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The Whiteout Effect: Matthew Burrell Set to Decide Soon

The elite offensive line recruit is ready to announce his college decision.

By Nick Polak
Four star offensive lineman Matthew Burrell
Four star offensive lineman Matthew Burrell
Lions247

Four star offensive tackle Matthew Burrell (C.D. Hylton, VA) is finally set to announce his college decision to the world. This comes on the heels of a reportedly fantastic visit to Penn State this past weekend for the Whiteout game against Ohio State. Burrell publicly named a top three of Ohio State, Penn State, and Tennessee (in no order) following the visit, and was apparently so set in his decision that he could have announced even yesterday or today (Friday).

He has instead decided to make his decision "sometime next week" on ESPN. Once we have more details about when that will take place, we will update you. If you want some fantastic quotes from Burrell on each school, check out what he said to Jamie Oaks of 247Sports.

His Crystal Ball page has also been heating up recently, with a recent slew of Penn State picks (including my own, and Matt's). Ohio State still leads by a significant margin, but they also led for Steven Gonzalez and Mike Gesicki, before both players made their pledges to the Nittany Lions. Both Penn State fans and Ohio State fans seem very confident though, and the reasoning behind each side is sensible.

On Penn State's side, he just got home from the Whiteout, one of the best environments in college football. He's been very impressionable throughout the process, and he was given the A+ treatment this weekend. When Franklin and the team were coming out of the tunnel, he even took a second to hug Burrell at the entrance before leading the Lions out on to the field. You have to imagine that moment meant a lot to him. He also spent his weekend with Indiana commit and Penn State target Tommy Stevens, and the incredibly well spoken Sterling Jenkins. The timing of the decision also raises eyebrows, as he has said he was ready to decide just a few days after this whole experience.

On Ohio State's side, he's been one of their top targets all along. Reports of his strong relationships with the Buckeye coaching staff have been rampant for the better part of half a year now. Ohio State fans are looking at the situation with a different twist than Penn State fans. Burrell visited Ohio State a few weeks prior to Penn State, and may have been ready to commit, but wanted to check out another top contender first. After seeing the absolute best Penn State had to offer, he realized that even that couldn't stack up against what Ohio State could offer him. Due to that, his decision was essentially made for him, and a Buckeye he shall be.

Like I said above, I Crystal Balled him for Penn State a few days ago, following the quotes I'd seen on Lions247, and what I'd heard from the commits at the game and their recruitment of him. After he announced he was ready to decide, I reached out to the commits once more to get their final feelings on the matter, and here were the responses that stood out.

Sterling Jenkins: "I think he'll join us...I feel he knows who's authentic and who's really on the rise, and who cares the most...Let's believe."

Andre Robinson: "I think he'll choose PSU, I know he had a good time. Especially since he decided to make his decision right after his psu visit."

Those quotes did nothing but confirm my beliefs that sometime next week, Penn State's 2015 class will include four 4* players, Ryan Bates, Steven Gonzalez, Sterling Jenkins, and Matthew Burrell.

Be sure to follow Matt on twitter, in case he leaves any hints.

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