Mike Love, Countryside 2013 prospect is the second rated defensive end in the Tampa Bay Area. Highly recruited, but lost interest because of struggles in the classroom much of his high school career and did not take academics seriously until it was almost too late.

Below, Love talks about his favorite schools and how he is recovering academically.

Temple – “I like Temple so far. I haven’t been up there yet. But have been talking with the coaches and they have been telling me a lot about it. They has been telling me what position I will play. I’ll probably get some playing time early. I like the vibe they are giving me”.

Central Florida – “I Like them a lot. Been there a few times. They like me as a academic student and as a football player. The coaches are great. I can see myself being a good dominant player on their defense”.

Louisville – “I talk to them sometimes. Communication has not been as good as it should be. But I like Charlie Strong a lot. He is a good coach. I talk to him every once and a while. He is a good man and smart with his stuff. I like what they are doing right now. Good program”.

West Virginia – “Coach Slaughter is the recruiting guy for our area and I am already building a good relationship with him. Everything he is telling me is stuff I can look forward to and something I can strive for”.

Nebraska – “A couple of months ago, I just started talking to them. They keep contacting me and stuff. They stay on top of me. Former Countryside teammate, Tyler Moore went there and he told me a few days ago it is good up there, just cold and what not. They are great coaches. They help you out academics wise”.

Will distance be a factor?
Mike Love: At first it kinda did. Like when I started getting recruited and stuff. I kinda wanted to stay close to home. Then I realized it’s free education. It’s a blessing. It’s not like I’m going to stay there forever.

Other factors?
– college major
– graduation rate
– want a good degree

Recruiting him as…
– Some are recruiting Love as a stand up DE.
– Others, traditional DE
“It won’t matter to me. I just want to play football. If they get me bigger, I would love to play DE. Just put my hand in the ground and go get it”.

IF USF comes on late…
Would you be interested? “I’m not going to say naw, because they did the right thing at the point [not recruiting me heavy or verbal offer]. His grades are not right, he shouldn’t be offered a scholarship. I’ll accept that because it is the truth. And to be real, my grades were not right. But if they came on strong, I think they would be in my top 5. USF kept it real with me”.

In his own words
“If I would have known how serious it was, I wouldn’t have slipped up or nothin. People told me you gotta get and keep these grade up Mike. I didn’t believe them until I started getting offers. I was like, I’m getting offers now and my grades are like this, I should be alright. People make bad decisions, but I’m on a roll right now”.