SI99 Prospect Xavian Sorey on Decision Timeline, Potential Package Deal
BRADENTON, Fla. -- As Xavian Sorey works back from a foot injury ahead of his senior season debut, even more questions loom on his recruitment.
The Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy standout currently holds a top five of "Florida, Georgia, 'Bama, LSU and Auburn," but breaking that group down further just got a bit tougher with the NCAA extending the recruiting dead period through the remainder of 2020.
It means no traditional campus or game visits or in-person coaching contact of any kind.
"We just found out like two days ago...dang!" he said. "Can't go to games and stuff, that's really what I've been waiting on, just to get a feel for it."
Sorey says he plans on seeing some campuses on his own "to vibe with the players" as has been done at Oklahoma, Georgia and LSU in the last month or so. None of those impending trips have a confirmed date just yet.
"Just to refresh everything, it's been a long time since we've been on visits," he said.
LSU is the only campus experience the SI99 member, ranked as the nation's No. 2 linebacker prospect, has yet to take in on a thorough, tour-included scale within his top five. He says otherwise the campus experiences are each similar between the contenders, all in the SEC because of the NFL pipeline each program has succeeded with at the linebacker position.
Also set to graduate in December and enroll at his college choice in January, the final evaluations between contenders will be limited to virtual contact and experiences.
Another factor in the decision is fellow SI99 Floridian Terrion Arnold, the versatile defensive back looking at similar programs.
It turns out that's no accident.
"We've known each other from a little minute," Sorey said. "He's from Tallahassee and I'm from Campbellton, Florida, that's like 40 minutes away. We're real close. We FaceTime all the time, we go on visits together, stuff like that.
"So we plan on going to the same school together."
Sorey, now up to 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, could make a public decision at the All-American Bowl in January. He expects to return to game action "next week or the week after that."
IMG is 2-0 after defeating Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater 48-7 Thursday evening.
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