Alonso's Chickillo gets friendly advice Bucs' McCoy
Staff photo by JIM REED
By KATHERINE SMITH | The Tampa Tribune
Published: July 6, 2010
Gerald McCoy, the Bucs' first-round pick this year, told Alonso defensive lineman Anthony Chickillo to enjoy high school and not be in a hurry to get to college.
TAMPA - Anthony Chickillo and Gerald McCoy stood side-by-side.
The Alonso defensive end and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' recent first-round draft pick (third overall) sized each other up before McCoy began peppering Chickillo with questions.
"How many offers you got?" McCoy asked.
When the Alonso incoming senior answered "43," McCoy was quick with his response.
"Quit counting," McCoy said.
And that began the conversation between the two defensive linemen. When Chickillo and McCoy recently met at One Buc Place, Chickillo had a lot of questions for the former Oklahoma All-American, and McCoy wasn't afraid to provide some advice.
"He gave me a lot to think about," Chickillo said. "He gave me some really good advice for college."
Chickillo has a lot to do before college, including picking one. From that list of 43 Division I scholarship offers, Chickillo has his favorites. They are Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Nebraska, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Tennessee, UCLA, Southern Cal and Virginia Tech.
And from that list of favorites, Chickillo hopes to have his finalists at the end of the summer. He wants to make a decision so he can focus on his senior year.