Other schools zero in on Duke’s Olaniyan: Part II

If you read the previous blog, you know that Aramide Olaniyan is an impressive LB at Woodberry Forest prep who is planning on attending Duke—sort of. While he’s told the Blue Devils he’s expecting to end up there, he’s also planning visits to other schools. And those schools are recruiting him hard.

Start with North Carolina, and that’s an interesting story in itself.
The Tar Heels were paying no attention to Olaniyan, and when Woodberry Forest coach Clint Alexander took a bunch of his players down to camp at Chapel Hill, the WF group dropped Olaniyan off at Duke.

Towards the end of the day, Olaniyan came over to North Carolina to meet his teammates for the trip home.

“We talked him into working out in some of the Tar Heels’ linebacker drills,” Alexander said. “Five minutes into the drills, (head coach) Butch Davis was talking to him. Then they put him up against receivers, and he shut every kid down.”

Alexander laughed. “Suddenly I got a golf cart (to go talk to Davis). That never happens.”

So now Olaniyan is planning an official visit to North Carolina, along with his official to Duke this fall. He’s also tripping to UCLA and Michigan. Stanford, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest have a shot at that fifth and final spot.

If he still ends up at Duke, don’t be surprised. But before that happens, things could get interesting.

--Stan Olson