TE Dan Beilinson hopes to make his decision soon between three finalists
With the impending graduation of Cooper Helfet and Danny Parker, Duke will be looking to reload at the tight end position in the class of 2012. After an early verbal commitment from Florida prospect Erich Schneider, the Blue Devils have remained focused on a local prospect to fill their remaining spot at tight end. Dan Beilinson is a 6’5” 220 pound tight end from Cary, North Carolina. As a junior, Beilinson caught 37 passes for over 500 yards, helping Panther Creek HS to a conference title and the state regional playoffs. One of the top tight end prospects in the state, his performance earned him 1st Team Tri-Nine All-Conference, among many other accolades. Highlights from Dan’s junior year can be viewed here. With eight scholarship offers in hand and interest from several other schools, Beilinson has narrowed his college choices to three finalists. [private]
BDN: Where are you in your recruiting process?
I’d say I’ve basically narrowed the schools down basically to NC State, Duke, and Wake Forest, and I’m just trying to figure out which of those schools is the best fit for me. I’m not really looking at this point for anything else, I’m just trying to decide between those three schools.
BDN: Have you had a chance to visit your finalists recently?
Yes, last weekend I actually visited all three of them.
BDN: You’ve obviously had a chance to visit these schools a few times now; what are the specific things you have been evaluating on your more recent visits?
I’m just trying to see the best relationship with a coach that I can establish, how they coach and how that relates to me. Just try to see what they’re doing and just try to evaluate based on that.
BDN: It sounds like the relationship you are developing with the coaches is important; which coaches are you closest with?
At NC State, Coach Archer would be the recruiter for my area so I’ve got to know him pretty well. And then the former tight end coach, Coach Bridge, I know him very well and I’m establishing with the new tight end coach, Coach Horton, so I’m developing a relationship there. At Duke, mainly I know Coach Middleton and Coach Cutcliffe very well, and some of the other coaches I’ve established contact with. And then at Wake Forest, Coach Russ and Coach Tereshinski have been the two main people that I’ve talked to.
BDN: What stood out to you about each of your three finalists?
They’re all very good educational schools. If I choose to got to [NC] State or Duke, I’d probably do engineering and then if I go to Wake Forest, I’d probably do more of a science field. So in all aspects the education is really good and that’s really appealing to me. And then in football, all the programs are either rising or already good, so that adds more to the effect.
BDN: When do you expect to make your final decision?
I hope, in my head it just kind of happens, but it could be soon, or it could go past the season, I really don’t know, but it might be soon, I’m not sure.
Top TE Justin Meredith said "Duke has probably done the best job recruiting me"
Tight end is a position that Coach Cutcliffe and Coach Middleton hope to develop into a consistent strength within the Duke offense. In the past few seasons, Duke has featured a dynamic group of tight ends, including Brett Huffman, Brandon King, and Cooper Helfet. The Blue Devils will add freshman David Reeves to the depth chart this fall, and are looking at several prospects in the class of 2012. Along with verbal commit Erich Schneider, Duke is evaluating a group of versatile tight end prospects such as Justin Meredith. Meredith is Kearns is a 6’5” 224 pound prospect from Anderson, South Carolina. The athletic junior has already received an offer from Duke, and holds offers from top programs including Auburn, LSU, and Notre Dame, though Clemson may be the school to beat. Highlights of Justin’s junior season can be viewed here.
BDN: Can you start off by describing your strengths for fans who haven’t had a chance to see you play?
I think the biggest thing that separates me from other people is that I’m able to do several things pretty well, not just one thing. I’m able to, in my high school, they split me out wide almost like a receiver. I’m able to do those things. They’re able to put me on the line and use my strength and my size and block the ends and the LBs and whatever it is. And at the same time, they also motion me in the back field and use me as a lead blocker, almost like a fullback type of thing. So there’s a lot of things I do pretty well, and it makes me diverse and useful in offenses.
BDN: What are some of the things you’ve been working on this offseason?
The main thing that I’m working on right now is my strength. I’ve always been a pretty strong guy, especially in my upper body, but I’m starting to realize that really upper body’s just for looks, and the main thing I’ve been working on this year is putting some size and some thickness and some strength in my legs. And I’ve been working out with our strength trainer four days a week before school about 6:00 and really just working on that.
BDN: What are some of your goals for your senior year?
For my team, well, to … we want to go undefeated in the regular season and then we want – I think we have the team to do that – and go win the State Championship and Region Championship. Personal goals: I really haven’t thought too much about it, but I’d like to be somewhere around 30 to 40 catches with … I’d like to try, my goal is to try to break 1,000 yards and have somewhere around 10 touchdowns.
BDN: What are the most important factors you’re looking for in a college?
The number 1 thing I’m looking for is a place where not only can I be a part of the football team but I can see myself being there for four to five and being a student and just a place that I can see myself living and being a part of the overall program, not just the football program. And the second biggest thing would probably be is a player-to-coach relationship. I’ve figured it out that once I go to college, I’m gonna be around my position coach and my offensive coordinator and my head coach, gonna be around them more than I’m around anybody else. So I’d like to have a good relationship with them and all of them to like me, and I want to like them.
BDN: You mentioned your versatility as one of your strengths, and different programs use the tight end position differently. Is there a specific offensive system that you think you are looking for or where you might fit in best?
Yeah, that’s one thing that I’ve noticed. There’s been a couple schools like LSU and some other ones that want me to kind of stay in that 220 to 230 range and be a big receiver pretty much. And then there’s some schools that I’ve talked to – I can’t really think – I guess one or two that I’ve talked to – I can’t really think of who they are exactly. But they want me to gain a bunch of weight and be in that 270 or 280 range and pretty much be a glorified tackle. And there’s a couple schools like Clemson, Notre Dame, Tennessee, some other ones like that that want me to be in that 250 range, 250 to 260, and be a prototypical complete tight end. And that’s really what I’m looking for because honestly that’s the players that – that’s the tight ends that get drafted, the tight ends that can be everything.
BDN: Who are the schools that you have heard the most from and which schools were the first to contact you?
Yeah, Clemson, I’ve been in contact with them a bunch so mainly because I live 15 minutes away from the campus. And North Carolina and Duke, Duke has recruited me very heavily and also North Carolina. And also Tennessee and LSU have and Auburn has started to here in about the last two weeks started recruiting, and I’ll actually be down there next weekend.
BDN: Which schools have you had a chance to visit so far?
Junior Days that I’ve been on this spring, I’ve been to Tennessee, Clemson and Florida, and I’m gonna go down to Auburn next weekend. And during the actual season, I pretty much went everywhere within about a five-hour radius. I went to Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Duke, Tennessee, Alabama and those places.\
BDN: Have any schools stood out to you at this point in the process?
Yeah and there’s a couple schools that stand out. And it’s still early on in the process, so I might have some other schools that come through, but the ones that really stand out to me right now, they probably have to be, you know, Clemson’s done a very good job. Duke has probably done the best job. North Carolina, Tennessee has done a good job. I mean, some other schools like Auburn and LSU and schools like that, I really haven’t had the opportunity yet because I haven’t been to their schools, so I’m hoping that there’s … it’s still early on. And we have a little under a year until signing day, so I’m still hoping some of these relationships continue to build.
BDN: Do you have any plans for additional visits this spring or summer?
Yeah, this year I’m going down into the Carolinas for football camps this summer, I’m going to Eastern Carolina, NC State, North Carolina, Duke, and I think we’re going to Cincinnati too.
BDN: Is there anything else that you think is important for college football fans to know about you?
Just that football is one part of this process, and there’s other parts too also like academics and stuff, and I’m trying to be an overall good person, a good football player, a good person, a good kid in school and stuff like that. So that’s helped me out so far with some of these colleges, and that’s just one thing that I’d like people to know is that I’m trying to be good in all aspects of my life.
Michael Summers is a versatile athlete from Georgia with a Duke offer
When Head Coach David Cutcliffe came to Durham, he vowed that he would transform the Blue Devils into a faster and more athletic team. In his first few recruiting classes, he has added several high-level athletes, including Isaac Blakeney in 2010 and Jamison Crowder in 2011. The coaching staff is looking to continue that trend in the class of 2012, and recently hosted a speedy, versatile athlete from the state of Georgia. Micheal Summers is a 6’1” 190 pound athlete from Statesboro, Georgia. As a junior, he played on both sides of the ball, totaling over 1100 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns, leading the Statesboro Blue Devils to a 11-3 overall record, falling just short of a state championship. The talented athlete made the trip to Durham this past weekend and came away with his first verbal scholarship offer. Highlights from his junior season can be found here.
BDN: Can you start out by describing your strengths as a player?
Running the ball, my running speed, catching, blocking, and pass defending.
BDN: You’ve played multiple positions very well in high school. Do you have a preference for what position you play in college, or have coaches told you they are recruiting you for a specific position yet?
Slot receiver, running back, safety, and cornerback.
BDN: What are some of the things you have been working on this offseason?
I’m working on a lot of agility work, and a lot of explosions, a lot of upper body work to get stronger, a lot of speed work, working uphill, a lot of catching, and a lot of catching to become a better receiver. I’m just doing a lot of – mainly a lot of agility work, work on my foot speed and balance.
BDN: You guys came up just short of a state championship at Statesboro last year. What are your goals for yourself and for your team in your senior year?
Well of course our main goal, you know, is to win the regional game and to make it back to the playoffs, and to win the state championship. We believe we can accomplish those goals, ‘cause you know, we have a lot of our players coming back from last year.
BDN: What are the most important factors you’re looking for in a college?
The most important things I’m looking for in a school is the education, and the academic side of the school, ‘cause if coaches aren’t graduating their players, then, you know, it’s really no good because there is life after football also. It’s not just about football, because one day football is gonna come to an end.
BDN: You mentioned the importance of academics; do you have a specific field that you would like to study in college?
Yes, I’m interesting in studying public policy and sports management. I’m looking forward to majoring in those.
BDN: What schools have you heard the most from so far? Who were the first schools to contact you?
Schools I’ve been hearing from the most are Duke, Georgia Tech, East Carolina, Louisville, Syracuse, Illinois, a little bit from Vanderbilt and South Carolina State, and North Carolina.
BDN: Which schools have you had a chance to visit so far?
I had a chance to visit Duke. I had a chance to visit North Carolina. I’ve had a chance to visit – I visited Clemson. I’ve visited Georgia Tech. And I’ve visited South Carolina State.
BDN: Have any schools stood out to you at this point in the process?
Are there any schools in particular that stood out for me? Duke. Duke’s really stood out for me, you know, based on their academics, and I really like their coaching staff. They have a good group of coaches there, Coach Middleton, and Coach Cutcliffe. They’re very nice guys. And Coach Roper.
BDN: Do you have plans to visit any other schools this spring or summer?
Yes, this spring I plan on visiting Louisville, on East Carolina, and maybe some other schools. But as far I know, those two.
BDN: Do you have an idea for when you would like to make your college decision or how you would like to narrow things down?
Well I kind of want to make a decision by the end of the summer. But right now I’m just trying to enjoy everything, you know, till we get a grasp for each university. But I really would like to make a decision towards the end of this summer.
BDN: Is there anything else that you think is important for college football fans to know about you?
I love the game. I work hard. I love to win.
BDN: Thanks a lot, Michael, and best of luck to you.
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