Keith Sampson
Defensive Tackle, Class of 2023
New Bern High School, New Bern, NC
6-3, 285

On Sept. 1, the first day college football programs could contact members of the 2023 recruiting class, the inboxes of New Bern (NC) four-star defensive tackle Keith Sampson were flooded. There were so many ‘edits,’ or graphics sent by football recruiting offices that he couldn’t get to all of them. Three weeks later, he still hasn’t.

Sampson, No. 250 in the Rivals250, has 17 scholarship offers, most recently from Michigan and Alabama. While he was happy to receive so many graphics, they were a bit overwhelming. As he continues to figure out which program and school fit him best, in the grand scheme, they don’t figure in too highly.

“A lot of them sent edits, some sent text messages and stuff,” Sampson said. “I had a couple of phone calls, so everyone did something different. Pretty much, it was edits or phone calls. Out of the ones I did look at, I really liked Virginia’s edit, Vandy and Bama were really cool, too. Also, I liked NC State. There’s more, I just haven’t gotten to them. It doesn’t make a difference, really. That’s just what they want you to see. I just want to get to the inside of the program, not the stuff that’s not important. I want to get to know the school.”

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