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Big offer comes for DE Councell

Asheville (N.C.) A.C. Reynolds defensive end Ben Councell started blowing up on the recruiting circuit in late March. Offers have continued to trickle in for the 6-foot-5, 220-pounder including from a major school a couple weeks back.
"I've got offers from Maryland, Duke, NC State and Notre Dame offered two weeks ago," he said. "Georgia Tech said they are probably going to offer, they just have to write it up.
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"South Carolina wants me to come down for a visit and make sure I'm interested before they offer."
The Notre Dame offer is a big one for Councell.
"I think I'm going to do a visit up to Notre Dame in the next couple weekends," he said. "I'm pretty interested in them, it's Notre Dame. They have a pretty good program. The new coaching staff is there and it's super exciting.
"They haven't done well lately, but they got the Cincinnati coaching staff and the defense is coming in. They see me playing my freshman year and possibly starting by my sophomore season. I'm interested in seeing more of them and it's a pretty good degree, so I can come out with a degree after football."
Clearly Notre Dame is one of the schools that is intriguing Councell, does he like anyone else?
"My dad went to NC State and I've visited twice," he said. "I know they have a new AD, but I don't know if they're going to fire the staff next year. It's kind of a gamble with them.
"I'm interested in South Carolina and Clemson too. Clemson and South Carolina are pretty close. My parents want somewhere within a reasonable drive. Clemson is only an hour and a half from Asheville and is an excellent football program. South Carolina is pretty close and some of my family is big Gamecock fans."
The end recently took an unofficial visit to Auburn and came away impressed.
"We went down there and I loved the football program. I loved Auburn on my visit."
A couple other schools starting to show significantly more interest includes Vanderbilt and West Virginia.
With recruiting rising, what does Councell want in a college?
"I don't want to be benched until my senior year," he stated. "I'm looking at playing time and a good school. I want to get a good job after college. I'm looking at engineering maybe or business. It'll also matter how I feel at the school. I don't want to go somewhere I don't feel at home. Location matters to my parents, but if it comes down to it, it's my choice."
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