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Savon Huggins Q &A
By Smith | 4/21/10 |
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The 2011 recruiting cycle has a
long list of upper echelon running back prospects and
one of the elite on and off the field talents, New
Jersey's Savon Huggins, is toward the top of that list.
ThaRinger.com recently caught up with the St. Peter's
Prep standout to get an update on his recruitment and
more.
Smith:
Can you run through a list of your offers for me?
Savon: Pretty much I have almost every offer in the
country. But my coach really doesn’t tell me certain
schools if he doesn’t feel I would be best at. He’ll
tell me some school offered me but it really doesn’t
matter because academically they’re not as good as my
grades are. So we’re not going to send you to a school
that doesn’t have great academics. So, pretty much
everybody besides Texas, OSU, and USC. I’ll know for
sure when all the coaches start coming in during May.
Smith: How are you handling all of the attention?
Savon: I don’t want to be too involved in it to the
point I lose my focus. But I’m kind of narrowing it down
as the coaches come in and I see what they need. I’m
just taking it slow though, comparing schools. There’s
about 8 or 9 different schools I’ve seen and I should
visit about that many in the summertime. By the end of
summer, I should get it down to maybe 8 – 10 schools.
Smith: Are there any that you’re pretty sure will
make the cut for an official visit?
Savon: Not right now, not yet.
Smith: What school is recruiting you the hardest
right now?
Savon: Florida, Penn State, Rutgers, South Carolina.
South Carolina is recruiting me heavy. Florida told me
I’m the number one recruit on their board. A lot of
schools are really going after me.
Smith: When I talked to your dad he said USC had
started recruiting you?
Savon: They’re getting ready to offer me. They looked at
my tape, they loved it. I believe I talked to them last
Wednesday.
Smith: What are some of the things that will help you
come to a decision?
Savon: Depth chart. I really want to see that I’ll have
the chance to play early. Then if I don’t play early,
what will the situation be for me. A BCS program that
can win National Championships. That’s something that I
really want to be a part of. Comfort with the players.
The coaches too but they can leave really any time and
they’re different after you sign anyway. I just feel
that I should be comfortable around the players and
stuff more so than the coaches. The whole atmosphere, if
the coaches left, would I still want to be at that
school you know? The social life, the little things, how
I fit in. If I fit in with the players and all, then
that could be a good choice for me.
Smith: Can you go a little deeper on what would be a
good fit for you? Having grown up in Jersey City and so
close to New York, would you prefer a more urban
setting?
Savon: I actually live in the suburbs. My school’s in
the city but I also have family in the country. So I
really don’t think different areas would affect my
decision. I can go to school in the middle of nowhere,
in the city, in the suburbs.
Smith: So if a Nebraska comes calling, a Kansas comes
calling, the country setting won’t hurt their chances?
Savon: They have been. (with a laugh) That won’t be a
problem at all. All that matters is what can they do for
my future. Cause at the end of the day, I’m in charge of
the recruiting process. I think recruits forget that
sometimes and they think the coaches are in charge. You
have to be in charge of the whole thing. I mean, go
through it humble but follow your heart.
Smith: There’s no doubt you’re dealing with some of
the best salesmen in the world so it’s good that you
have your dad and coach for support through this too.
Savon: Yeah, them and my uncle, my sister helps me a lot
too. She’ll tell what schools she likes too. My
teammates. If they go see a school we’ll talk about it
and they’ll tell me what they like. I have a huge
supporting cast when it comes to that. My DB coach,
actually his son goes to Stanford. If I have any
questions, I’ll ask him. He knows everybody and I’ll ask
him what he thinks is best for me, for my running style,
whatever.
Smith: Speaking of your running style. Is there
anyone in particular you try to pattern your game after?
Savon: People say I remind them of Adrian Peterson.
That’s what everyone pretty much says.
Smith: I don’t know if you’ve seen some older clips
or some tailbacks that have retired but the person who
jumped to mind when I watched your clips was Eric
Dickerson. Especially with your longer strides.
Savon: I’ve heard that before. It’s funny you say that
cause I was just going to say the same thing. I’ve
watched a lot of running backs and I run track so I kind
of have that sprinters stride.
Smith: The main reason I called initially was I had
seen the report that OSU had offered.
Savon: No, they’ve sent a lot of mail but they haven’t
offered yet.
Smith: Have you spoken with anyone from OSU yet?
Savon: No, not yet
Smith: Does the name alone of certain schools carry
more clout with you? What I mean is, are there certain
schools that will get your attention on name alone,
before you really know much about their program?
Savon: Yes, it can. But, I’m not just going to go to a
school because so and so is, because someone else did.
Smith: So you’re not ready to name any school or
maybe a few schools as having moved ahead of the others
for you?
Savon: Not even close. I’m open. I still want to see
who’s interested in me. I mean these are some great
schools but at the end of the day, if they’re not
showing interest in me, why should I show any in them? I
don’t feel that it’s my job to reach out to a school.
They’re supposed to be recruiting me. I don’t want to go
to some school just because of what their name is when
they don’t really want me.
Smith: Is there anything unique about you that a
school needs to address while recruiting you?
Savon: My leadership skills. If you actually watch a
game film of me. Not just highlights. You get to see
I’ll get on my lineman when I need to. I’m a very
emotional player. I’m really into the game and I have
passion for the game. People don’t really ask me about
that, you know. They ask about recruiting and stuff but
when I’m in the zone, you really can’t stop me. When my
mind is set, everybody knows it: my teammates, the
opposing team.
Smith: Does that carry off the field?
Savon: Most definitely. A lot of kids look up to me and
want to do the things I do. So I can’t be doing anything
stupid. I have to set an example. Kids come up and talk
to me ask me how to do things, how to get stronger or
faster. It’s a lot but I enjoy it. These kids want to be
in my shoes someday so I always help them out when I
can.
Smith: What kind of traits are you looking for in the
coaches you’ll play for?
Savon: I want to find coaches who will care about me on
and off the field. They’re very supportive. Where they
make it like it’s really a family type of thing. We
laugh and joke but if we ever need anything, every coach
is there for you. They’re almost like a second father. I
think that makes a team even stronger, even better. If
you ever need to talk to a coach, he’s there.
Smith: Have you had any experiences with your
recruiting that have turned you off or made you want to
drop a school from consideration?
Savon: When you talk to a coach you have to let them
know you’re in charge of the situation. They talk about
‘imagine what you could do here, imagine what you could
do for me’ but they end up coming off too hard. All of
the ‘we need you bad, we need you in this uniform’ stuff
is fine but when they start asking why you’re going to
other places and telling you there’s is the only place
for you, I guess you just have to know how to handle it.
You just have to let them know you’re not going to just
sit there and nod your head for them. They’re not going
to force you into making a decision. I think some kids
just go with the flow instead of being straight up and
forward with them.
Smith: Why do you think a program should consider
you?
Savon: I’m a leader. I’m a student of the game. I play
with tenacity. I work hard on and off the field.
Academics are never a problem with me. I have a 3.7 GPA
right now and I’m taking the ACT in May. I’m driven. I
make smart decisions. If you want to win, I’m a person
that will be there to help my team, take them on my
shoulders if I have to get the W.
Smith: In closing, do you have a message to fans?
Savon: I like to have fun but I know when it’s time to
work. When it’s time to get to work, I’m always ready.
National Ranking
32. Savon Huggins
6'0", 190 / RB / St. Peter's Prep (NJ)
Ranking: 6.0/
Discuss Savon Huggins on ThaRinger.com’s message
board
HERE.
Read
bonus Savon Huggins quotes that didn’t make this article
HERE.
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 250
Spring Edition
Full 250 |
1. Jadeveon Clowney/DE/South
Pointe (SC)/
2. La'el
Collins/OT/Redemptorist (LA)/
3. Teddy
Bridgewater/ATH/Northwestern (FL)/
4. Tim Jernigan/DT/Columbia (FL)/
5. George Farmer/WR/Serra (CA)/ |
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