Hawkins has plenty of options

Colleges such as Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi State and Ole Miss are recruiting Columbus (Ga.) Carver junior athlete Marqui Hawkins to play receiver. Others, including Clemson, Florida and Tennessee like him at defensive back.

As for Hawkins, he doesn't care which position he gets put at in college.

"I just want to play," he said.

The 6-feet-2, 205-pound Hawkins is being recruited by some of the South's most well-known programs.

"I have offers from Florida, Clemson, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Ole Miss," he said. "With Georgia and Alabama, I'm not exactly sure if they've offered. My coaches are going to go back and check."

At Carver in 2011, Hawkins played mostly receiver, and finished with 31 receptions for 635 yards and five touchdowns. This year, however, he expects to play on both sides of the ball as he also will be a cornerback.

Thus far, his only 2012 visit was to Clemson.

"I just went last week," he said. "It went great. We visited the campus and the academic center. I just talked to the coaches and chilled with the players. My favorite part of the trip was watching the players at practice. I was watching the cornerbacks and trying to figure out some different techniques, how to cover and read defenses."

What's next?

"In two weeks, I'm visiting Florida," Hawkins said. "Me and my coaches also are trying to get up to Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Auburn. There will be other visits. Those are just the ones I know for now. I'm looking for good academics, and how the campus feels. I want a good coaching staff, and I'm looking to see how the coaches treat you and how the players treat you."

Right now, nobody stands out, according to Hawkins.

"I don't have any leaders. I'm just trying to build my offers," Hawkins said. "I'd say I'll have a top five in May. My parents would like for me to have an early commitment, so I may do that in June or July."

Keith Niebuhr can be reached at Keithrivals@yahoo.com. You can follow him on Twitter @KeithRIVALS.