Thibodeaux sees interest increase

New Iberia (La.) Westgate defensive tackle Tae Thibodeaux has been busy throughout the spring and summer making his mark.

Thibodeaux measured in at 6-foot-2, 265-pounds at LSU in July, was among the top performers at the camp, and was among the best at the RCS Houston in March. He attended camps at Mississippi State and Louisiana-Lafayette and continues to receive interest.

It has been a good past few months with offers starting to roll in.

"It's going slow. I'm still waiting on a few schools," Thibodeaux said. I'm pretty sure I want to get more offers as I go into my senior year, but so far I have offers from Tulane, ULM, Memphis, Harvard, and that's about it so far.

Others continue to show interest. Thibodeaux indicated LSU has continued to keep in touch along with Mississippi State, and more recently Oklahoma State and Arizona State have stepped up their interest.

"I've been talking to coach Henderson, the coach from Oklahoma state," Thibodeaux said. "He's still waiting for the d-line coach to get back in and the same with Arizona State. I've been talking with coach Mike Norvell and he said they would love to have me as a Sun Devil. They like my film. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get me an offer pretty soon."

At this time, the standout defensive lineman is taking his time with the recruiting process and wants to see what offers arrive during the season. He also wants to take a few visits and take a closer look at his options.

"I know I want to visit the schools who have offered me for sure," Thibodeaux said. "If Oklahoma State and Arizona State and LSU offer me I'm going to take those visits for sure. I'll also visit Tulane because they were the first ones to offer me and I always have to keep them in consideration. The first school that offers you means a lot."

He may not be close to making his decision, but he does have a few factors he knows will weigh heavily in his decision making process.

"Mainly for depth. If I can go in and compete to play right away," Thibodeaux said. "I want to see if I can get into the rotation right away. I don't want to have to redshirt for a year and then come out and play. Also education, LSU I want to say is ranked right behind Vanderbilt in graduation rate so I want to graduate and make sure my grades stay on top."

He does not have a hard and fast deadline on a decision but he does have an idea about when he would like to arrive at a decision.

"I want to say before January," Thibodeaux said.