Minnesota, Fleck in play for Southfield A&T LB McCaskill

Southfield A&T three-star linebacker Lorenzo McCaskill backed away from an offer from P.J. Fleck when Fleck was head coach at Western Michigan, feeling it wouldn’t be long before he left the Broncos.

It turns out McCaskill had Fleck pegged right. After guiding the Broncos to a 13-1 record, their first Mid-American Conference championship since 1988 and a Cotton Bowl appearance, Fleck departed for Minnesota.

Now McCaskill is interested in joining Fleck at the Big Ten school.

McCaskill was in on 141 tackles to help Southfield A&T reach the Division 2 regional final, getting 17 tackles for loss, nine sacks.

McCaskill, who earned a spot on The Detroit News Dream Team, had originally committed to Cincinnati, but re-opened his recruitment after Tommy Tuberville resigned as head coach.

Still, McCaskill took an official visit to Cincinnati last weekend and was impressed with the Bearcats’ new head coach, Luke Fickell, former head coach and defensive coordinator at Ohio State.

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“I took a visit to Cincinnati and had a great time there,” McCaskill said this week. “Coach Fickell is there now. I ate dinner with him, sat in his office and talked with him. He’s a great coach and he has a winning spirit. You can tell he’s from Ohio State.

“I’m still going to take some more official visits, possibly the 27th to Minnesota. Coach Fleck called me when he got there and offered me, called me almost as soon as he got there.”

McCaskill plans to take a trip to either Penn State or Marshall this weekend before the visit to Minnesota. He was a Penn State fan growing up, but Penn State has yet to offer him.

“I’ve talked to their coaches almost every other day and they’re trying to get me up there, but I’m not going up there unless they offer me,” McCaskill said.

david.goricki@detroitnews.com

Twitter @DavidGoricki