"I'm wide open right now," said Alaeze. "I'm sitting down with my coach, deciding which schools I'll visit. I've got to coordinate with (Randallstown CB) Jamari McCollough where we'll take our visits. If I visit somewhere, Jamari comes too. If Jamari visits a school, I'll be there as well. We go everywhere together. We're hoping to be able to go to the same college.

"I know Chris Varner (FR CB) at Maryland--he went to my high school--and he says it isn't what he expected, that it's tougher than he thought it would be. He said everyone there is on the weight program, strong and everything, and that I should work hard this year as if I was already in college.

"Maryland's recruiting me the hardest. I would say that Maryland is probably one of my favorite schools. But I haven't even taken any visits yet. Penn St is the only campus I've ever been to and I only went there for a combine.

"Some schools, because of my weight, want to put me at tackle. I don't want that; I want to play end. I talked to the USC DL coach (Ed Orgeron), and he said they want to recruit me at DE. He said that most schools don't have a guy with the combination of my size and speed playing DE.

"USC was my first offer, back in March. I was actually shocked when I got it…they're the national champs--plus they're all the way out on the west coast. I also like coach Bill O'Brien at Maryland. He is straightforward with me on the whole recruiting process and how it can get crazy.

"Virginia, Florida State, Georgia and Texas are schools that haven't offered me, but if they did I would be interested in them."

"All the schools that have offered me have been impressive. I'm looking at the type of defenses that schools run. I might like to play in a 4-4 defense, where speed is a big factor. Miami, Virginia, North Carolina State and USC all look pretty good on defense.

"I don't really feel any pressure to stay in-state.

"With my size, I can run through most linemen. With my speed, I can track down RBs on the outside. I've got good hands, so I can cover too. I enjoy rushing the passer most, because it's just fun.

Melvin will camp twice this summer, and says that Maryland is the only camp he is sure about attending this year.

His mother, Theresa, backs-up Melvin's claim open-minded stance. "We really don't have a place we want him to go to," said Theresa. "We just want him to go to a place that will help him pay attention to his academics. He should also choose a place that has caring people.

"The distance away he goes isn't on my list. It should just be a place that provides him with what he needs. I have to be up front with you. He doesn't have any favorite, I don't think. He hasn't told me about it and hasn't really given it much consideration yet."

55 tackles/15 sacks

3.3/790/June 5 SAT re-take