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Darren Myles Jr. met in Baton Rouge on Sunday with LSU head coach Les Miles, who reaffirmed his scholarship offer to safety from Carver of Atlanta.
Myles Jr. then reaffirmed his desire to wait until after his high school season before making a decision but said that LSU was among his handful of favorites.
“Coach Miles told us that safety is a position of need, that he likes his ability to come up and force the run and he felt like he can help right away,” Darren Myles Sr., the player’s father and high school coach, said by phone from Baton Rouge. “He told us he was willing to take his commitment right now. Then he paused.”
And Myles Jr. did not answer.
“The [Miles] followed with, ‘Of course, you don’t have to make a decision now.’ Darren knows not to say anything. We’ve got an understanding. It’s not going to be a surprise. So I said, ‘At this time, we’re not going to commit. But of course, you stand right up there at the top. If we did a top five, you’d be in there. But to commit now is not something we’re ready to do.’ ”
Myles Jr. is rated the No. 5 safety nationally by Rivals.com and No. 12 by Scout.com. He was among several high-end recruits visiting LSU this weekend. Others included linebacker Jarvis Jones of Carver-Columbus, cornerback Branden Smith of Washington and quarterback Russell Shepard of Houston, who is committed to LSU. Myles spent much of his time with Smith, his rival from Atlanta city schools.
Myles Sr. said this was his son’s sixth unofficial visit to a top school. He also has seen Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia and Georgia Tech. He also wants to visit Ohio State and West Virginia, but those probably will not come until the fall as official visits, Myles Sr. said.
Myles Sr. grew up in Louisiana and attended Douglass High of New Orleans and was recruited by LSU in football before going to Purdue. Myles Sr. came to Atlanta’s Douglass High in 1996, when Myles Jr. was 6. But Myles Sr. said that his family’s ties to Louisiana would be no factor in his son’s decision.
“He hasn’t been there since he was 6,” Myles Sr. said. “Darren’s 17 now. Just because we’re from New Orleans, it’s not a shoo-in. It’s what they offer him now as a football player and student-athlete. It has to be a good situation.”