Huge Lineman Talks Visit to Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt could be close to extending an offer to offensive lineman Jacob Alsadek from Torrey Pines High School in San Diego. The 6-foot-7, 331-pound was on campus and met with the coaching staff. He said the visit made quite an impression on him.

"The coaches are all fun guys," said Jacob Alsadek. "I spent 25 minutes talking with Coach Franklin and he really opened my eyes. He's a very smart dude and is doing great things with the program. I think Coach Hand would be great to play for. We talked about me playing either tackle or guard. He told me about how they use the guard in the offense. They're the kind of coaches I want to play for. They work hard and push you to be your best."

Alsadek took four campus trip to California, Stanford, Colorado, and Vanderbilt. Out of those for Colorado has offered, but Alsadek says Vanderbilt and Stanford may be close. He also has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Kansas State and Oregon State, which is his most recent one. One the Nashville visit, one he made with his Mom and younger brother, he got to talk with some current players about attending college a good distance from home.

"I was talking to two freshman offensive linemen and a tight end from California," he explained. "Nashville's a three to four hour plane ride [from San Diego]. The player from California was telling me the first couple of weeks were tough, but after that you're so busy with school and football that you don't have much time to think about it. It was good to talk with some other people about it. My Mom loved it, but said she was sad because it was so far away."

Two of Vanderbilt's big selling points, not including football or academics, are the city of Nashville and a beautiful downtown college campus.

"The buildings are cool-looking, almost rustic, like you're inside of a church," Alsadek said. "We toured the Arts and Sciences building and the library. At the library, we got to see footage of 9-11 which I hadn't seen before because I was so young when it happened. They had old news clips from the 1960's. It was great."

"The night we got to Nashville we ate at the San Antonio Taco Company. Vanderbilt is right in the middle of the city but it's different than the city. Once you get there you know you're on a college campus. It's so nice."

Alsadek says his recruiting is still wide open right now. he says he doesn't like the idea of a decommitment and intends to take his time in finding the right university for him before making a pledge.

"I'm waiting to see what offers I'll have then weigh the pros and cons of each one with my family," said Alsadek. "Academics are very important to me. It's every football players dream to play in the NFL and I want to go to a college that will help give me the best chance. Location is important to my parents, but for me it's about finding the school that's right for me. No matter where you go you only get to go home four weeks out of the year."

As a junior, Alsadek was named All-Palomar League honorable mention at left tackle. In the off-season, he's been working on his technique with former NFL player, Stan Thomas. Alsadek was an All-Academic selection by the San Diego Tribune in 2011. He reports a 3.3 GPA and a 27 on the SAT. He's No. 78 on the Torrey Pines Falcons.