Recruiting Wrap

Sean Hickey 'very, very torn' on decision

Posted by: Jeremy Werner

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 9:54 AM

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The recruiting process is starting to take a toll on Sean Hickey. The 6-foot-6, 280-pound Murrysville (Pa.) Franklin Regional offensive tackle planned to make a college decision before the high school season began.

After nine games, Hickey's recruitment is still unresolved.

"He's getting a little frustrated," Franklin Regional coach Greg Botta said. "He's very, very torn."

Hickey has long had his list trimmed to three schools: Illinois, Boston College and Syracuse. The two-star prospect has taken official visits to Boston College and Illinois.

"These guys are trying to get him to commit, but Sean's sensitive for being such a big guy. He doesn't want to hurt anybody's feelings," Botta said. "I tried telling him, ‘It's a business for them, and it's a business for you. They're buying you for four years, and you have to do what they tell you to do.' That fit has to be something special. He's having a hard time weighing it."

Other schools are starting to call as well, including a team ranked in the top-five in this week's BCS poll.

"I think the longer he holds on, the more people will be coming after him as well," Botta said. "Cincinnati is getting real involved right now. He doesn't even tell me other schools because he doesn't want it publicized and put even more pressure on him to make a decision."

Hickey made the trip to Champaign to see the Illini play Michigan State, a 24-14 Illinois loss.

"He came back like a kid in a candy store. He was really excited, liked the people and talked a lot about the visit when he came back," Botta said. "I know he's very, very happy with Illinois. He likes the way they play football, the coaching staff. That's why (the Illini) are up there real high."

Hickey is trying to find the perfect fit and has yet to have that moment of clarity. Botta said a decision isn't imminent and that Hickey has no clear timetable. Hickey is in the process of setting up a visit to Syracuse, Botta said, to hopefully help narrow down his list.

"He wants to be fair to everybody," Botta said. "It's kind of playing with his head a little bit for our season too. The other day, there was a school that was kind of putting pressure on him (to commit) and that messed with him like a son of a gun. He didn't want to lose that school, and he understands the longer he waits, these schools might go to someone else. I just told him not to jump into anything. So we'll just leave open the communication open, and see if anything happens as we go along."

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