MARIETTA, Ga.  — The big boys of college football have been chasing Marietta’s Azeez Ojulari for quite some time. That race now has a finish line.

Ojulari, the nation’s No. 3 weak-side defensive end prospect for 2018, will make his college decision before a school assembly and press conference at approximately 3 p.m. next Thursday. Blue Devils coach Richard Morgan confirmed that with DawgNation on Monday.

The young man has seen his stock rise over the last few months.

Azeez Ojulari has barely scratched the surface of his football potential. (Jeff Sentell /SEC Country)/Dawgnation)

Ojulari has that No. 3 weak-side DE tag along with a current standing as the nation’s No. 25 overall prospect by 247Sports.

The 247SportsComposite rating lists him as the nation’s No. 6 prospect and No. 137 overall recruit.

Which schools are in it? Georgia has done a very good job of recruiting him since it offered him back in June.

He said that Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, South Carolina and Tennessee were all recruiting him “very hard” during his recruiting timeline.

Alabama is also in play. Clemson also sent him an official offer edit this month. Ojulari has already accepted an invitation to play in the U.S. Army All-American game.

He recently took a visit to check out Florida. He said this summer at The Opening in Oregon that was going to be important.

Ojulari needed to see that program this summer before he made his college decision.

When asked on Monday afternoon, he felt that the decision would be one of the following programs: Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. Those are the best bets to have the hats on the table next Thursday.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound prospect has 30-plus offers and impressive length and athleticism. He was laser timed at 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the Nike Opening regional in Atlanta earlier this year. Ojulari also delivered an eye-popping 39.8-inch vertical leap during that testing session.

Why Azeez Ojulari is ready for his decision

Morgan shared some good advice with Ojulari during the final leg of his decision.

Azeez Ojulari ranks as the nation’s No. 3 weak-side DE and No. 25 player overall by 247Sports. (Jeff Sentell/SEC Country)/Dawgnation)

“I told him that any decision he makes needs to be based on what’s the best for him and his family,” Morgan said. “I told him to not listen to any outside influences. The place that he is going to be the happiest is where he is going to love the campus and love being there if football was taken away from you. That’s what I told him to make his decision and base it off that.”

The plan also affords everyone the chance to cover his decision. Marietta, which will field a team with 11 major college prospects this fall, will open its season next Friday against Wheeler.

“We have a press conference next Thursday and he will be ready to go,” Morgan said. “We just confirmed it today. … So everybody can attend it at the same time and everyone can ask their questions that day so we are not fielding a thousand questions about it the day before the game. That way no one feels slighted and everyone that has covered Azeez for a long time will get the story at the same time and everyone can write their articles.”