'10 CT LB Khairi Fortt (Penn State Verbal)

[wadc45]

Rivals $

2/9

From the ND site...ND has offered, joining the like of Ohio State, Miami, Penn State and North Carolina...doesn't plan to narrow things down any time soon.

[wadc45]

Rivals $

2/12

From the USC site...recent offers are from Tennessee, Miami, Notre Dame and UVA...has been to Maryland, BC, Rutgers and UConn and plans to visit UVA this weekend followed by UNC, Duke and Notre Dame...will take all five visits and talks about his interest in the Trojans.

[OUatl]

so it sounds like he doesn't have much interest in us.....................

[MD Buckeye]

College Football Recruiting On the Trail 2009 - ESPN

Junior linebacker Khairi Fortt starting to heat up

ESPNU 150 watch list LB Khairi Fortt is fast becoming one of the most sought after player at his position for 2010, according to ESPN's Mike White.

As a junior the 6-2, 216 pound Fortt total 118 tackles and had four interceptions. Offers are rolling in with Ohio State, North Carolina, Boston College, Rutgers, UConn, Syracuse, Miami, Notre Dame and Tennessee schools that have offered already. This list is sure to grow as Fortt hits junior days and the camp circuit this spring.

Stating his "love of the intensity and competition", Fortt will be competing at the May 2nd Penn State NIKE Camp.

[wadc45]

Scout$ - Three Huge Offers for Khairi Fortt

2/25

By Matt Alkire. Khairi Fortt has received offers from Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Those three offers bring his scholarship total to 17, and he talks about each of the 3 SEC schools that just offered.

[wadc45]

Rivals $

3/9

From the OSU site...Florida, Georgia and Alabama have offered joining the likes of Ohio State, Notre Dame, Cal, Boston College, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, Penn State, Rutgers, Connecticut and others...hopes to narrow his list down to 10 by the end of May...talks about his interest in OSU and their tradition af putting LBs in the NFL.

[leroyjenkins]

Khairi Fortt Evaluation

Fortt is a strong, physically stout linebacker prospect and maybe one of the better projected strong side 'backers in this class. Has all the physical attributes you look for in the position. Tall, thickly-built with explosive power and functional strength. High-cut frame but still plays with good bend in his knees, flexibility and leverage. We would like to see him make quicker reads on the football between the tackles, but he still shows the good downhill burst to beat blockers to the point of attack and blow up the inside run. Can mirror with good short-area change-of-direction skill between the tackles. One of the better linebackers we have seen in this class at stalemating the cutoff block when reached at the second level and shedding demonstrating his impressive hand strength. Does tend to open up his whole body and will need to work slipping the blocks of bigger linemen at the next level. Flashes good lateral agility and hips pursuing outside of the tackles with direct angles to the ball. Long strider who covers a lot of ground quickly sideline-to-sideline. Closes on the ball carrier with good burst and velocity in space. Very strong, explosive tackler. However, he does flash some stiffness opening to turn and run on pursuit and in coverage. May struggle if matched up in space. Has some original wasted motion and we have concerns about his ability to consistently make plays inside-out on faster ball carriers at the next level. Not real reactive or fast-twitched. While he certainly shows good range and lateral agility for his size, physical tools and skill-set may be better suited in the short-range as a strong or inside 'backer. We question his competition at times but he physically dominates which is what you want to see happen.

Notes

2008: Recorded 118 tackles, four interceptions and five forced fumbles... Also recruited by: Also recruited by Alabama, Tennessee, UConn, North Carolina, Georgia, Syracuse, Maryland, Boston College, Cal, Rutgers...

Khairi Fortt - College Football Recruiting 2010 - ESPN

Posted by BK on BN

[wadc45]

Rivals (free) - Rivals100 LB is taking visits

[tonystarx]

Originally Posted by wadc45

Rivals (free) - Rivals100 LB is taking visits

"I'm also looking at football and trying to look for a school that isn't full of competitors. I want somewhere I can play. I don't want them to have 11 linebackers in front of me."

So does he not want to have to compete and bust his rear end to earn a starting job, or does he just prefer a shallow depth chart at LB? There's gonna be competition at every school so I guess we'll just see how that strategy pans out for the kid.

[Redhawk]

Offers come flooding in for Stamford's Fortt - The Advocate

The college offers have come fast and furious for Stamford linebacker Khairi Fortt.

The 6-3, 225 pound linebacker has received scholarship offers from over 20 schools, including some of the best known football programs in the nation, and schools in just about every major conference. He is the No. 1 recruit in the Northeast, according to Stamford football coach Kevin Jones, and one of the top recruits in the country.

"It's amazing, I'm excited for him,'' Jones said. "It's a unique story to have a kid from Stamford getting recruited like this."

Fortt said he is surprised by all the attention he has generated, which has intensified since he posted a highlight video on the Rivals.com Web site. The site is one of the top data bases on the recruiting of high school athletes.

"It's surprising because first it was Boston College, Rutgers and UConn,'' Fortt said. "I thought they'd be my only three choices. After the Nike camp, I started to get noticed a little bit more, and I started getting more contact with coaches. I got my highlight tape done and when they saw it on Rivals, that's when they all started coming."

The college suitors envision big things for Fortt, who had 118 tackles for Stamford last year. At 6-3 and 220 pounds, he's also quick and a punishing tackler.

"He's always been the biggest and the fastest and the strongest,'' Jones said. "He's a physical freak. When you put the film on him, he jumps out at you. By the end of his sophomore year he had offers from Boston College and UConn. Now it's how do you make a decision. The hardest part will be telling the other schools that you're not going to come there." Fortt's next task is culling his list. He said he wants to narrow it down to 10 or 12 schools by the end of May, and have it pared to five by the end of the scholastic football season.

"There's not one single biggest factor, but three factors,'' Fortt said. "The biggest factor is definitely academic. It also depends on the depth chart, I don't want to be like the 11th linebacker coming in. Also, I have to decide whether I want to stay close to home or go far away from home. I was thinking I'd like to play where it's warm, but there's a lot of teams that play football in cold weather."

Fortt, who said he plans to study aeronautical engineering and business, has received advice from other Stamford football players who have moved on to college. "They talk about college life and how the coaches are,'' Fortt said. "They tell me how it goes by pretty fast. By the time I'm getting to college, they'll be seniors. If I pick the right school to go for football and academics, I'll be set for my four years."

"It's going to come down for him to this: When it's the middle of winter, and football season is a long way away, where do you want to go to class?'' Jones said. "Where is it where you'll be comfortable going to class? You better like school you're at, or you'll be in a world of trouble."

Before Fortt make his choice, he has another season remaining with the Stamford High football team. With the offers flooding in, it would be easy for Fortt to coast until he reaches a college campus.

"I have to play hard,'' Fortt said. "First off, my team is counting on me. I'm a captain of the team, and younger players look up to the captain. I'm not going to be the lazy one. Last year, we went 6-5 but before that we were 2-8 and 1-9. We haven't been in our conference championship game in a long time, and I think this year we can get pretty close, if not win it." Jones is confident Fortt will have a big finish to his career for the Black Knights, even with all the attention he has received.

"They recruit on the quality of the kid, too,'' Jones said. "It's not just your athletic ability. If I thought he had character issues, and he would stop playing, I wouldn't have recommended him. He's a standup kid and he's never been in trouble."

Khairi Fortt's offer list: Big 10: Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan
Big East: UConn, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse
Pac-10: California, USC, UCLA
SEC: Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Auburn
ACC: Boston College, Duke, Maryland, Virginia, Miami, North Carolina
Independent: Notre Dame

[Redhawk]

YouTube - Khairi Fortt

[wadc45]

Rivals $

5/1

Starting to research the schools he is truly interested in...not hearing much from Ohio State and has an idea of what schools are going to get trimmed from the list...likely to commit in June or so.

I'll be shocked if he is not a Nittany Lion...

[Redhawk]

Originally Posted by wadc45

I'll be shocked if he is not a Nittany Lion...

Bill Kurelic: Overheard in Happy Valley - ESPN

One of the standouts from Saturday's Nike Football Training Camp at Penn State, linebacker Khairi Fortt (Stamford, Conn.), revealed that Penn State is one of his top choices -- perhaps his top choice at this point. Fortt has 27 scholarship offers including Penn State, Notre Dame, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio State, Rutgers, Tennessee, Virginia, Cal, Connecticut and Boston College.

When asked if Penn State has a realistic chance to be one of his official visits, Fortt said, "Yea, yea, they are definitely in my top three right now, actually my top visit right now."

Star trio to end up at Penn State?
Fortt, defensive end/linebacker Dakota Royer (Manheim, Pa./Central) and running back Silas Redd (Stamford, Conn./King) were seen together quite a bit on Saturday. The three have seemed to become pretty good friends and obviously enjoyed their time together.

Redd committed to Penn State on Sunday. Fortt has Penn State among his top choices and Royer has spoken highly of the Nittany Lions' program. After observing the three together on Saturday it would be anything but a surprise to see all three eventually commit to Joe Paterno. That would be quite a coup for the legendary coach.

[OregonBuckeye]

Originally Posted by wadc45

Rivals $

5/1

Starting to research the schools he is truly interested in...not hearing much from Ohio State and has an idea of what schools are going to get trimmed from the list...likely to commit in June or so.

I'll be shocked if he is not a Nittany Lion...

Free article.

[billmac91]

as much crap as JoePa takes (literally and figuratively), his assitsnats are doing a great job of recruiting. From experience with FSU, I think PSU does a better job navigating the circumstances of a figure-head who does nothing but cling to a historic past.