Defensive lineman Joel Starlings has early offers from teams in the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12. The 2023 prospect out of Richmond (Va.) Benedictine is in line to be one of the more heavily recruited prospects in the region and he explained how his recruitment got started.
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CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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IN HIS OWN WORDS...
"The first offer I got was from South Carolina," Starlings said. "The second one was Ole Miss. After that was Minnesota, Syracuse, Arizona State, and Virginia. Michigan State and North Carolina could be close to offering. We've been talking and starting to mesh well."
South Carolina- "My offer was from the old staff," he said. "South Carolina is a good place. I've researched a lot about their tradition and what the school offers. I was talking to coach Krantz."
Ole Miss- "Those coaches are good people," said Starlings. "They watched my film and they said it jumped out at them before they even started talking to me. It was kind of the same way with South Carolina. Coach Partridge is who I talk to there."
Minnesota- "They looked at my film and then I talked to coach Wilt," he said. "He seemed like a good guy and explained to me what Minnesota is looking for in a defensive lineman."
Syracuse- "Coach Chip West is who I talked to up there," Starlings said. "I knew he used to coach at Virginia for a little while. I don't know too much about Syracuse right now."
Arizona State- "I really did some research on Arizona State because they're so far from here," he said. "I wanted to know what they're all about. I found out that their practices are in the morning."
Virginia- "I know they have a good coaching staff," said Starlings. "One of my mentors, Wali Rainer, used to play there. He explained to me what UVA is about and what his time there was like. He really opened my eyes to how my grades need to be good to play there."
RIVALS' REACTION...
Starlings has yet to play his sophomore season because football in Virginia was postponed but everything he showed off in his only high school season was impressive enough to earn him some big offers. Some of these offers are look more like preliminary offers that help start relationships between players and coaches but Starlings is taking advantage of the opportunity to learn more about each program. Expect him to do the same with the many more offers that are expected to come his way.
