Jeter breaks down his top nine

2017 four-star defensive lineman Donovan Jeter has earned a robust collection of scholarship offers in his time as a recruit and has begun the process of whittling down his list. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Beaver Falls (Pa.) native recently released a list of his nine top schools on Twitter and he gave the details on his interest level for each program to Panther-Lair.com. The following list is ordered alphabetically, and not in terms of ranking his favorites:

Alabama: “It’s hard to make a list of top schools without Alabama. They’re playing for a championship almost every year, they have a great coaching staff, and you know it’s just Alabama.”

Michigan: “Their coaching staff is an NFL staff and they get you ready to get to the next level and Michigan is always good in football. And they’ve got the biggest stadium in the country, so I’d love to play there.”

Michigan State: “They’re another great school with great football, they have a great team every year. It’s hard to leave them out of my top nine.”

Notre Dame: “It’s a great education. If my football career doesn’t work out, I would have a degree from Notre Dame and that’s big, I would have a great job with that degree.”

Ohio State: “They’re basically like Alabama. Great coaching staff, they have a great tradition, it’s a great school all-around, they have a great team every year, and it’s only like three hours away, so it’s not too far from home.”

Ole Miss: “I have a great relationship with their coaches and we talk just about every day and they have a good team every year. It’s a good school.”

Penn State: “I have a great relationship with coach Spencer and coach Terry Smith and I talk with them almost every day. They were the first school I ever visited and it’s a beautiful place up there in Happy Valley. I’ve been up there, so I have a good feel for them.”

Pitt: “The relationship I have with coach Narduzzi and coach Sims is great. They have a great coaching staff all-around and they’re on the rise right now. Plus, it’s obviously only like 40 minutes away and it’s close to my home. I’m up there a lot, my brother plays there, and I’ve been up there a thousand times, it’s just a great place at Pittsburgh.”

Tennessee: “Honestly everything about Tennessee [is good]. They play in front of over 100,000 people, I have a great relationship with head coach Butch Jones and talk with him almost every day, and they’re saying I could make an early impact because they’re thin at the defensive line position. Plus I already have a relationship with coach Bob Shoop from when he was at Penn State, so there’s a lot of connections.”

Jeter has previously stated that he hopes to visit Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Alabama before the start of his senior season and continues to make that his plan. As the summer dead period concludes, Jeter will continue the process of narrowing his list of schools down until he has a final five.

“I’m probably going to make a top five before the season starts, probably sometime in August. Those five schools will be my official visits and then I’ll probably commit during the season,” Jeter said.

Jeter checks in as a four-star prospect just outside of the Rivals250 and ranks as the 12th best defensive tackle in the country. He did specify, however, that none of the schools recruiting him have said which position along the line he will play at the college level. Jeter has recently slimmed down to 255 pounds and says he is willing to play any position that his future coaches ask him to – be that defensive end, 3-technique, or anywhere else.

Click the image below to check out Jeter's junior year highlight film.