Jalen Merrick Names His Top 3: Which Program Is Best Fit for 4-Star OL?

Considering that Jalen Merrick is an early enrollee who is weeks away from beginning his college career, the time is rapidly approaching for the 4-star prospect to make a decision.

He took a step forward in that direction over the weekend when he announced a top three of Arkansas, Florida and Florida State, according to Christopher Nee of Noles247 (subscription required).

All three of his finalists have a need for offensive linemen in the 2015 cycle—with each school already having at least two prospects already committed at the position.

However, can Arkansas pull one of the best players in the Sunshine State away from the Gators and the Seminoles? Also, which program of the three programs provides the best fit for Merrick?

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Arkansas

Since Bret Bielema arrived in Fayetteville, he's transformed the Razorbacks into a program whose offensive identity is shaped by its powerful ground attack.

That message was reiterated to Merrick on his visit to Arkansas, as noted by Ryan Bartow of 247Sports (subscription required).

"Coach Bielema said he's inverting things at Arkansas like they did at Wisconsin," Merrick told Bartow. "They have a huge, huge emphasis on the offensive line. [Razorbacks offensive line] coach [Sam] Pittman isn't afraid to play true freshmen."

In terms of scheme fit, Merrick's skill set complements the Hogs physical mentality in the trenches.

However, as Ourlads shows, the Razorbacks are scheduled to lose only one offensive lineman to graduation this year. The flipside to that is that two true freshmen were able to crack the two-deep this year.

Heading to Fayetteville would give Merrick a chance to compete against some of the country's top defensive linemen in a loaded SEC West.

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Florida

If the opportunity to play right away is critical to Merrick, no depth chart in the country can possibly be more appealing than the one in Gainseville.

With junior Tyler Moore already announcing his decision to enter the NFL draft and fellow junior D.J. Humphries considering making a similar jump, new head coach Jim McElwain could field a line unit with only three players returning from the team's two-deep this season.

However, the uncertainty surrounding the rest of McElwain's staff could hurt the Gators' chances with Merrick.

"I'm cautious with Florida with their new staff, but I'm still considering them because I like the environment," Merrick told Bartow earlier this month (subscription required).

While there are positives in the Gators favor, unless current Gators offensive line coach Mike Summers is retained by McElwain, it's hard to imagine him deciding on heading to Gainesville without having developed a relationship with his future position coach.

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Florida State

While Arkansas provides Merrick with a great scheme fit and Florida has the need for big bodies to step in and play early, Florida State appears to merge those two factors better than his other two finalists.

The 'Noles will lose four offensive linemen due to graduation. Another plus is that Seminoles offensive line coach Rick Trickett is among the nation's best at developing talent at his position.

As Merrick told Bartow (subscription required), Trickett was highly impressed with what he saw out of Merrick during his summer camp visit to Tallahassee.

"

Coach Trickett was still raving about my camp performance. He said he's coached 42 years and I was the best looking offensive lineman he's seen go through agility drills. He has high expectations for me. He wants to make sure I'm the best. He said they are losing four offensive linemen so I'd have the chance to play early.

"

With that type of endorsement from Trickett, it's clear that FSU holds his abilities in high regard.

The Pick

Each of Merrick's final choices present an opportunity for him to find success at the next level.

However, considering factors such as location, playing time, coaching stability and opportunity, Florida State gets the slight nod over Arkansas as the option that provides the best fit for Merrick.

Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.