Oswego (Ill.) junior three star ranked tight end recruit Deakon Tonielli (6-foot-5, 210 pounds) has remained very bus this winter including playing basketball for the Oswego Panthers along with school and staying on top of his very active football recruiting. Tonielli checks in and recaps his latest recruiting news this winter, his upcoming spring travel plans and more in this update.
"I've been just really busy between school, basketball and recruiting" Tonielli said. "I've also been getting a ton of phone calls, text and DM's from a ton of people every day so I've been just trying to not focus on all of the people calling and reaching out lately."
Tonielli recapped his latest recruiting news so far this winter.
"I've been staying in touch and talking to the coaches a lot over the phone from Minnesota, Iowa, West Virginia, Michigan and also Tennessee. Lately I've been in more contact with the coaches from both Iowa and Western Michigan. We had a lot of college coaches in school the last few weeks and it was pretty exciting to see. A lot of those coaches just want to talk and get to know me better. They have all invited me to come out and visit them this spring for a practice or a spring game."
Tonielli was able to make a recent Junior Day visit to Iowa.
"I made a visit to Iowa last Sunday and overall it was a lot of fun. The campus at Iowa is beautiful and they just showed us a lot of what Iowa has to offer. They have great facilities and I also get along well with the coaches. Iowa hasn't offered me a scholarship yet, but they said they traditionally slow in extending offers but that they are very interested in me. They the Iowa coaches want me to come visit them as well this spring."
Does Tonielli have any plans yet to make any upcoming spring college visits?
"I'm looking at getting out to make spring visits to Cincinnati, Michigan, Louisville, Iowa, Purdue and maybe a few others for visits. I'm not going to run track this spring, instead I'm going to focus on lifting and training for the football season. That will also give me some time to make more visits in the spring."
Has Tonielli given any thought towards what he's looking for in a school and when her could make a college decision?
"The spring and summer will be big for me on really starting to narrow things down and get to a decision. I'm looking to just have more communication with the coaches and I also need to see schools in person before I can really start to narrow thing s down. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm really looking for in a school to be honest. I'm definitely looking for a school where I feel comfortable and where I fit in and have a great connection with the coaches and the players. Otherwise I'm still trying to sort out what factor are really important to me."
Deakon Tonielli has multiple scholarship offers.
My Take on Deakon Tonielli Recruiting: Deakon has been VERY low key and really hasn't talked with very many media regarding his recruiting process, and it's not a huge surprise to me to be honest. Tonielli is generally a pretty laid back low key kid personality wise...almost more of a California kid personality wise who's just sort of chill but who is also a really good kid who is a great interview once you can get him to talk.
Top schools? Tonielli really hasn't wavered too much on his top schools for a while now....the Michigan's, Tennessee's and the Iowa of the world have been there and will be there in the end in my opinion. Yet I also get the feeling Tonielli will have a huge spring and will add several more Power 5 offers once those coaches get to see him more up close and in person. Look for his spring visits to really tell the story on where Tonielli will take his recruiting into the summer....and I can see him making a pre-kickoff college decision.
"I've been just really busy between school, basketball and recruiting" Tonielli said. "I've also been getting a ton of phone calls, text and DM's from a ton of people every day so I've been just trying to not focus on all of the people calling and reaching out lately."
Tonielli recapped his latest recruiting news so far this winter.
"I've been staying in touch and talking to the coaches a lot over the phone from Minnesota, Iowa, West Virginia, Michigan and also Tennessee. Lately I've been in more contact with the coaches from both Iowa and Western Michigan. We had a lot of college coaches in school the last few weeks and it was pretty exciting to see. A lot of those coaches just want to talk and get to know me better. They have all invited me to come out and visit them this spring for a practice or a spring game."
Tonielli was able to make a recent Junior Day visit to Iowa.
"I made a visit to Iowa last Sunday and overall it was a lot of fun. The campus at Iowa is beautiful and they just showed us a lot of what Iowa has to offer. They have great facilities and I also get along well with the coaches. Iowa hasn't offered me a scholarship yet, but they said they traditionally slow in extending offers but that they are very interested in me. They the Iowa coaches want me to come visit them as well this spring."
Does Tonielli have any plans yet to make any upcoming spring college visits?
"I'm looking at getting out to make spring visits to Cincinnati, Michigan, Louisville, Iowa, Purdue and maybe a few others for visits. I'm not going to run track this spring, instead I'm going to focus on lifting and training for the football season. That will also give me some time to make more visits in the spring."
Has Tonielli given any thought towards what he's looking for in a school and when her could make a college decision?
"The spring and summer will be big for me on really starting to narrow things down and get to a decision. I'm looking to just have more communication with the coaches and I also need to see schools in person before I can really start to narrow thing s down. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm really looking for in a school to be honest. I'm definitely looking for a school where I feel comfortable and where I fit in and have a great connection with the coaches and the players. Otherwise I'm still trying to sort out what factor are really important to me."
Deakon Tonielli has multiple scholarship offers.
My Take on Deakon Tonielli Recruiting: Deakon has been VERY low key and really hasn't talked with very many media regarding his recruiting process, and it's not a huge surprise to me to be honest. Tonielli is generally a pretty laid back low key kid personality wise...almost more of a California kid personality wise who's just sort of chill but who is also a really good kid who is a great interview once you can get him to talk.
Top schools? Tonielli really hasn't wavered too much on his top schools for a while now....the Michigan's, Tennessee's and the Iowa of the world have been there and will be there in the end in my opinion. Yet I also get the feeling Tonielli will have a huge spring and will add several more Power 5 offers once those coaches get to see him more up close and in person. Look for his spring visits to really tell the story on where Tonielli will take his recruiting into the summer....and I can see him making a pre-kickoff college decision.
