Irmo QB/ATH AJ Brand (6-1 200) made official visits this month to USC and Virginia Tech. He had been talking to Oregon State about a visit for this coming weekend, but that does not appear to be in the works at this point. With no other visits in mind, Brand has set June 23rd for his commitment announcement.
He and his family are still working on the decision.
“Both of my visits have been great,” Brand said. “Just narrowing down the decision, the key factors for June 23rd. I’m just trusting the process right now, just looking at some things that have to go into making such a big decision like this. Me and my family’s mind will really be made up by June 23rd.”
The USC visit was the first one. Brand had been on campus in the past but the official visits, with his parents in tow, was a different experience as he got to spend a lot of time with head coach Shane Beamer, receivers coach Mike Furrey and secondary coach Torian Gray.
“The hospitality was great, just the way they interacted with you,” Brand said. “Not necessarily always trying to recruit you but talking to you as a person. Just getting to see that side of all the coaches was just a blessing. It gave me a new update on what they are all about. My family loved it and I’m happy that we all enjoyed ourselves.”
The Gamecocks are recruiting Brand as an athlete.
“They did say that they would want me to come and change my position to go to safety,” Brand said. “They said you never know what can happen, so they are still open to having me at other positions, that’s just where they want me at right now. They definitely are recruiting me hard because they want to keep in-state guys in the state. They were all on me that they really want me to stay in state.”
Since the official visit, Brand said the Gamecocks have not relented in their pursuit.
“They’ve just been keeping in touch with me saying they still want me,” Brand said. “Just making a push for me, showing how much they really care about me. Just showing the love. Talking most with Coach Gray and Coach Beamer.”
Last weekend Brand made the trip to Blacksburg for the official visit with Virginia Tech. Brand, who passed for 2932 yards and 45 touchdowns, and rushed for 1113 yards and 17 touchdowns. The Hokies want him strictly for quarterback.
“Got to learn a couple of things about the program and talk more with the coaches,” Brand said. “it was great. They just showed me their blueprint of the offense, telling me how similar it would be for me coming from the offense I’m playing in right now. They showed me how they would use me in the offense and gave me a better look on the whole team in general.”
Brand said he has no more visits planned before his announcement on the 23rd, though he will be back at USC June 19th for a seven-on-seven tournament. He does not expect that to morph into a recruiting opportunity because he expects to spend most of his time with his team.