Top TE Hale Hentges recaps recent visits, talks decision timeline

There’s no question that Jefferson City (MO) Helias tight end Hale Hentges is one of the best at his position in the 2015 recruiting class. The previous statement is backed up by his impressive offer list, which includes scholarship offers from the likes of Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Stanford, Texas, and many others.

He checks in as the country’s No. 4 tight end, the state of Missouri’s second best player, and the 132nd-best player in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Last Thursday he was in Columbus for the second time in order to check out the campus and take in one of Ohio State’s spring practices.

“I got to see a lot of the stuff I didn’t see the first time I was up there in October from the campus to the facilities,” Hentges said. “I needed a lot of questions answered and am glad I was able to see that and talk to all of the coaches again. It was a good visit.”

While on campus he had a one-on-one meeting with Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, which was something he enjoyed.

“It was great. He explained how they could use me as a tight end and said I was their number one target (at tight end), and said they would love to have me here,” Hentges said of his meeting with Urban Meyer.

Following the trip to Columbus, Hentges made his way up north to East Lansing, where he got to check out Michigan State for the first time.

“I went and saw all of the facilities. It was the first time I had been up there. It was a really good visit,” he stated. “I met with coach (Mark) Dantonio and coach (Jim) Bollman and really got to see all of the great stuff they can do with their tight end. Seeing them practice was something special.”

The next day Hentges made the short trip from East Lansing to Ann Arbor in order to take in Michigan’s spring game.

“I was there for their spring game. It was great getting to see some of the tradition and the campus,” he continued. “It was really something special getting to see 115,000 people they can pack into their stadium and all of the tradition they’ve had from the different players likes Desmond Howard, Charles Woodson and Gerald Ford. Seeing how much football means to that whole community really intrigues me.”

Hentges enjoyed all three visits equally, but said the Ohio State visit had a different feel than the other two because it was his second visit to Columbus and he had never been on the other two campuses.

“I really liked them all equally,” Hentges explained. “It was the first time for Michigan and Michigan State so I got a little different feeling obviously than Ohio State because I had been up there before and really loved my Ohio State visit. I’m going to need to see Michigan and Michigan State one more time before furthering things.

He’s hearing from all three Big Ten powers quite a bit, but admits that he hears from Ohio State the most of the trio.

“Probably Ohio State,” he admitted. “I talk to coach (Tim) Hinton, my recruiter and the tight ends coach every week, and I get a lot of mail. Almost every other day I would say.”

Before making the Big Ten road swing, Hentges was in Tuscaloosa to check out Alabama. He enjoyed the trip and plans to be back this weekend.

“It was great,” Hentges said. “It was cool meeting coach (Nick) Saban and seeing all of their facilities, which are out of-this-world impressive. When we were there it was like 70 degrees and had a beautiful campus setting. Just seeing the town was something I needed to see. I’m going back there next.”

The in-state Missouri Tigers are also a major play in his recruitment. While they are close to home, he insists that his decision will be based on where he fits in the best and it could be at Missouri.

“There’s definitely interest there,” he continued. “A lot of it is about which program fits me the best. I’m trying to figure that out with Missouri on whether it really is the perfect fit. I’d seem like an obvious choice (for Missouri) being only 30 minutes away, but it’s all about what’s best for me, and my family and friends understand that.”

Hentges has yet to make any cuts to his list, but that should change in the near future as he plans to trim his list before the school year is over.

“Probably before schools out, so likely sometime in the middle of May,” Hentges stated. “At this point I’m not really sure since I need to make a couple of more visits. I have a good idea (of who’s going to make the cut) but I’m not ready to release that just yet.”

We might not have to wait very long to see where he decides to play his college football as he wants his recruitment to be wrapped up by the summer’s end.

“Hopefully in the summer or before my senior season I’ll have everything wrapped up,” Hentges said when asked about the timeline for his decision.

When he sits down to make a decision there will be a couple of key factors taken into consideration.

“The biggest factor is not so much the flashiness or facilities, but how the people are and how they connect to you, and if you can see yourself living there for four years,” Hentges explained. “Then how they use the tight end and a chance to play at the next level.”

There’s a big group of schools that he would like to visit at least one more time before making a final decision.

“I’m probably going to want to see Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Alabama, Florida State, Arkansas, Missouri, Auburn, Missouri and Oklahoma,” he listed.

Over the recruiting process thus far, Hentges has gotten to know many college coaches. However, there are two that he has grown the closest to.

“Probably coach Hinton from Ohio State and coach (Andy) Hill from Mizzou,” said listed.

Before cutting his list, Hentges plans on visiting Arkansas, Auburn, Alabama and Missouri. He also will be taking a fair amount of visits over the summer before finalizing his college decision.