Commitment has been on his mind before, and he has thought hard about it a few times earlier in 2020, but now, it seems East Point (Ga.) Tri-Cities lineman Cameron Ball is closing in on that decision.

He has now trimmed his list to five schools and set a commitment date.

"I am down to Georgia Tech, Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee and Arizona State," said Ball. "I am planning to commit to one of those schools September 22, my father's birthday."

Ball is not ruling out a change, but he is almost certain that one month from today, he will announce his decision.

"Anything could change, but I feel good about that date. I have been very close before, but now, I think I am about at that point.

"I have taken visits to Georgia Tech and Tennessee before and I have had virtual visits with the other schools, so with that, all the time to bond with the coaches from the five schools, I think I will be ready here soon."

Over the last five months, Ball has talked to each of these schools on a regular basis. He has had virtual visits, he has had zoom calls, he has done FaceTime, and that has helped him get to this point.

"I have been holding off on committing thinking we would be able to get out, see places and get back to visiting schools, but now we don't even know if that will happen, so I am just going to go off what I know.

"I have learned a lot about these schools since the pandemic hit, so without us being able to take visits any time soon, there is really no reason for me to go ahead and commit. I need to get serious about it and get it done."

Ball reported over three dozen offers, with many schools wanting him to play offensive line. The five finalists all want him to play defensive line, and that played into his decision.

"I have decided that I want to play defensive line in college, so I looked at the best schools for me that want me on that side of the ball," said Ball. "I have strong bonds with coaches at each of these schools, I like how they are recruiting me, I like where they want me to play, and now, I just have to work a little harder to figure out which is right for me."

When asked what comes to mind when each school is mentioned, here is what he had to say:

ARIZONA STATE: "My strong relationship with coach Rodriguez."

ARKANSAS: "The coaches. I knew a lot of the new staff from their time at other schools. Numerous coaches recruited me at their old schools, so we have that connection."

GEORGIA TECH: The culture. I love how the coaches are turning things around there."

ILLINOIS: "Coach Lindsey is great. We just relate to each other so well."

TENNESSEE: "Akron was my second offer, and coach Felton was the coach that offered me. He is from Georgia, he is now at Tennessee and we have a long relationship."

Ball said there is no order to this list, and that he is not leaning in any specific direction at this time, so he plans to work on that in the coming weeks.