Rivals Most Wanted: Campbell, Burney, Thibodeaux
Each week, Rivals.com looks at three players who saw their offer list lengthen considerably over a seven-day stretch. This week's group includes top prospects from the classes of 2018 and 2019.
This week’s offers: Florida State, Ohio State
Status report: Campbell actually burst onto the recruiting scene during the spring when he picked up numerous big offers from the SEC and ACC. This past week he was back in the spotlight, as the Seminoles and Buckeyes officially joined the chase. Campbell is in no rush at this time to make a final decision, as he mentioned “probably National Signing Day” when asked about a timetable. Miami, Florida State, Clemson and Ohio State are currently recruiting him the hardest, and with each of these schools being in a group that he followed while growing up, look for these four to be major players until the end.
In his words: “It's feels great. They were both schools I grew up liking. It's a blessing and it's also humbling to have this many options. I’m proud of the early recruiting process because I feel I worked hard and played well to get to the point where I am now.”
Visit plans: Campbell’s most recent visits were to Miami for a camp and Florida State for a visit. There are three games that Campbell is likely to attend this fall, Florida State-Miami, Florida State-Clemson and an Ohio State home game, which he has yet to select.
This week’s offers: Tennessee, Virginia Tech
Status report: Burney continued to position himself as one of the most sought after athletes in the nation next year with new offers from the Hokies and Vols. The Tampa area four-star denied following any programs while growing up, but did mention that his cousin, Oscar Davenport, played for North Carolina, while another cousin, C.J. Mosley, played for Alabama. Burney, who is planning to wait until his National Signing Day before making a decision, denies having any current favorites, but claims that Florida and Virginia Tech are the schools who have been recruiting him the hardest.
In his words: “It's a great feeling knowing these schools believe in my football skills. Going into my junior year with 15 offers is awesome. I don't know much about Tennessee, but I'm sure CJ [Cotman] will change that and my cousin, Brandon Facyson, is a cornerback for Virginia Tech so I’ve been following them for a while.”
Visit plans: Burney’s most recent visits were to Alabama, Florida State and Florida for camps. During the fall he hopes to attend games at Florida, Florida State, South Florida, Ohio State and Michigan.
This week’s offers: Tennessee, Miami
Status report: At 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, Thibodeaux is already a hot name in recruiting even though he is only a sophomore. The offers from the Vols and Canes are big ones, although he acknowledged not knowing much about either program or school at this time. Thibodeaux is still getting accustomed to the attention and learning about the process. With no family ties to any schools or any favorites while growing up, he seems to be extremely open-minded regarding his process. Two offers that he would like to add to his total at some point are Ohio State and Alabama.
In his words: “I am as humbled as can be. I haven't made it anywhere yet and anything can happen in a day and change my whole life, so I just praise God for the place that he put me in and all of the opportunities I have to succeed. I am very grateful for every college that believes that I have a great future ahead. It feels great to know that people are noticing all of my hard work and I will continue to work hard and get better.”
Visit plans: Thibodeaux has not had the opportunity to hit the recruiting road hard to this point, as his only visit was to USC for the Rising Star Camp. No definite plans have been made to this point, but he hopes to attend a game at as many of the six schools that have offered this fall. The most likely visit destination for him will be USC, which is obviously the most local of his offers.