ESPN West recruiting Blog

Posted by Greg Biggins

Lakewood (Calif.) quarterback Jesse Scroggins visited a pair of SEC powerhouses last week and said he's basically down to three schools right now.

Scroggins has emerged this past Spring as one of the nation's top quarterback prospects and was the top guy I saw at any of the NIKE Camps this year. Last week, he visited Florida and Tennessee and raved about his time on both campuses.

"I loved both trips and can easily see myself at either school," Scroggins said. "First I went to Florida and spent two days there. The first day I worked out and the second day was a chance to see the campus and tour the area.

"I loved the campus life and the stadium. The coaching staff is great and I'm very comfortable with Coach Meyer. The receivers there were great, even when I made a bad throw, they were able to go up and get it. There's so much speed and athleticism out there and I'm comfortable in that offense as well.

"The stadium is huge, I didn't know it was that big and I think they hold like 96,000 people or something. The weather was a little humid but it's nothing I couldn't get used to and I loved the city of Gainesville. It's a small town and reminds me a lot of Lakewood so there's that comfort zone there."

Scroggins was equally as excited about his time in Knoxville.

"The first think you feel when you step foot on campus there is the tradition," Scroggins said. "There's a saying, 'once a Vol, always a Vol,' and I definitely felt that. I met Bryce Brown out there and he just got there but already everyone knows him.

"I have a real good relationship with Coach Kiffin. He's a young guy and almost seems like a big brother to me. He's very down to earth as is the whole staff there. I got to meet Monte Kiffin and of course Coach Orgeron is a legend. The coaches even condition with the players there so it's cool to see the relationship the players have with the staff.

"Another big plus is I have a ton of family in Memphis. Basically my mom's whole family lives there and I had a chance to see some of my cousins when I was out there so that was cool. Having family there would definitely help me get acclimated to the area and I'm already comfortable with the guys on the team and staff."

Scroggins will camp at USC's Rising Stars Camp Wednesday and that will be it for him.

"Those are basically my final three schools," Scroggins said. "Right now, I'm still looking at a few other schools but I like those three a lot and I really have no idea how I'm going to be able to decide.

"I'm planning to announce in late July at the Elite 11 QB camp and hopefully that will give me enough time to sort through these schools and find the best spot for me."