WEST POINT — Scott Lashley can’t talk right now.
He’s not being rude. He also isn’t busy with schoolwork.
With dozens of players milling about and finding things to do during renovations at West Point High School’s football field house, Lashley is locked inside a coach’s office, a place he has found himself frequently in recent weeks.
Lashley isn’t in trouble. The suddenly sought after monster of an offensive line prospect is talking on the phone to a Division I football coach, one of 18 who have offered the 6-foot-6, 305-pounder a scholarship in the past two months.
“It’s been crazy,” said Lashley, who received his first offer — from Mississippi State — a little more than two months ago. “I like it, but I didn’t know recruiting was going to take off like this. As soon as I got that first offer, I just started getting phone call after phone call. It hasn’t slowed down.”
It doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down any time soon, either.
Lashley, who first hit the field for the Green Wave as a junior tight end, has gone from being a virtual unknown to one of the hottest prospects in the country practically overnight. Blessed with overwhelming size and plenty of athleticism, the rising senior has the classic look of a Southeastern Conference left tackle, which is why scouts and coaches are burning up his cell phone every day.
Lashley received his first offer from MSU coach Dan Mullen and offensive line coach John Hevesy two months after the Green Wave’s football season ended. That set off a chain reaction that spread throughout the SEC, as Auburn, LSU, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Ole Miss followed with offers.
But the Bulldogs, just 15 minutes from that field house in West Point, were first.
“After I got that Mississippi State offer, it was, ‘Wow, I got an offer, I can’t believe it.’ ” Lashley said. “But then I started getting phone call after phone call and then I got four or five offers in one day. Since then, it’s been a daily thing to talk with coaches. It’s been very humbling.”
Since fielding that initial offer, Lashley has made an effort to visit and to talk to as many schools as possible to educate himself. He has taken multiple trips to Starkville, the latest was Tuesday when he visited MSU’s spring practice. He also has been to Oxford, Baton Rouge, Knoxville, Tuscaloosa, and Auburn.
But those around the soft-spoken Lashley said the attention hasn’t changed him much.
“Scott is a good kid from a great family,” West Point coach Chris Chambless said. “He’s got a good head on his shoulders. As a coach, you love seeing kids get the opportunity to get noticed by college programs because that’s what it’s all about. And what he’s got, you can’t teach that.”
Lashley is the latest in a line of SEC-bound prospects from West Point, a program that has won seven state championships and produced four SEC players in the past six years. All four went to MSU.
But Lashley hasn’t named a favorite.
“I don’t even have a list,” Lashley said. “My mom and I will sit down and discuss that when the time comes. She’s a big factor. She’s only been able to go to one school with me, and that was LSU, so I want to take her to all these places so she can become a big part of this decision.”
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So how did Lashley go from being a player with only three starts at tackle as a junior to an elite recruit?
Lashley accomplished that goal with plenty of hard work. As soon as West Point’s season ended, Lashley visited multiple campuses in search of an offer, and he often was accompanied by a member of West Point’s coaching staff.
West Point coaches drove him to Tuscaloosa, Oxford, and Knoxville. He also was a frequent visitor to MSU’s campus. On Feb. 12, Mullen offered, and the flood followed, as Lashley fielded pitches from 13 of the SEC’s 14 schools. Texas A&M is the only one that hasn’t offered. Through it all, Lashley has kept a smile on his face.
“It hasn’t changed him at all that I can see,” Chambless said. “A lot of times, this kind of attention can be hard to handle for anybody, especially a 17-year-old kid. But he’s taking it all in stride, and it’s a credit to the kind of kid he is.”
Shortly after the MSU offer, Lashley was classified as a four-star recruit by 247sports.com. He also was considered the No. 8 prospect in the state of Mississippi. Scout.com also gives Lashley four stars and has him as the No. 4 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 1 offensive lineman in the state. He attended a regional camp for The Opening, a national showcase in Atlanta, where he garnered more attention.
As he has collected accolade after accolade, Lashley has learned a few tricks to help him as he aims to help West Point win its eighth state title.
“You see things we might not stress here,” Lashley said. “Once you get back, you can bring that stuff into your game. At junior day at MSU, I was doing a little test with coach Hevesy, and my first step was way too big. He told me to shorten that up and he really helped me. Picking up little stuff like that has been good.”
Lashley will continue to listen to coaches while scouting schools. He plans to spend the summer “going to as many camps as possible, places like Mississippi State, Georgia, Auburn.”
In the fall, West Point’s biggest lineman will begin to narrow the field. He said he has received the most attention from “probably LSU, Auburn, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss.”
Lashley admits he’s enjoying being recruited, even if it brings surprises almost daily.
“I was in Applebee’s yesterday and people came up to me, said they saw me on recruiting websites and Twitter,” Lashley said. “They just wanted to shake my hand. It’s all very humbling.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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