4-star EDGE Samuel M'Pemba names top 7 schools

St. Louis (Mo.) IMG Academy four-star EDGE Samuel M’Pemba is making his way towards a college decision.

He has moved one big step closer with the announcement of his top seven teams: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Notre Dame, Oregon and Tennessee.

“I feel like just how college football’s going right now, those schools would benefit me the most to my dreams,” M’Pemba said.

The No. 27 prospect is the 2023 On3 Consensus said he feels his commitment is a few months ago, but is making good progress towards that goal.

The Crimson Tide are the lone school he has not taken a visit to among his top seven schools.

“That’s like a factory, you know,” M’Pemba said. “They’ve been doing it time and time again, just putting guys in league constantly.”

M’Pemba will go to either Florida or Miami during the lone open weekend in July.

Both teams have new coaching staffs. M’Pemba said he was impressed with how Billy Napier and his staff are building the culture and program.

He said he noticed a big difference since the Dan Mullen era.

“I feel like I’ll be needed there because they really don’t have that many guys. That’s one thing they’ve been telling me a lot,” M’Pemba said.

For the Hurricanes, M’Pemba said he really likes the culture and vibe head coach Mario Cristobal is cultivating at Miami.

“The type of recruiting that they do, like the family atmosphere that they have, they’re big on that. They’re gonna take care of you,” he said.

M’Pemba made his first visit to Tennessee in June and really liked the atmosphere in Knoxville, Tenn.

“It definitely felt like like a home away from home almost in a way,” he said. “It was just good to feel comfortable and safe.”

He has not used any of his official visits and plans on using them on gamedays during the fall. He has a few that he is in the process of finalizing, including Clemson at Notre Dame on Nov. 5.

M’Pemba said he likes the way the programing is moving under Marcus Freeman.

“Everything is changing for the better, not for the worse,” M’Pemba said.

He will also visit Georgia for the Auburn game.

“I’ll say the strong relationship I have right now is probably Georgia,” M’Pemba said. “I talk to them guys almost everyday.”

He is also likely to visit Oregon, probably for the game versus Stanford.

New Ducks linebacker coach Tosh Lupoi and his NFL resume standout to the Midwest native, as does the resume of Dan Lanning.

“They’re real like people, people. Just the relationship that I had with the guys and I went up there and how cool everybody. It definitely felt like like a home away from home almost in a way.”

He will also use his other officials but isn’t sure about where at this time.

M’Pemba said those official visits will make a impact in his recruitment but will not be the be-all, end-all of his decision.

“Yes and no,” M’Pemba said. “Honestly, I want to see like how it is during the game, like the coaching because I feel, at the end of the day, that’s probably the most important thing.”