It's Cincinnati for OL Dalton
Woodstock (Ill.) Marian Central Catholic three star ranked offensive tackle senior Luke Dalton (6-foot-5, 300 pounds) decided to give the University of Cincinnati his verbal commitment and made his decision public today via his Twitter account. Dalton talks about his decision to pledge to the University of Cincinnati Bearcats here.
"I've been wearing different T-Shirts all this week around town trying to keep people guessing," Dalton said. "I actually committed to Cincinnati last Thursday but wanted time to talk to some of the other coaches who had been recruiting me and let them know my decision."
Dalton filled us in on why he decided to end his recruiting process and give the Cincinnati Bearcats his verbal commitment.
"I had visited many different places and the whole process was was starting to get frustrating a bit. My Mom and I talked about everything and she said that I needed to have faith and that I would find a college that would be the right place for me. I definitely was starting to lose faith. Once my Dad and I visited Cincinnati I told him even before they offered me that "Mom was right." I found the right place for me at Cincinnati. Cincinnati is such a great program and offers everything I was looking for in a school. They work hard, the program keeps getting better and better and I want to be a part of that excitement around Cincinnati football."
After his recent on campus visit, Dalton did take a few days to think about his final decision but all roads pointed to the University of Cincinnati.
"After the visit to Cincinnati I took a few days to look harder at everything. In the end everything just felt great for me at Cincinnati. The entire staff was on the call when they offered me which was really exciting. They said they couldn't believe I was the same person they saw in personal workouts compared to what they saw from me on my junior video. They are really excited about me and I'm also excited about the opportunity at Cincinnati. Cincinnati is exactly where I need to be and I couldn't see myself passing up the offer from them. I also looked hard at Liberty and coach Hugh Freeze is a great coach and person. They also have a lot of positives going on at Liberty which I was attracted towards including a similar approach and mindset that I also saw at Cincinnati. In the end, Cincinnati just felt more like home to me and it's just the better all around fit."
Dalton, who was considered the "next man up" on multiple recruiting depth charts is now thrilled to no longer have to wait for his opportunity.
"I was always the next guy up for a lot of the Power 5 schools. It really started to make me question myself on a lot of things and wondered if I was on the right track. It was tough at times but I overcame it by just working hard and believing. The overall timing for me is perfect to make my decision. I will announce my commitment on Sunday then the very next day I'll start practices for my senior season. I'm ready to go and now that recruiting is dome I can just focus on my senior season.. It feels great to not be the next guy up anymore."
Luke Dalton is verbally committed to Cincinnati.