“It was real cool,” Szakacsy said. “They took us around campus and showed us all of the facilities. I talked with Coach Sarkisian for an hour after and it went real well. He said I’m six throws away from an offer. He said they want to see me throw at a camp and it will only take six throws. It was a real good day and like I said, I got to speak to Sark for a long time and establish a good relationship with him. He also said he and Pete Carroll will watch me throw at my school a couple of times this month.”
The day began with a ritual all athletes never tire of.
“We signed up and then we ate,” Szakacsy said as he laughed. “After we ate, we toured the campus, the weight room and other areas. Then we went into an auditorium and they showed a movie of the highlights from last season, and that was real awesome. They put together a real good movie and that fired us all up.
“When the movie ended, Pete Carroll was talking about what it takes to play in the program and how everything is about competition, and it’s the key to success. All of the coaches spoke in the auditorium.
“After the coaches finished speaking we separated into positions and we all went into different meeting rooms with our position coach. It was me and about 10 other quarterbacks (Szakacsy, Jimmy Clausen, Chris Forcier, Aaron Corp, G.J. Kinne and Ronnie Fouch were the notables). We watched film with Sark showing different situations that occurred during the season.
With so many talented prospects in attendance, some might think it’s difficult to provide each prospect the appropriate attention, but that wasn’t an issue with Szakacsy
“I felt real special there today,” Szakacsy said. “Sometimes you can just feel like you’re part of the crowd, but today all of the coaches knew who I was and were coming up, and asking how I was doing.”
Szakacsy attended the March 4 Junior Day at Miami and he pointed out a few differences with his experience at USC.
“The biggest difference was I could see myself playing at USC more than Miami,” Szakacsy said. “When the coaching staff spoke, it really felt good and I got fired listening to them speak in the auditorium. Pete Carroll is a great guy and he’s a players coach. I also learned a lot more about the school than I did at the Miami Junior Day--it sold me a lot more.”
Next weekend Szakacsy will begin a cross-country tour of the schools he’s looking at.
“For spring break, I’m going to visit a lot of schools,” Szakacsy said. “I’m landing in Georgia and I might check out Georgia. Then I’ll visit Tennessee, Illinois, Purdue, Notre Dame and then I’ll fly back to the West Coast to check out Washington and Stanford. I’m supposed to check out Ole Miss, but I don’t think I’ll do it on this visit, but I’ll definitely visit at some point.”
Washington is latest addition to Szakacsy’s interest list.
“I was just thinking about Pac-10 schools and I know Tyrone Willingham is a great coach with a lot of integrity,” Sazakacsy said. USC, Stanford and Washington are the West Coast school I like best.
Szakacsy’s plans after his tour of the country include the May 7 Scout.com All-American Combine and a Nike Camp at Stanford.
Note: Szakacsy said he’ll attend practices at USC this Tuesday and Thursday.