Georgia TE wants to stay close to home
It was only as recent as the early part of the 2003 football season that Woodstock, Ga. had not only one of the longest losing streaks in the state of Georgia, but in the entire nation. The program was a laughing stock and the thought of the school producing a Division I prospect was an absurdity. Things have changed drastically in a matter of months as the school finished with a 5-5 record and just missed the playoffs. A new coach and guys like tight end/defensive end Tripp Chandler are the reason for the turnaround. Chandler has picked up his first offer and is receiving interest from dozens of other programs.
“I got my first offer last month from Ball State,” Chandler said. “I got a lot of calls in May. Arkansas, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Ball State, Florida, Central Florida, North Carolina, Duke and Auburn all called me.”
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Chandler had an impressive showing at the NIKE camp in Atlanta where he came in at 6-foot-5 and weighed 232 pounds. What was even more impressive was the 4.7 second 40-yard dash time he posted.
“I went to Clemson last weekend and I will going to Georgia Tech this weekend,” Chandler said. “I’m also going to Duke this summer for a camp and I think that we are going to swing by and check out North Carolina while we are up that way.”
He plans to attend camps at Duke, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas and Auburn over the summer.
“I think Duke could be close to offering,” Chandler said. “I would have to say that Duke and Florida are recruiting me the hardest right now. Florida really started to come on strong after the NIKE camp, so I guess they saw something about me there that they liked.”
Chandler had a 32 inch vertical jump and a 4.51 second shuttle at the NIKE camp. He has a 225-pound bench press and a 395-pound squat.
“I don’t know if I have a list of favorites, but Florida and Georgia Tech look real good right now,” Chandler said. “I want to stay close to home, at least somewhere in the South. I think some big offers are going to come in, but if the right one came along I would consider committing.”