Lake Mary LB Commits to South Florida

South Florida gets back into the action and picks up their fourth commit for the class of '08. Mike Lanaris of Lake Mary gave Jim Leavitt his verbal commitment on Tuesday. Read on for the entire story.

It’s been over a month since the last commitment, and now the Bulls are back in the action. On Tuesday evening, Lake Mary High School middle linebacker, Mike Lanaris (6'1, 228) gave his verbal commitment to head coach Jim Leavitt.

“I sat at home with my family and we called coach Leavitt on speaker phone to give him the verbal.” Lanaris added, “My whole family kinda talked to him, it was our decision.”

Last season Lanaris racked up 120 tackles, 8 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles and one interception that he returned for a touchdown. This spring colleges took notice and he received several offers.

“There were really 5 offers that I was considering. They were Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Central Florida and USF.”

In the end Mike says the deciding factor was the South Florida coaching staff. He said that defensive coordinator Wally Burnham and coach Leavitt made him feel at comfortable.

“I visited all of the schools in my top 5 and I just knew USF was the right school.”

With summer winding down, Lanaris says he is through taking visits. The only school he might travel to this summer would be USF for the senior showcase. He says he hasn’t decided if he’ll participate, but he wants to go and spend some more time getting to know the staff.

Mike Lanaris is a great fit for USF, he may even be the one to fill Ben Moffitt’s shoes when he graduates this year. Like Moffitt, Lanaris has a nose for the ball and a mean streak that only comes out when he’s between the white lines. He also runs a 4.61 40 time and is working this summer on getting even faster and quicker.

Stick with USFNation.com for the latest news in recruiting. Tomorrow we talk to a Georgia running back who just came back from visiting both USF and UCF, he tells us which visit was more impressive and why!