Isaiah Chisom, 3-star linebacker, down to 5, preparing for summer commitment

Isaiah Chisom trimmed his list to California, Fresno State, Oregon State, USC and Utah

Chaminade High School (California) linebacker Isaiah Chisom has racked up double-digit offers.

But the three-star 'backer is down to a final five - and a summer decision looms.

On Wednesday, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound 'backer said he intends to commit "sometime in July or August" and cut his list to California, Fresno State, Oregon State, USC and Utah.

Following that announcement, he broke down each of his finalists for SBLive Sports.

Chisom began by discussing Cal, which has an official visit scheduled for this weekend.

California: “I went up to Cal for the spring game. That was a day or two after they offered me. We wanted them to see it was a priority for us to get up there and we wanted to meet the coaching staff. It was really cool. I know some people who are committed to Cal right now, so talking to those guys about why they are committed to Cal and where they are headed as a program.”

“For them, it only takes a couple of guys to flip their program around.”

Fresno State: “I had talked to (assistant head coach/linebacker) coach (Tim) Skipper a couple of weeks before he offered me. Being able to talk to him outside of football and understand where his head is at, I just really like coach Skipper. I’d say that is why they are on my top five. They are a Mountain West school, but a big Mountain West school. It just felt right to put them in my top five.” 

Chisom already took his official visit to Oregon State in early June.

Oregon State: “They were my second offer. Ever since then our relationship has been really good. I talk to coach (Trent) Bray and coach (Jonathan) Smith all the time and I like how they see me in their defense. They say Corvallis is a different college town than any other in America. it’s a big family environment."

"There’s not much to do in Corvallis, but you can really lock in and focus on what you need to be doing.” 

USC: “It’s USC. There’s not much that I (need to) sell about USC. It’s a big school. When they offered it was like, ‘Now, I got a really big California school looking at me.’ Being able to talk to Coach (Lincoln) Riley and (inside linebacker) coach (Brian) Odom about how they are going to flip USC around, get it back to where it's supposed to be. Some people say Riley doesn't stay in one spot, but talking to him one-on-one, he's a different guy than what people perceive him to be.”

Utah: “(Linebacker) coach (Colton) Swan is a great coach. I was talking to my position coach about Utah and how they are, 'linebacker university.' The way they develop their linebackers and get them into the league is just different from anyone else. They are the Pac-12 champs and they are going to keep winning. When I took my unofficial visit to Utah, it was good to see that winning environment. They are selling me that they are going to keep winning.”

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