Arkansas DB talks about Mississippi camps

Monticello (Monticello Senior), Ark. defensive back prospect Brishen Mathews was one of 425 or so campers at Ole Miss last Saturday and one of only a few with an offer in hand, but his experience in Oxford doesn't have him any closer to making a decision from an impressive list of eight offers.

"I'm still in high school and my priority is to win a state championship," Mathews said on Tuesday. "Right now, I think it will be after the season before I make a decision."

Mathews, a 6-foot-1, 190 pound hard hitting safety, has offers from Ole Miss, Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Tulsa, Memphis, Louisiana Tech, Arkansas State, and Central Arkansas.

While Mathews isn't ready to name a leader or make a decision now, he was impressed during his first visit to Ole Miss.

"I had a great time at Ole Miss, but I couldn't work out like I wanted to," he said. "I hurt my hip at LSU (camp, last week) and I'm trying to take it easy headed into our high school practices."

"Everything was great at Ole Miss," Mathews continued. "The coaches were friendly and I really liked Coach (Houston) Nutt. He reminds me so much of my Dad; they are just alike. I don't think I could play for my Dad because of the father and son thing, but I could definitely see myself playing for Houston Nutt."

Mathews' father, Gwaine, attended Delta State in Cleveland, Miss., where he was an all-conference defensive back for the Statesmen. He went on to play for two years with Winnipeg in the Canadian Football League before beginning his coaching career. After a successful stint in high school, he coached at Delta State, where in won a national championship while serving as defensive coordinator, then it was on to North Alabama and Tennessee-Chattanooga before landing the head coaching job in Monticello.

Meanwhile, Mathews said he ran a 4.49 40-yard dash at the LSU camp last week before hurting his hip and duplicated that time at Mississippi State's camp last Friday.

"I was feeling good at the Mississippi State camp and ran the 40 in 4.49 and I think that was like the third fastest time down there," he said. "I ran the 40 at Ole Miss and didn't do so well - I ran it in 4.59."

Mathews was also impressed with his visit to Starkville.

"Everything at State was great," he said. "Coach (Mark) Hudspeth coached with my Dad, so that was cool. They gave me a private tour, which I wasn't expecting and I got to review some film with the coaches."

Like at Ole Miss, Mathews elected not to participate in any drills other than to run the 40-yard dash at State. That situation has left him unsure if the Bulldogs will offer.

"I dropped off my film and they'll review that this week," he said. "I'll probably know something in a few days."

Mathews said he was impressed with the facilities at both Mississippi camps.

"They both have great facilities," he said. "Ole Miss has the indoor facility which is really nice and when I walked in the locker room, well, all I can say is that my jaw dropped."

Despite those reviews, Mathews said no school he has visited can touch the facilities at Arkansas, in his opinion, which are the best he has seen.

With Mathews likely waiting until the end of the season to make a decision, there is the one person - his father - who is guiding him through the recruiting process.

"My Dad isn't telling me where to go or trying to get me to go to a certain school," Mathews said. "He's kind of advising me and telling me that good things happen to those who are patient."

That might sound like Mathews is looking for another certain school to offer, something he concedes.

"Florida, to get an offer from them, yeah, that might be my dream school," he said. "And, maybe LSU too."

Mathews reports a 2.56 GPA and an 18 on his ACT.