Nations Top WR keeps on rolling

Tampa (Fla.) Jefferson’s Andre Caldwell is the No. 1 rated wide receiver in the country by Rivals100.com for good reason.

The 6-foot-2 and 180 pound standout has been on a tear in his senior season.

Jefferson lost their first game of the year, and the coaching staff felt like they needed to get arguably the nations top athlete the ball as much as possible so Caldwell moved from wide receiver to the quarterback position.

The moved paid off big-time for the Dragons.

Since the change, Jefferson has won 12 consecutive games including a third round 35-12 victory over Lakeland Lake Gibson. In that playoff game, Caldwell led the charge by rushing for 181 yards and two touchdowns. He also passed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns.

In nine regular season games, he passed for over 700 yards and had 749 yards rushing on only 49 carries. He also returned two kickoffs, and three punts for touchdowns.

This last weekend, the Tampa native stayed home and took in several college games, and Rivals100.com caught up with to find out where he stands with his recruitment.

“I stayed homes and took in several games,” Caldwell said.

“I watched Florida/Florida State, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State, Notre Dame/Southern Cal, and Miami/Syracuse games. I probably was the most impressed with the Florida/Florida State because it was the most exciting game of the weekend. There was a lot stuff happening on the field.”

One might jump to conclusions that this high school All-America candidate is leaning towards the Gators or the Noles, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

“I have scheduled visit to Florida in three weeks,” he said. “I also plan on make official visits to Florida State, Miami, Louisiana State and Southern Cal. All the schools that I plan to visit are even.

"When I visit each school, I’ll be looking to see where I would feel the most comfortable and where I fit into a program.”

The criterion for where he fits in is very simple.

“I want to play for an offense that throws the ball a lot,” Caldwell said.

“At Florida it’s a new program and I know that I could step in right away. I know the program quite well because my brother played there. Miami is the No. 1 team in country and they have a good coaching staff. Miami has a bunch of winners on their team. Florida State has an experienced coaching staff. They are rebuilding the program and I know that could step right in and play there.”

Caldwell will take all five of his official visits before decides. Expect him to announce his decision around signing day in February.

This weekend, Caldwell and his Jefferson teammates square off against 13-0 Punta Gorda Charlotte in the Class 4A region final.