Massillon seniors still have decisions to make on colleges

MASSILLON  The days of Jason Hall coaching the seniors on his Massillon football team are over on the field. The days of Hall coaching the Class of 2013 off the field, well, that’s something he hopes never comes to an end.

“I hope to just constantly be a mentor to them, just in their process of picking schools, being a good mentor to them for a long time to come,” Hall said this week, after his team wrapped up an 11-2 season. “We have guys who come around, and they are having hard times, we are a resource for them always. They’re our kids. We expect them to come around whenever they’re in town and show their faces, because they did a great job representing Massillon.”

Nowhere is Hall’s role as a mentor expected to be more important for his seniors over the next few months than when it comes to their decisions on what to do after graduation. While not every senior will go on to attend college, a large percentage of the group figures to be headed off somewhere to continue their educational — and in many instances, football — careers.

Hall considers this part of his job to be just as important as what he does between the lines of the football field. And he tries to make sure the seniors understand that it isn’t just what goes on between the lines on the football field that should impact their eventual college choices.

“All of that stuff will be in full effect from now until the end of March for some of these guys,” Hall said. “The next four months will be a total time with them; going to universities with their families, looking at majors, looking at the social aspect — do they fit in? Do they like the football aspect if they’re doing football?

“We try to tell them to look at the academic-social thing, and do you fit in? Is it a school you like and do they have your majors, and then decide which one, with football, is the best fit.”

Last spring, Gareon Conley thought he had found the best fit for him when he made a verbal commitment to the University of Michigan to play cornerback for the Wolverines. However, since then, as Conley’s star has risen as a wide receiver, so has the interest in him from other major college programs, including Ohio State and Oregon.

Conley, who is unofficially visiting Ohio State for today’s rivalry with Michigan, has essentially re-opened his recruitment and is trying to re-assess exactly where his final destination will be. It’s a decision he’s planning on taking his time with over the next couple of months.

“I don’t really have a timetable,” Conley said this week. “I just have to take visits.”

One other Tiger has already announced his verbal commitment to a FBS Division I program, as Kyle Kempt said in April that he would be attending the University of Cincinnati. However, even Kempt has left a little wiggle room that he could change his mind, something any recruit can do prior to signing a National Letter of Intent in February.

Kempt acknowledged there could be circumstances which would lead him to back away from the Bearcats. One possibility lies in Cincinnati head coach Butch Jones, who has been mentioned as a possible candidate at a couple of vacant Southeastern Conference football programs.

“There’s a number of things that could happen before signing day in February,” Kempt said. “I’ve got my options open. I’m still committed to Cincinnati, but you have to look at it realistically as a prospect.”

Kentrell Taylor is one of the first Tiger seniors who will find his way to Hall’s office next week to begin the process of sorting through the variety of options. The linebacker has been on the radar for many Division I programs for some time, and already has offers from Mid-American Conference schools Bowling Green, Buffalo, Kent State and Toledo.

However, Taylor acknowledged the academic side of things could eventually push him to go down a different path. He mentioned Columbia, an FCS Division I (formerly Division I-AA) Ivy League member, and Air Force as possibilities.

“If I don’t get any bigger schools football-wise, I’m going to put my grades above football,” Taylor admitted this week. “Obviously, I’m going to still go and play football, but as far as Columbia, Air Force or all of those schools. Air Force called my school (Tuesday) asking to release my transcripts to them. ... Time will tell. Everybody’s path is different.”

But it’s a path Hall is hoping all of his seniors examine their options on before deciding which one to take.