Rivals Most Wanted: Hawkins, Bell, Vann

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 two standout defenders from the Buckeye State and a four-star prospect from New Jersey.

This week’s offers: Florida State, Florida, Kentucky, Toledo

Status report: Hawkins was still waiting for his first offer just 10 days ago. He has since picked up his first four and is clearly a 2018 prospect to watch. Most impressive is that his first offer came from Florida State, which is not an everyday occurrence for any sophomore. While Hawkins' recruiting process is still in the very early stages, one school to keep an eye on is Cincinnati. Hawkins’ father played for the local Bearcats, which led him to follow the program as he was growing up. He even recalls being on the sidelines for UC's 2008 Orange Bowl matchup versus Virginia Tech.

In his words: “It was great. I'm extremely thankful for it. Football has been a passion of mine since the beginning, so that really was exciting. I wasn't really focused on it (recruiting). I just knew that I needed to keep working hard to prepare for camps in the summer and for the upcoming season.”

Visit plans: Hawkins took visits to Florida and South Florida last week, picking up an offer from the Gators while in Gainesville. Next up is a visit to Clemson this weekend and then Notre Dame next Saturday. He has no other visits finalized at this point, but knows that he would like to check out South Carolina, Georgia and Penn State when the opportunity arises.

This week’s offers: Clemson, Pittsburgh

Status report: Bell made his top 10 list public last week but a subsequent offer from Clemson may have turned everything upside-down. That development was followed by a visit to Michigan which resulted in rumors that he may be close to pulling the trigger for the Wolverines. After shooting down those rumors, Bell claims that he plans to wait his recruiting process out and maybe even delay a decision until until National Signing Day. He also acknowledged that the offer from Clemson gave him a lot more to think about.

In his words: “It makes me feel good, because once I thought that I wasn't good enough to play college football and now I have an opportunity to play at some of the top schools in the country.”

Visit plans: After his weekend visit to Michigan, Bell does not have any firm plans scheduled. However, he did mention that he would like to take visits to Clemson, Georgia, North Carolina and a few other southern schools when the time allows.

This week’s offers: Michigan State, Kentucky, Pittsburgh

Status report: Vann saw his offer total almost double over the last week, plus he received very positive reviews from both Michigan and Ohio State during visits. The Ohio native acknowledges that he is a fan of the Buckeyes, but Vann has ties to several other programs through his family. His mother and grandmother both graduated from Cincinnati, his father and grandfather were both fans of Michigan, while his older brother, Marquise Vann, is currently a linebacker at UConn.

In his words: “It felt great. I didn't expect the Michigan State offer though and when I got it I was very excited. And the offer came from Coach (Mark) Dantonio too, so that made it even better. Kentucky is my first SEC offer and was great too. Top talent every week in the conference. And Pitt having Coach (Pat) Narduzzi, the former coach at Michigan State, I know they play a good brand of defense and play tough every week. They’re coming off a good 8-5 record which will probably get better.”

Visit plans: Vann took visits to Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State and Kentucky during his spring break, picking up offers from both the Spartans and Wildcats. Next he mentioned that he hopes to visit Penn State, Purdue and Pittsburgh, but nothing has been scheduled. He will also be attending the Rivals Camp Series Presented by Under Armour in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday.