The Latest: Rivals250 linebacker Channing Tindall was all set to announce his official visit plans last weekend and likely his commitment by the end of the month. But Mother Nature had other plans. Out of respect for the coaches dealing with the effects of Hurricane Irma, Tindall decided against revealing his plans and now that he’s had time to think about it and talk with his family, his timeline has changed completely. Rivals.com caught up with Tindall to talk about his new plan as well as the five schools, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Florida State and Auburn, still in the mix for his commitment.
In His Words: “When the hurricane first game I was thinking about taking my first official to Florida for the game against Tennessee. But human life is bigger than football to me so I was thinking about humanity and it didn’t seem like the right thing to do. Now during the hurricane I had some time to think and I was thinking, why am I just taking two of my official visits? I should take all five of them. So after talking to my family I’m going to take all of my officials and that’s going to push back my commitment date. I’m going to start taking my officials in November and make a decision in December.”
On the five schools in line to get official visits:
South Carolina: “It’s the hometown school. After watching them play a couple games I’ve been seeing a lot more physicality from the defense. Last year it was physical but this year they have a whole new different mindset than they had last year and they’re just pushing forward so I’m excited to see how things go. TJ, who used to play around here, has done exceptional. The plan for me, if I go there, is to put me in a position like Bryson Allen-Williams, I would rush a little bit, play back a little bit, do a little bit of everything.”
Georgia: “Georgia is only about two hours away and I have family in Lawrenceville so I make that trip down there all the time. I plan on taking an unofficial visit there for the Mississippi State game. I was very impressed with their game against Notre Dame, especially Roquan Smith making back-to-back-to-back big plans in that one. I was watching that game, it was a really good game. Georgia continues to impress and I feel like they’re going to be really good throughout the years. Georgia is one of those schools that when I think about other schools they’re always on the tip of my mind. Coach Shuman is getting those boys right at linebacker, Coach Smart is a great coach.”
Florida: “I’m trying to make it down to Florida for the LSU game and then again for an official visit later. With Florida they have more of an inside linebacker there so their whole message is that they’re in need of linebackers. Their plan is to come and get me and have me do a lot of different things in their defense. They said they can see me making plays in different ways but my main position would be inside linebacker. They have put a lot of guys in the NFL and I have a really good relationship with Coach Skip, he’s one of my favorite coaches. He’s very energetic and every time I talk to him he’s fired up. I went to a camp down there this summer and from first thing in the morning until 10 pm he has the same attitude and the same mindset and I like that in a coach. He really pushes you and pushes his players to get better and values them so that’s something that’s in Florida’s favor as well.”
Auburn: “Auburn is still very high on my list. I just talked to Coach Williams this week. During the season he actually breaks down footage of my games and tries to teach me what to do. This is his alma mater so we have kind of like a bond form that. He pushes me to be better and I know him inside and out. I’ve talked to the other players at Auburn and they love him as a coach. It’s like a big family at Auburn. They were one of my first offers and I’ve obviously known him for a long time growing up here. Now we have a great relationship. As far as their team I was really impressed with how their defense looked against Clemson. Going into that game I didn’t know what to expect because Auburn has a great defense and Clemson just won the national championship so for them to shut them down like that was impressive and I think they’re going to keep getting better as the year goes along.”
Florida State: “I haven’t had as much contact with Florida State. I haven’t heard too much from them. Florida State has always been on of the schools I like because I really like their defensive line and they always have a good defense. I need to talk to them more, we were supposed to talk next week but we haven’t had that good of communication. They’re in the mix right now but they would have to step things up to get where the other schools are.”
Rivals Reaction: Tindall was very close to making a decision and it seemed like his recruitment would be wrapped up by the end of September. But as is often the case this time of year plans change and now schools will have more time to make their case to Tindall. The fact that he's taking multiple visits to Georgia and Florida is notable and he's likely to make a few more stops in to see South Carolina. With his visits not starting until the end and a plan to sign in December, Tindall's recruitment will likley go down to the wire.
