Rivals Most Wanted: Gunnell, Takacs, Dobbs
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 three top prospects from the classes of 2018 and 2019.
This week’s offers: Florida State, Houston
Status report: Several young quarterbacks picked up offers during the last week, but with his two new additions, Gunnell has firmly established himself as one of the elite in the class of 2019. His performance at the Florida State camp was especially eye opening, as he was seen as one of the top quarterbacks at the camp, no matter the class. Word has definitely gotten out regarding Gunnell, with LSU and Missouri also showing increased interest recently. One school which hasn’t shown serious interest yet is Arkansas, which is surprising since several members of Gunnell’s family are graduates and his grandfather played for the national championship team in 1964. Growing up around Arkansas football, an offer from the Razorbacks would give them a unique advantage over other programs. Either way, the offers will continue to pile up for Gunnell in the coming months as he continues to prove himself as an elite level talent.
In his words: “It feels really special to receive these offers this early. I’m a little surprised, but I knew with all the hard work I have been putting in that they would start coming. It did happen a little sooner than I thought, though.”
Visit plans: Gunnell’s most recent visits were for Florida State and Houston camps, with both resulting in offers. He also camped at Texas A&M in June and took visits to Oklahoma State and LSU. His next visit is a return one to College Station this Friday, and he mentioned that he also hopes to be able to check out Ole Miss in the near future.
This week’s offers: Florida, Iowa State, Minnesota
Status report: Takacs entered last week with six offers, but with North Carolina State his only Power Five scholarship option. That quickly changed in the span of a few days as he added offers from the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12. He also believes that Miami may be close to being his second ACC offer, as the Canes have been expressing increased interest in recent weeks. One interesting school to keep an eye on with Takacs is Notre Dame. He actually grew up in Indiana and his mother is a Notre Dame graduate, so an offer from the Fighting Irish could prove to be important. Takacs did mention that coach Autry Denson has been in touch with him regarding the Irish.
In his words: “It's a great feeling to see my recruiting blow up like this. I’m not really surprised, but I’m definitely excited at the opportunity.”
Visit plans: Takacs’ most recent visits were to Florida for a camp and Minnesota for a visit, and both resulted in new offers. He does not have any additional visits scheduled at this time as he plans to focus on his upcoming junior season.
This week’s offers: Auburn, Ohio State, Missouri
Status report: Dobbs wanted to prove that he was an elite talent by competing at three camps during the last week, and he did just that by adding two more SEC offers and an important one from the Big Ten. One notable school that has yet to offer Dobbs is the in-state Wolverines. However, he did mention that Michigan has been showing increased interest recently. Dobbs grew up watching college football, but admitted to never following any specific school. There also don’t appear to be any specific schools that he is hoping receive an offer from, so it definitely seems like his process is very open at this extremely early stage.
In his words: “It's definitely a blessing, especially where I've been raised. But through it all I must stay humble because this is why I'm here now. I must continue to work on and off the field. I am surprised with all my success, but my coach said I had a bright future so I listen and did everything he told me to do.”
Visit plans: Dobbs’ most recent visits were to Auburn, Ohio State and Missouri for camps, which resulted in three offers. While he does not have any additional visits planned at this time, he would like to visit Auburn, Ohio State, Michigan State and Florida when the opportunity arises.