[GoRU]

'I definitely want to get out of Virginia,' LB says -- dailypress.com

After logging a combined total of 228 tackles in his sophomore and junior high school seasons and earning all-state honors both years, linebacker Jerod Askew shouldn't have much left to prove.

That's not the way the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech saw it. From the perspectives of both of those coaching staffs, there must've been something missing.

Askew, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound recruit from Oscar Smith High in Chesapeake, isn't losing much sleep over it, and he really shouldn't with the list of powerhouses that do have an interest in him.

UVa hasn't offered a scholarship to Askew, who is considered by most recruiting analysts to be the best linebacker in the state and one of the top 15 linebackers in the nation. Tech offered Askew, but the offer didn't come until early this year.

Askew's response to the late — or lack of — attention from Tech and UVa? No worries. He'll go where he's wanted.

"I kind of moved on from (Tech and UVa) when I broke my offers down to five schools," said Askew, who had 14 sacks last season.

He's down to West Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina and Maryland.

Askew already has a visit to West Virginia scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 26. He plans to visit the other four finalists before making a decision in late December or early January.

In narrowing his list down to five, Askew eliminated offers from several other elite schools. Clemson, Michigan and Oklahoma all offered him.

Askew hasn't qualified, but he's close. His grade-point average is allegedly very solid, and he said he came just a few points away from getting a qualifying score in his first attempt at the SAT.