[LeeCoUKFan]

QB Sindelar discusses Alabama, Kentucky trips

Justin Rowland
CatsIllustrated.com Football Recruiting Analyst

Elijah Sindelar camped at a couple of SEC schools in recent weeks and he caught Cats Illustrated up to speed on all the latest early this week.

The Caldwell County signal caller made a trip to Tuscaloosa to camp at Alabama. Coincidentally enough both he and Jarrett Stidham, another big UK quarterback target, were at that camp.

It was a big transition for Sindelar because he's used to taking snaps exclusively in the shotgun.

"That was definitely something I had to learn and pick up," Sindelar said. "We don't do that at all unless we're taking a knee. I had two practice sessions there. The first one was just learning the five-step drop and the seven-step drop. I kinda knew how, just not at that level. That's what I did the first practice, the whole time.

"During lunch I went to the parking lot at Papa John's with my dad and we worked on it for an hour. The second practice I knew what I was doing."

While taking snaps under center was a bit of a transition for Sindelar, once he was able to show off his arm strength he really made an impression on Nick Saban's staff.

"When we had a chance to work out with the coach he had us put our knees on the ground and throw it as far as we could. I threw it the farthest out of the group I was in," he said. "I threw it 47 yards and the second best was 42. The offensive coordinator told me I was impressive and he wants to come up and watch a game."

Sindelar left Tuscaloosa without an offer but said the trip was "definitely overwhelming" because of the magnitude of the sport in the state and because of the program's proud history and recent success. He acknowledged that while a pro-style offense may require some adjustment he would list Alabama among his favorites if they were to offer down the road.

He also camped at Kentucky in mid-July. The Wildcats' offense is more along the lines of what he runs now. It wasn't Sindelar's first trip to Kentucky and he's starting to feel very comfortable at the school.

"I really enjoyed the Kentucky camp. I always enjoy going up to UK," he explained. "I got to throw a little bit. Coach (Neal) Brown didn't want me to throw too much because I had a 7-on-7 the day after. I threw every once in a while but didn't wear my arm out.

"It was really nice to talk to the coaches again. I got to meet the head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and that was a big blessing. Most of the day I was talking to coach Sarge (Tyler Sargent), coach Brown's assistant. We talked about Christ and our faith and that was great. That's definitely going to be the number one (factor) for me."

When asked whether he's found an atmosphere he's comfortable in with regard to that, Sindelar pointed to just one.

"Besides UK not really anywhere else," he said.

Ohio State had invited Sindelar up to their Friday Night Lights camp but the rising junior quarterback was at a men's conference with his father. The Buckeyes remain interested.

"They want me to get up for a game this fall. They'll contact my coach and tell him they want me to call them, so I'll call them sometimes," Sindelar said. "I talk to the quarterbacks coach and a couple of different recruiters up there. They like to talk to me and they're real interested."

But it's not just a three-horse race between UK, Alabama and Ohio State. Other schools are doing their due diligence as well.

"Tennessee is showing a lot of interest. Purdue shows a lot of interest. They have a big engineering school, which I like. I called Florida the other day. They invited me to Friday Night Lights and they show a lot of interest. I talked to Joker Phillips when I was in the eighth grade and he was at UK. I went up for a 7-on-7 tournament in middle school and he talked to me a little bit. I can't remember what we talked about but I talked to him the other day at one of my 7-on-7 games," he said.

Sindelar said he does not have any favorites and is keeping his options open. He did say that he would try to make it up to at least one Kentucky game this fall.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1533160