O-lineman Pete Leota visits USC; decision this week

Offensive lineman Pete Leota of Asheville, N.C., made an unofficial visit to USC Saturday night and will take the next few days to work on his decision between the Gamecocks and Virginia Tech.

Leota will announce his choice Thursday afternoon.

Leota also made an unofficial visit to Virginia Tech for the Ohio State game. The purpose of the two visits was to give him one more meeting with the coaches and one more gameday experience at both locations.

“My visit went great. South Carolina fans are crazy,” Leota said.

As for what stood out the most to him, Leota said, “Well, the coaches, like Shawn Elliot.”

Leota had been favoring USC since attending the camp in late July and still felt that way after visiting Blacksburg, but he wants to go into this week with an open mind.

“Now I’m going to compare the two schools and make my decision Thursday,” he said, adding the two schools are even with him.

The factors that will weigh the most in his decision are “school, football, academics, coaches, players and playing style.”