Cyrus Kouandjio, 5-Star Football Recruit: Does Alabama Lead the Pack?

5-star offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio has arguably been the most heavily recruited prospect in the entire nation, receiving over 50 scholarship offers before narrowing his list down to 11 top choices.

No official visits have been set, nor has Kouandjio given any timeline for his commitment, but currently he's only looking at Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Miami, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pitt, Tennessee, Virginia and USC.

Kouandjio is rated as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2011 class and would be the top recruit for almost any school in the nation.

He's a ready-now prospect with nearly limitless potential and the type of game that forces you to assume he's on the fast track for the NFL.

But as of now, there's still a full college career to play, and before then a school to choose.

The Maryland native met with reporters after DeMatha's 31-28 win over Good Counsel last Friday, and while he wouldn't give up too much information about his recruitment, there were a few tidbits worth nothing from his interview.

He still hasn't set dates for any official visits as he focuses on his school work and senior season, but Alabama might have emerged as a clear favorite—something many observers have believed for a while now.

"Alabama, yeah I'm probably going to go down there (for a visit)," Kouandjio said. "The others schools are up in the air. We'll see."

Kouandjio's older brother Arie was one of Alabama's 2010 recruits, and many point toward him as the main reason why the Crimson Tide are out in front for Cyrus, but he wasn't so quick to agree.

"The factor is not that big. [Arie] made his choice, now it's time to make mine, but you know, it'd be sweet though," Kouandjio said.

The coveted offensive tackle also cautioned not to assume he's going to Alabama, with Maryland popping up as a major possibility as well.

"[Maryland's] the home state, I got a lot of players out here, all my friends are here, my family is here. They're up there."

Kouandjio might be taking his time with the process right now, but he plans on enrolling early next year and will have to make his recruitment tour a quick one.

He'll make five official visits in December, none of which have been set yet, and then plans on committing at either the U.S. Army All-American Game or on National Signing Day.

Obviously Kouandjio won't have time to visit all of his choices, but besides Alabama, expect USC to get the call as well; no one has been recruiting him harder than the Trojans.

He might bypass a visit to Maryland, as he's visited several times before, but it's unclear at this time where he'll be travelling on the rest of his December tour.

With his high school team expected to play late into the year, there's a good chance we won't get much more from Kouandjio until later in the year, but regardless of Kouandjio's cautioning, we're optimistic he'll be committing to Alabama when this circus packs up.