Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling an issue in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network.
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THE STORYLINE
Cartavious Bigsby goes by the nickname Tank. He’s a muscled-up four-star athlete from Hogansville (Ga.) Callaway who wants to play running back in college.
Some schools want to bring him in as an athlete and figure out where he fits best in their system. Some have talked about using him at safety. Others have discussed having Bigsby play wide receiver.
But South Carolina seems to have taken the lead in his recruitment because the Gamecocks have gone after him the hardest and they want to keep him at running back.
The four-star Bigsby, ranked second nationally at the athlete position, recently visited Alabama. Georgia and Auburn, among others, are also involved in his recruitment.
Can South Carolina hold off that stiff SEC competition for Bigsby’s commitment, especially if he wants to make his decision sometime prior to his senior season?
FIRST TAKE: CHAD SIMMONS, SOUTHEAST RECRUITING ANALYST
“It’s a combination that gives the Gamecocks the edge right now in how they recruited him, the consistency, and they made him feel like a top priority. Then the position, where schools like Alabama, Georgia and even Auburn have called him an athlete, some feel safety, some think slot receiver. South Carolina sold him on the position he wants to play and then multiple coaches from that staff connected with him and made him feel like he’s a priority.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, NATIONAL RECRUITING DIRECTOR
“He is a very, very thick and physical kid, so he looks like a running back. He played wide receiver a little bit at the Future 50 and he clearly wasn’t as comfortable or dominant as he was at running back. He’s a downhill guy, one-cut, explosive runner. That will give him the edge. He doesn’t seem to want to play defense. He would be a tremendous defensive player as well, but he prefers offense. South Carolina playing the running back card is certainly a smart move.”