STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

More Football Recruiting

• Allen hears Kiffin's message in person
• Toney Williams told by Kiffin he'll be a tailback
• Gordon knows he's wanted by Vols

Share and Enjoy [?]

Marcus Ball doesn’t know where he’s going. But he knows what he wants.

"Winning," the 6-foot-1, 210-pound prospect from Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Ga., said. "Just winning. I’m looking at everybody right now to tell you the truth."

Ball, who plays linebacker and running back, said he believes it’s important to keep his college options open during this early stage of recruiting.

Such insight comes from being familiar with the recruiting process. One brother, Raeshon, plays football at Central Michigan. The other, Reggie, is a quarterback at Georgia Tech.

"If I need to ask questions like that from them, that’s somebody to ask," the younger Ball said of his recruiting resources.

Tennessee, via ace recruiter Trooper Taylor, is one of the latest schools to jump on the Ball bandwagon, recently offering him a scholarship. Ball has also received offers from Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Louisiana State.

Ball isn’t afraid to hit the road to explore his college options. He visited Tallahassee on May 1 for the Nike camp where he was singled out as one of the top players out of the nearly 300 in attendance.

Ball is scheduled to participate in Saturday’s Nike camp in Athens, Ga. Ball said he also plans to visit Georgia Tech and Auburn this summer.

UT is actively recruiting three other Stephenson High School prospects. Another is receiving Division-I interest. Ball said he believes he is the most likely of his fellow teammates to leave the state of Georgia to play college football.

"I’m not too fond of Georgia," Ball said. "I never liked Georgia ever since I was little and started paying attention to football."

Ball said he grew up a fan of the Florida schools: Florida, Florida State and Miami.

Ball said he doesn’t yet know much about the Vols but intends to study UT’s program this summer as he whittles down his possible college destinations.

Stephenson coach Ron Gartrell has seen plenty of high profile players sign football scholarships from the mid-Georgia football powerhouse. Gartrell said Ball ranks with any of the other prospects he has coached.

Gartrell said Ball draws comparisons to former Auburn linebacker Takeo Spikes. Ball’s main concern is academics. He has a 2.0 core grade point average and has yet to take a college entrance exam.