By now, many of you surely have realized that St. Louis High offensive lineman Reeve Koehler, of Honolulu, did not actually announce his college decision at last weekend’s U.S. Army All-Star Game.
He still hasn’t, in fact, and there are a couple of reasons why.
First, he’s still taking and scheduling visits. What once looked like a lock for Tennessee, quickly became wide open when the Volunteers fired coach Derek Dooley after the season and that created a situation where Koehler, who has more than a dozen BCS offers, had to “begin” the recruiting process a little later than most.
Tennessee remains in the mix for Koehler, whose size varies depending upon which web site you’re looking at (Rivals.com lists him at 6-foot-3, 280 pounds and ESPN lists him at 6-4, 320), but the Vols appear to be a longshot at this point. Several recruiting services have reported that Koehler’s finalists are Arkansas and Kansas.
Koehler is expected to take an official visit to Arkansas on Jan. 18, when he will meet with new Hogs head coach Brett Bielema. The four-star offensive guard visited Kansas in November.
During the time that Koehler pushed back his decision, St. Louis teammate, Colton Goeas, a linebacker, orally committed to the Jayhawks. It was believed by many throughout the recruiting process that Goeas and Koehler were a packaged deal. Both seemed headed to Tennessee before Dooley’s departure. Now, the possibility exists that the two will go their separate ways. But that’s not for a lack of Goeas trying.
Shortly after committing to KU, Goeas talked about trying to get Koehler on board.
“I already started recruiting him after I made the call to (KU) coach (Charlie) Weis,” Goeas told Jon Kirby of JayhawkSlant.com. “I’m going to try and convince him to go with me.”
Many believe that the Razorbacks will be tough to beat for Koehler’s services, but the talented lineman has said all along that KU had done a wonderful job of recruiting him and that the Jayhawks were very legit contenders.
The bottom line at this point appears to be this: If Koehler makes a decision before Jan. 18, the Jayhawks would be in great shape. If he waits until after his Arkansas visit, the whole thing is wide open.
KU has just a couple of spots open — and only four weeks remaining — to fill the 2013 recruiting class. National signing day is set for Feb. 6.
Stay tuned…
