While several schools already have hosted a few recruits for official visits and several others have garnered verbal commitments from prospects, the vast majority of recruiting will be done over the next three months.

National Signing Day, Feb. 3, is fast approaching.

And most of the nation's top prospects have yet to make a college decision.

But that will soon change. It changes as more and more recruits begin taking their official visits.

"I've waited most of my life to take my official visits," said blue-chip linebacker Bradie James (Monroe, La.) who is considering LSU, Tennessee, Florida, Texas A&M, Notre Dame and Arkansas among others.

"Ever since I've been playing football and heard about recruiting, it's kind of what I've been pointing to. I look at it as a reward for all my hard work."

Of course, the official visits are not exactly sight-seeing tours.

The recruits are poked and prodded, and they listen to academic counselors tell them about the importance of education.

But they're also coddled, fed like kings and given the virtual key to the city in some cases.

Stanford has even been known to issue recruits golf carts to roam around the campus. At Boston College, recruits eat huge lobsters.

"It should all be about having fun," said James. "Shoot, I was kind of hoping Hawaii would call me. I would schedule an official visit with them in a heartbeat."

Now a look at commitments and newsworthy items for conference's nationwide:

ACC

North Carolina State is reaping the rewards of its season with some early recruiting success. The Wolfpack garnered commitments from four players within the last 10 days.

Tight end Greg Wells II (Charlottesville, Va.), quarterback Jatavis Sanders (Stone Mountain, Ga.), defensive end Lee Tornabene (Canonsburg, Pa.) and defensive back J.J. Washington (Stone Mountain, Ga.) have pledged to attend N.C. State.

However, two of the commitments come with strings attached.

"I'm still going to go see Notre Dame," said Sanders, who is slated to visit the South Bend, Ind., campus on Dec. 4. "The Notre Dame quarterback coach (Mike Sanford) called me right after I committed to N.C. State and told me how they still really wanted me to visit. So that's what I'm going to do."

Tornabene also is considering another school.

"I promised the North Carolina coaches that I would go down there and visit them for the Duke game," said Tornabene. "It's only an 'unofficial' visit, and I definitely committed to N.C. State."

Virginia earned its fifth pledge from 6-4, 225-pound defensive end Stanley Norfleet (Charlotte, N.C.) of Independence High.

Florida State plans to play host to several official visitors for this week's game with Florida. Expected to be in attendance are running back Cedric Cobbs (Little Rock, Ark.), linebackers T.J. Duckett (Kalamazoo, Mich.) and Jason Frederick (Houston, Tex.) and quarterback Gary Brashears (Clarksville, Ark.).

Big East

Miami has made a strong recruiting run in the past two weeks. The Hurricanes received commitments from four players, each from talent-rich South Florida. Topping the list is Maurice Sikes (Miami, Fla.) of Pace High.

Sikes has played running back, receiver and defensive back on the prep level, but figures to be a flanker in college.

Sikes chose the 'Canes over Ohio State and Florida.

"I just think Miami's going to be back where they were, and I want to be a part of that," Sikes said of his decision.

Sikes' "back to where they were" sentiments are being echoed by several other of the area's top prospects, like lineman Vernon Carey (Miami, Fla.) of Northwestern and receiver Andre Johnson (Miami, Fla.) of Miami High. Neither Johnson nor Carey have committed yet, but list the 'Canes as the favorites for their services.

Other than Sikes, running back Julian Battle (Wellington, Fla.), lineman Jim Sikora (Marathon, Fla.) and fullback Talib Humphrey (Miami, Fla.) also committed to Miami.

Big Ten

Michigan added to its list of commitment with pledges from two top Midwest prospects. Running back Fred Russell (Romulus, Mich.) and Andy Mignery (Hamilton, Ohio) pledged to the Wolverines on Sunday.

Russell, a 5-9, 185-pound tailback rushed for 2,204 yards and 42 touchdowns this season. He chose Michigan over Michigan State and Kansas.

Mignery was recruited by the Wolverines to play quarterback. However, several other schools offered Mignery a scholarship as an "athlete". At 6-5, 225 pounds some felt Mignery would be the ideal tight end.

"Tennessee talked to me about moving positions, and that didn't really appeal to me," said Mignery. "I've been a quarterback for a long time and I at least want the chance to prove I can play it in college."

The pledges give Michigan its 10th and 11th commitments of the recruiting campaign.

The Wolverines' in-state rival Michigan State also picked up two pledges recently, linemen Demarco Monroe (Evansville, Ind.) and Josh Lenaburg (Medina, Ohio). Monroe was heavily recruited.

Tennessee, North Carolina, Northwestern and Kentucky were among the schools to offer him a scholarship.

Penn State has landed its eighth pledge. Running back Ricky Upton (Dandridge, Tenn.), who set his conference's rushing record with 1,886 this year, selected the Nittany Lions over Wisconsin, N.C. State and Clemson.

Upton, who is 6-0, 225 pounds, will get a chance at tailback in State College, Pa., but many expect him to eventually become a talented fullback for Joe Paterno.

Shane Lehmann (Corona, Calif.), Alex Jackson (Quincy, Fla.) and Nick Johnson (Cottonwood, Ariz.) are all expected to make official visits to Ohio State this weekend for their game tilt with Michigan. All three are among the nation's top offensive linemen.

Big 12

The great-great nephew of Olympian Jim Thorpe, Jon Hawk (Denver, Colo.) has committed to Colorado.

"I've heard some little stories about him," Hawk said of his famous relative. "But I didn't know he was that big of a deal."

Hawk himself is a "big" deal. The 6-5, 275-pound two-way lineman selected the Buffs over Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa and Purdue. He canceled visits he had scheduled to Oklahoma and Kansas.

Hawk is the second Mullen High prospect to pledge to CU. Center Vince Mitchell (Denver, Colo.) committed over the summer.

Another center recently committed. Eric South (Bellville, Tex.), a 6-4, 245-pound center, has pledged to Baylor.

South is the Bears' second commitment of the campaign, selecting Baylor over Texas A&M and Rice.

Running back Kenny Hayter (Houston, Tex.) has committed to Texas, but says he intends on making official visits elsewhere. Hayter travels to LSU on Dec. 4, Miami on Dec. 11 and UCLA on Dec. 18. Hayter said he also plans to visit Texas A&M and Texas in January.

Hayter finished a sterling senior season with 1,603 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns.

Pac-10

Arizona State grabbed two commitments last week-one they took away from conference foe Cal. Punter Michael Barth (Phoenix, Ariz.) had previously committed to Cal, but decided to opt for ASU instead.

"Basically, I changed because I wanted to stay here close to my family," Barth said. Barth also credited Sun Devil head coach Bruce Snyder with the change of fortune.

Lineman Nick Johnson (Cottonwood, Ariz.) said he was "silently committed" to Arizona State for at least a last month before the cat got out of the bag late last week.

Johnson still took an official visit to Oregon this past weekend, but that didn't change his mind upon his return.

"I thought Oregon was really nice, but I don't see myself going anywhere except ASU," said Johnson.

Even though Johnson has openly committed to Arizona State, Ohio State is not backing away. Johnson says the Buckeyes still want him to make an official visit to their campus this weekend for the Ohio State-Michigan tilt.

Washington coaches may be logging more frequent flyer miles than any other school, at least their commitments make it seem as much. The Huskies recently landed their third verbal commitment with Adam Seerey (Albuqueque, N.M.). Seerey, who is 6-2, 190 pounds, plays quarterback and defensive back for El Dorado High.

With Seerey from New Mexico and the other two pledges from Idaho and Texas, it's likely no other team has traveled as far from home for its first three commitments.

Cal is expecting at least two official visitors for the Big Game with Stanford this week. Defensive back Nnamdi Asomugha (Los Angeles, Calif.) and running back Akil Harris (Monrovia, Calif.) are scheduled to attend.

Quarterback Chris Lewis (Long Beach, Calif.) has committed to Stanford and will not take any other visits. Lewis visited the Stanford campus on Nov. 6 and returned home with his decision already made.

"I think Stanford's where I need to be. It has the academics I want. The people there were particularly good on my visit. And my sister's there, that really made a big difference," said Lewis. Lewis' sister plays volleyball for the Cardinal.

Lewis' teammate, wide receiver Kareem Kelly (Long Beach, Calif.) has committed to USC but intends on taking a couple of other visits. Kelly has scheduled Ohio State for Jan. 8 and Colorado for Jan. 15.

SEC

Sure defensive back William Henderson of Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College is a good player. But did Georgia offer a scholarship to Henderson in order to try to insure the signature of Henderson's cousin, receiver Reggie Brown (Carrollton, Ga.)?

Like many insiders, Brown, who is possibly the top prospect in the state of Georgia, isn't sure. But he is glad for his cousin.

"We've talked about maybe going to the same school in the past," said Brown. "It's not something we said we were always going to do or anything, but it's definitely something we've talked about. Let's just put it this way, William going there (to Georgia) is a feather in Georgia's cap."

Brown, whose season ended two weeks ago when he broke a fibula, is also considering Tennessee, Ohio State, Florida, Kentucky and Purdue.

Alabama has received a pledge from small school standout Brandon Greer (Rainbow City, Ala.). Greer, a wide receiver, has put up some astounding numbers. Through 10 games, Greer had 57 receptions for 1,570 yards and 28 touchdowns for Westbrook Christian Academy.

Running back Cedric Cobbs (Little Rock, Ark.) was scheduled to make an official visit to Tennessee last weekend for the Vols' game with Arkansas. Cobbs had made an official visit to Arkansas the week before.

But the Vols canceled Cobbs' visit at the last minute.

"They just called and said they were going to have to cancel," Cobbs said of the call that arrived on Friday. Cobbs has narrowed his choices to Arkansas, Florida State, Georgia, Nebraska and Texas A&M.

Cobbs plans to make an official visit to Florida State this weekend, and also is slated to see Georgia on Dec. 11.

Last note: Kentucky hosted six official visitors for their game with Vanderbilt. Among those attending were high school linemen Vernon Carey (Miami, Fla.), Alex Jackson (Quincy, Fla.) and Casey Shelton (West Des Moines, Iowa).

Shelton's player host on Friday and Saturday was Artie Steinmetz. Steinmetz died tragically on Sunday morning in a car accident. Shelton apparently was already on his way back to West Des Moines when the accident occurred.

Bobby Burton is editor of The National Recruiting Advisor. To subscribe, dial toll-free 1-888-TNRA-NOW or 888-867-2669 (seven issues for $59, plus regional newsletters for an additional $20 per region). For the latest on your favorite college, dial 1-900-933-7776. The cost is $1.59 per minute (must be 18 or have parents' permission).