I was able to have an extended conversation with Roddie McIlwain this morning, father of Council Rock North QB Brandon McIlwain. Ricky Rahne made his way to Brandon's school on Wednesday, then visited with Brandon and his family at their home last night.
"We really enjoyed the conversation," said Mr. McIlwain. "It was a great visit, very productive. It lasted for awhile, but it went fast because it was very informative and we enjoyed catching up with Coach Rahne."
As is always the case with in-home visits, Rahne hit on a little bit of everything, but there were a few key points to the discussion, one of which was baseball. I've posted this before, but for those of you that may have missed it, Franklin and his staff are fine with Brandon playing baseball. He and his father have also met with PSU's baseball staff in the past to discuss specifics, but they hit on all of that again last night.
"Football would definitely come first. During the spring, he'd be expected to be at all of the spring practices, but could travel with the team for games on the weekends. With him being a quarterback, that'll have most of his focus, but they believe they can make it work and Brandon absolutely wants to play baseball in college, so it sounds like this will all work out if he decides to make that switch (from South Carolina)."
For those of you that follow my Twitter account, you may have seen a list that I posted the other night for the top 2016 MLB draft picks. McIlwain is currently projected to go in the first round, so I asked his father about their interactions with the MLB scouts so far and how that's weighing into Brandon's decision.
"We've had a ton on MLB teams come in and talk to us about baseball. We've had everything from the regional guys to the national directors, so that's been great. But they've been honest about the situation. If Brandon were to play (baseball) in college, these scouts are still going to follow him, so it's not like he has to make this decision (baseball or football) now. He can still play both sports in college and make that decision down the road, so that's the direction he's headed for now."
I also asked Mr. McIlwain about what they discussed when it comes to the new offensive coordinator. They didn't hit on any specific candidates or anything like that, but he did elaborate on what Franklin is looking for.
"We talked about the offense and the type of offensive coordinator. Rahne was saying that they're looking for someone that has experience with the spread and also the pro scheme.
"He said that they think Brandon could run a system similar to what Russell Wilson ran in college. He was saying that they want him to look down the field and look to make the pass more often than not, but if needed, he can make a play with his feet."
Multiple schools have shown interest in McIlwain in recent weeks, but this is ultimately going to come down to either Penn State or South Carolina. S. Carolina offensive coordinator G.A. Magnus came to their home on Tuesday and once a head coach is hired, Brandon is expected be one of, if not the first player he visits.
Ricky Rahne is also expected to return to the McIlwain home with James Franklin next Wednesday, Dec. 9. Franklin wants to get Brandon on camps next weekend, Dec. 11-13, for an official visit, so that's one of the main topics they'll discuss during this upcoming in-home visit.
As of now, it's still unclear when Brandon will make a final decision, but I do believe it could come as soon as next week.
"We really enjoyed the conversation," said Mr. McIlwain. "It was a great visit, very productive. It lasted for awhile, but it went fast because it was very informative and we enjoyed catching up with Coach Rahne."
As is always the case with in-home visits, Rahne hit on a little bit of everything, but there were a few key points to the discussion, one of which was baseball. I've posted this before, but for those of you that may have missed it, Franklin and his staff are fine with Brandon playing baseball. He and his father have also met with PSU's baseball staff in the past to discuss specifics, but they hit on all of that again last night.
"Football would definitely come first. During the spring, he'd be expected to be at all of the spring practices, but could travel with the team for games on the weekends. With him being a quarterback, that'll have most of his focus, but they believe they can make it work and Brandon absolutely wants to play baseball in college, so it sounds like this will all work out if he decides to make that switch (from South Carolina)."
For those of you that follow my Twitter account, you may have seen a list that I posted the other night for the top 2016 MLB draft picks. McIlwain is currently projected to go in the first round, so I asked his father about their interactions with the MLB scouts so far and how that's weighing into Brandon's decision.
"We've had a ton on MLB teams come in and talk to us about baseball. We've had everything from the regional guys to the national directors, so that's been great. But they've been honest about the situation. If Brandon were to play (baseball) in college, these scouts are still going to follow him, so it's not like he has to make this decision (baseball or football) now. He can still play both sports in college and make that decision down the road, so that's the direction he's headed for now."
I also asked Mr. McIlwain about what they discussed when it comes to the new offensive coordinator. They didn't hit on any specific candidates or anything like that, but he did elaborate on what Franklin is looking for.
"We talked about the offense and the type of offensive coordinator. Rahne was saying that they're looking for someone that has experience with the spread and also the pro scheme.
"He said that they think Brandon could run a system similar to what Russell Wilson ran in college. He was saying that they want him to look down the field and look to make the pass more often than not, but if needed, he can make a play with his feet."
Multiple schools have shown interest in McIlwain in recent weeks, but this is ultimately going to come down to either Penn State or South Carolina. S. Carolina offensive coordinator G.A. Magnus came to their home on Tuesday and once a head coach is hired, Brandon is expected be one of, if not the first player he visits.
Ricky Rahne is also expected to return to the McIlwain home with James Franklin next Wednesday, Dec. 9. Franklin wants to get Brandon on camps next weekend, Dec. 11-13, for an official visit, so that's one of the main topics they'll discuss during this upcoming in-home visit.
As of now, it's still unclear when Brandon will make a final decision, but I do believe it could come as soon as next week.
