Decisions for TBT’s Speights, Hickman, going to the wire

Posted Jan 27, 2010 by Bill Ward

Updated Jan 27, 2010 at 02:17 PM

Tampa Bay Tech defensive standouts Greg “Buster” Hickman and Jerome Speights will make their final recruiting visits this weekend, with both travelling to Bowling Green, Ky., to meet with coaches and players from Western Kentucky University.

The 6-foot-1, 255-pound Hickman has already made visits to Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University. In December, he made a verbal commitment to FIU but decided to continue with the recruiting process and take visits to select schools who made him offers.

Speights, a 6-0, 180-pound safety, has offers from New Mexico, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky. He’s been to each of those schools except WKU.

Despite a report on a recruiting service’s web site that claims Speights has verbally committed to New Mexico, Titans coach C.C. Culpepper says Speights has yet to take that step. In fact, Culpepper said he has been impressed with how studious Speights has been during his recruitment.

“He’s really impressed me with how he asks the colleges all the right questions, like ‘If I get injured, will I still be on scholarship, will my parents have to pay anything,’ or ‘What percentage of your players graduate,’ ” Culpepper said.

Culpepper added that Speights is ready for the recruiting process to end.

“He told me last night ‘Coach, I’m tired of it—the trips, the people coming to my house, the phone calls, everything,’ ” Culpepper said. “I think he’s ready to make his decision but he’s diligent and wants to take this last trip.”

Photos: (top) Greg Hickman hauls down runningback Amonty Dellsca of Freedom; (bottom) Jerome Speights puts a hit on Armwood quarterback Josh Grady. Photos by Bill Ward.