Randle keeps busy

Rueben Randle is one of the most sought after prospects in the entire country but also one of the quietest on the recruiting front. Some guys love the attention that comes with recruiting these days but the 5-star receiver from Bastrop (La.) isn’t one of them.

While most kids who are being courted by every school from coast-to-coast are already kicking back and enjoying the summer before their senior year things are a little different for Rueben Randle up in North Louisiana.

“Our parents are moving out to Collinston to get closer to the grandparents so Rueben is out there working right now helping to get the house ready,” said Randle’s brother, Deatrick Mitchell.

“Our dad always said that even though school is out he wants us to be productive and not sit around and watch T.V. or just play video games so Rueben is out there working in the heat,” Mitchell added with a laugh.

The attention that comes with being ranked the No. 3 wide receiver in the country can be overwhelming as coaches and sportswriters are calling every day looking for a story.

Some kids love that type of attention but Rueben would rather pass that along to his older brother so he could enjoy the limelight.

Aaron is a freshman linebacker at Arkansas-Monticello and while he was a very productive player on the high school level he was a little undersized to make the jump to the major college level.

He never really got a chance to go through the recruiting process to the effect that his brother has but Rueben would gladly step to the side if it was only that easy.

“Rueben said he would have loved for Aaron to be in this position and would trade off the amount of attention if he could because Aaron loves the limelight,” Mitchell said jokingly.

That is not a knock on his brother either but rather a testament to how unselfish Rueben is.

That degree of unselfishness is also flashed when Rueben (6-3, 195, 4.5) is on the football field because after hauling in 55 catches for 1,058 yards and 11 touchdowns during the regular season alone last year he will make the transition to quarterback during his senior campaign.

Once again, some kids would have a problem would making that drastic move but Randle isn’t one of them.

He already has offers from the top programs in the country like LSU, USC, Florida, and many others so moving under center isn’t going to hurt his stock at all.

Now that school has wrapped up Randle plans on taking some trips to check out some of the schools that have offered and he used this past weekend to take in one of them, along with a few special guests.

“Coach McCarthy (LSU receiver coach) and my dad were talking and they got something set up for last weekend where we could take a trip down there,” Randle said. “My parents didn’t have anything to do so we just took off and headed down there.”

Randle had been to LSU before, several times in fact, so the trip was more for his parents but it also gave him a different view of how things were in Baton Rouge.

“This was a more family-oriented trip and the coaches treated us all real well,” Randle said. “Some of the coaches had their family around too and we felt like we were always part of the family. That was the different part about it.”

Randle and his parents got the grand tour of the campus and saw all of the facilities.

One facility, in particular, seemed to be a big hit with his parents.

“My mom had already been there but my dad hadn’t so they were showing them everything and telling them about how everything goes down there academic-wise and stuff like that,” said Randle. “They were talking a lot about the academic center and they looked pretty surprised to me when they saw all that.”

Randle said that he has a few more trips planned for the summer but there may be a trip out West on the agenda if things get worked out.

“I’m thinking about going back to LSU (camp) and then I’m going to Georgia and Miami,” he said. “My dad is maybe trying to plan a little West coast visit to check out USC and Oregon too.”

One thing Randle has done throughout the recruiting process is remain grounded and keep his options open.

He has never come out and declared an outright leader or favorite but he did name a few schools when asked if any have really caught his eye.

“Georgia and Miami have and then Florida State has paid me a couple of visits too,” he said. “LSU is another one.”

This summer may be a critical time with Randle and the recruiting process because he knows he wants to take some official visits but he could go ahead and put an end to everything before he takes all five of his allotted trips.

“I’ve been thinking about it some but it’s still kind of in the back of my mind,” he said of making a commitment. “It’s probably going to be sometime during my season after I take some officials.”

As for where those officials will be, Randle is still uncertain but there is one school he knows he wants to check out.

“I want to go check out Michigan to go see how it is but I’m not sure about the others right now,” he said.

If that trip to Ann Arbor takes place then that will be a nice getaway for Randle because downtime isn’t anything he is likely to see anytime soon.

At least not until he finishes his little project in Collingston.