits in the class too and that’s been cool. Thomas Cole, Benjamin Roy, Devin Kirkwood and Garrett DIGiorgio have all reached out to me and building a relationship with players I could be playing with in the future is a factor to me. I know they have been down but I really think UCLA can turn things around. Chip Kelly is still a great coach, look at what he did at Oregon and I think UCLA is going in the right direction and it would be fun to help bring them back up.”
Washington- “A big thing with Washington is Maurice (Heims) is committed there and that’s my guy right there. He’s a a great friend and a great teammate and I’ve always said it would be fun to play with a good friend in college so we could push each other and make each other better.
“I was supposed to do a virtual tour with them last week but haven’t had a chance to do that yet so I’m still looking forward to that. I haven’t visited out there and not sure when I’ll be able to right now, so doing a virtual tour will be good to be able to see what the campus looks like. My relationship with the coaches is getting stronger and I’ve been talking with coach Malloe is my lead recruiter and I talk to Will Harris a little as well.”
Wilkins said he’s hoping to make a decision in August.
“I’m getting close,” Wilkins said. “I still have some things to weigh in my head and I don’t want to rush the decision until I’m 100% ready. I want to make sure I’m totally comfortable with it but like I said, I’m getting close and just want to continue to learn as much as I can about each school and get more educated on each of them.
“The biggest factors for me right now are finding a school that is strong academically, has a football program that is heading in the right direction, where I have a good relationship with the coaching staff and especially my position coach and where I fit in good with the other recruits too.”
Wilkins’ birthday is August 5th and he said he could make his decision sometime around that date. The big lineman is currently rated the No. 240 player nationally in the Top247.
For instance, Bob Gregory is known to spend over an hour telling fishing stories and complaining about the BLM movement.
That being said, I'd rather have Wilkins than Maurice Heims and Sam Huard's ranking is really the only thing separating UW's class from Cal's