RECRUITING: Charles Wants Playing Time

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Tampa (Fla.) Plant tight end Orson Charles wants to play as soon as possible

by Daniel Mingea III
Tiger Rag Recruiting Analyst

Read Mingea’s recruiting blog on NOLA.com…

It is pretty well known coach Les Miles and his staff are looking for a safety to fulfill this year’s recruiting class.

Another position Miles would like to secure is tight-end. Miles is looking for a tight-end that can block and spread the field.

Orson Charles (6-3, 215, 4.7) fits that description.

“Everything has been going really good,” Charles stated. “We are coming off of a bye-week and have our first district game this week. I’m looking forward to it and I can’t wait to get to practice.

“School has been going great as well,” Charles continued. “I have all A’s and B’s right now with my only B coming in Spanish class. I’m trying to maintain it until I graduate.”

One of the ways Charles is able to stay focused on his team and his studies is by placing the recruiting madness in the back seat for now.

“A bunch of coaches have been calling, but I’ve been busy so I haven’t been able to talk to all of them,” Charles claimed. “Sometimes I just let my mom handle it. She’s doing a good job of letting them know what’s going on with me.

“The one thing about my mom though is she keeps pounding in my head to stay faithful to God,” Charles added. “Without him none of this would be happening. All of this is because of him and so I make sure I continue to pray and go to church.”

Charles is the No. 2 rated tight end in the nation by Rivals.com. ESPN.com has Charles rated No. 14 at his position.

Although, the Plant High School product may not have answered all of the phone calls, he has a good estimate of what coaches have attempted to stay in touch.

“Certain coaches call more than others, but I’d say overall it’s pretty even,” Charles admitted. “I’ve kind of just put recruiting behind somewhat for now. My team has a couple of big games coming up that I’m excited about, but after that then I’m all in (with recruiting).”

One of the coaches Charles managed to speak to reigns from the Bayou State.

“Coach (Earl) Lane called me when I was at the USF game so I kind of missed him,” Charles informed. “But I have spoken to coach Miles.

“He kind of gave me the rundown on how he would use me in LSU’s offense,” Charles added. “He said he’d use me to spread the field. I could see playing time as a freshman if I would come in playing like I know I can. He said I’d be next to Richard (Dickson) on the depth chart and once he leaves that would be my spot.”

The topic of early playing time mentioned by Miles was something that stuck in Charles’ mind.

“In the end that is what I want,” Charles concluded. “I want early playing time. And I don’t want to be just a possession tight-end. I want to be all-around.”