Caleb Chapman on becoming the latest Texas target by Ducks

DALLAS, Tex. -- Four-star wide receiver Caleb Chapman has captured the imagination of many a college football coach as well as fan, and his recruitment has taken a turn after recent offers from Mississippi State, Nebraska, and Oregon.

All three programs have been battling for commitments in the state of Texas but the Huskers and Bulldogs staffs might have preferred if Ducks assistants weren’t in Houston recently for a satellite camp at Rice. That’s where they watched Chapman in action and so enough to know he was deserving of an offer.

“It was exciting,” he said. “It kind of changed my perspective on what’s coming in now. It was great getting the offer, so we’ll just go from there.”

Chapman hasn’t been too specific when it comes to discussing when he would like to commit, or who his favored teams could be at this point. He’s said that he’d like to get a look at as many of the schools that have offered him as possible, but even he can’t deny that picking up offers from programs that are considered to be more proven commodities shapes his considerations.

“I’m trying to make [a commitment] soon, of course,” he said. “That gets a little more difficult with some of these bigger offers coming in. So I’m just trying to take this in and go from there.”

So far as Oregon is concerned, Chapman said that it was easy to strike up a relationship with the Ducks coaches pretty quickly.

“They’re a great staff,” he said. “They’re young. They’re upbeat. Talking to them is like talking with friends.”

Even without any meaningful acknowledgement about which programs might have a leg-up on things already, he’s not denying that his more notable offers are starting to take a little more priority than some of his earlier options.

“Those offers will make an impact on where I’m going,” he said. “Where they stand right now, I don’t know, but those definitely affect my top schools.”

Chapman has been one of the stars of the spring in Texas. He’s become social media famous after making extraordinary catches at every event he competes in. He’s got great size as an outside receiver, is a confident jump-ball winner and has enough speed and wiggle to run more than just vertical routes. He also plays like he has something to prove every time he takes the field. All of those things have combined to make him a highly sought-after recruit.