Bethel short on specifics
Patrick Bethel won't need much media training when he hit college. He's got the say-nothing routine down already. It's hard to get the four=-star defensive lineman to so much as mention a specific school, let alone name any sort of leader in his recruitment.
The way the Vero Beach (Fla.) High School star weaves through questions without saying anything concrete is something to behold. Bethel, as they say, has clichés for days.
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"I'm focusing on getting better, not on visits or recruitment," Bethel said.
And so when asked which school's he'd like to visit in the future, he sticks to the script. Plans? If Bethel has them, he's certainly not sharing them. Anything to avoid the tipping of his hand.
"I don't have any specific schools in mind at all," he said. "I'm just going to try to get around to a bunch of them."
The most interesting thing Bethel says is that he hopes to cut his list to 10 in the very near future and make verbal commitment early in his senior season. Bethel plans to graduate high school a semester early, so his process will be accelerated.
Looming decision or not, though, Bethel is unmistakably coy. Ask him which schools are recruiting him the most aggressively, and he says "everyone." In fact, the only way to get him to speak in any sort of specifics is to ask him which program last contacted him.
"Last night, I messaged back Miami, Florida State, the coach from Ole Miss, Florida and I think that's it," Bethel said.
His contract with coaches, while frequent, still seems preliminary. Even so, Bethel converses with purpose.
"I'm still just trying to sort out the genuine guys from the one that put on a show for you," he said.