Many football recruits greatly value forming a relationship with their position coaches. For Northwest Mississippi Community College defensive tackle Jerome McClain, he already has that with IU.
New Defensive Ends Coach Jon Fabris coached the defensive line at Northwest Mississippi last season, including McClain. The two still talk regularly and it has made the prospect of McClain heading to IU after his next season more appealing.
"Having good chemistry with him and knowing how he coaches and how he is about football plays a bigger role in me actually choosing that school," McClain said.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 290-pound tackle has gathered offers from IU, South Alabama and Big Ten foe Minnesota, as well as drawing interest from Florida Atlantic and South Florida. As of now, though, McClain has his eyes on just two of the schools.
"I'm looking at Minnesota in the same light as I'm looking at IU," McClain said. "Pretty much right now, I'm only looking at those two, seeing as they're both in the Big Ten."
McClain is looking primarily at a school's football program, as he comes from a military background and is used to moving around constantly. He has also lived in Washington, so cold weather that visits Minnesota or Indiana during the winter doesn't bother him.
He talked Friday with Fabris about setting up a tentative visit to IU, but when his next football season starts, he is going to do all he can to refrain from thinking about his next college search.
"It gets a little distracting," McClain said, laughing. "I have great parents who are going to keep me focused on what I need to do. It's kind of easy to get off focus with all the stuff that goes around football, but I know that my main focus is playing football, so without that, all this other stuff wouldn't even matter"
