McNair believes coveted offers are close

Thursday afternoon might have been just another football practice for most of his teammates, but for Steve McNair, Jr., it provided an opportunity to make a lasting impression with some important eyes watching his every move.

McNair, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound wide receiver from Hattiesburg (Oak Grove), Miss., and the son of former Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair, is adding offers to his list of suitors at a steady pace. He's hoping he's getting closer to a much-desired offer as well.

McNair has added offers from West Virginia and Tulsa to a list that already included Mississippi State and Southern Mississippi. Ole Miss, McNair believes, is getting closer to extending a scholarship offer, especially after an impressive practice this past Thursday, one that was witnessed by Ole Miss wide receivers coach Ron Dickerson Jr., who was at Oak Grove to see McNair, wide receiver Robert Johnson and athlete Jay Hughes.

"I'm hoping they do offer me," McNair said. "It would be a big-school offer. I feel good. I'm still open-minded."

McNair said Dickerson's presence didn't distract him at all.

"When I practice, I don't have anything on my mind," McNair said. "I focus on practice. I had a good practice, an all-out practice."

McNair said he had a chance to visit briefly with Dickerson.

"It was a good conversation," McNair said. "He told me about their campus."

McNair said he intends to camp at Ole Miss at some point this summer.

"I'm going to try to go to as many as I can, but I'm also going to work out with my dad (in Nashville), too," McNair said.

McNair said his father, who rose from anonymity at Alcorn State to become a Heisman Trophy candidate and a first-round draft choice, told him to "wait until after my senior year to make my decision."

McNair said he also thinks Louisville is close to offering. McNair, who caught 56 passes for 962 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior, said Ole Miss, West Virginia and Louisville are his current favorites.

"They're big schools," McNair said. "They like to spread the ball. I like that."