An Interview With Taco Charlton
Pickerington (OH) Central DE Vidauntae "Taco" Charlton—a member of both the ESPNU 150 Watch List and the Early Top247 for the class of 2013—visited Ann Arbor for the Notre Dame game and picked up an offer from Michigan yesterday. Charlton also holds offers from Cincinnati, Purdue, Syracuse, and UCLA, and he has garnered interest from Ohio State, Notre Dame, LSU, Iowa, Wisconsin, and several others.
When I talked to him last week, Charlton said that his favorites were the teams that had offered him, because they "showed [him] a lot of love." How does his newest offer change things? I caught up with him this evening to talk about the Wolverines, his visit, and the timeline for his recruitment:
ACE: How'd the visit go for you? Describe the experience of being at the Notre Dame game.
TACO: It was great. The fans were crazy, the coaches showed me a lot of love, and it was a really good atmosphere altogether. I loved it.
ACE: Were you able to meet any of the other recruits on the visit?
TACO: Yeah. I know a couple of them—[2013 OH TE] Jake Matuska, [2013 OH QB] Brogan Roback. I talked to [2013 OH S] Cam Burrows and [2013 OH LB] Mike McCray.
ACE: Did you get to meet any of the current players?
TACO: Not really. I talked to [Mike] Martin before the game, but by the time I got there they were getting ready and everything.
ACE: You were able to pick up a Michigan offer. Describe what that means in terms of your recruitment right now.
TACO: Oh, man, it was big. That's a big offer. It's probably one of the biggest offers I've got right now. It's one of the schools I'm looking at that I really like, so I like that they gave me an offer. It meant a lot to me—this is something that is really hard to get.
ACE: I know you said last week when I asked you about your favorites that they were the teams that had offered you. Does this put Michigan right up in that top group?
TACO: Yeah, of course. I like Michigan—I've been down to visit and the offer just improves [their standing] even more.
ACE: Would you say they're your favorite right now, or is it too early to say at this point?
TACO: Yeah, I'm not going to pull out a favorite yet, but I could tell even as my recruitment goes on that they're definitely going to be one of the top teams that I will want to go to.
ACE: After the game, were you able to talk to the coaches at all? When did you get the offer?
TACO: I talked to them last night on the phone, I called them and everything. I got a chance to talk to Coach Montgomery and Coach Smith, and that's when they offered me. When I got down there before the game I got a chance to talk to them then [as well].
ACE: I know you've been mostly playing defensive end [at Pickerington Central]. Have the coaches outlined where they see you potentially fitting in on the defense?
TACO: They just said that I'm going to have to come in and work hard, and that it'll be a good challenge between me and the other defensive ends that will be coming in. They just told me that for now they'll have all of us [defensive ends, I presume] all together.
ACE: It's still early in the whole process, but do you have any idea of a timeline for your recruitment?
TACO: My dad said maybe some time around the start of my senior year, but it'll go until I feel right with a school and I feel that's the school I really want to take my college career to. I will probably take all my official visits before I decide, too.
ACE: Do you have any other visits set up for this season?
TACO: I don't know for sure. I think I might go somewhere this week, but I haven't decided where exactly. Yeah, I definitely will take some more visits and see some more games.
ACE: Any plans to return to Ann Arbor again this year?
TACO: Yeah, definitely. It really depends on where we go in the playoffs and how far that plays out to see for sure, but right now I'm definitely looking to get back up there, it just depends on how the season goes.
September 14th, 2011 at 6:45 PM ^
Does having Tamani Carter on the team help us at all with Taco?
September 14th, 2011 at 6:48 PM ^
Ugh, I knew I forgot to ask something, even as I stared at my notes while on the phone. I'll definitely make sure to ask him about that the next time I talk to him.
September 14th, 2011 at 6:57 PM ^
Just make sure you never make another mistake ever again.
/jk
I'm enjoying the intro posts.
September 14th, 2011 at 7:26 PM ^
"So, your name is awesome. What's up with that?"
September 14th, 2011 at 7:51 PM ^
I think Ace actually asked him last week or whenever he did the "Introducing" post.
I went and found the link...It is the last question
September 14th, 2011 at 6:49 PM ^
We just need to find another DE named bean dip/.
September 14th, 2011 at 7:28 PM ^
September 14th, 2011 at 7:32 PM ^
How about just Chip??? Then when they get a sack the announcer can say its another Taco Chip salad or something like that.
September 14th, 2011 at 9:27 PM ^
How about either "Shell" or "Hard"? "The QB just got trapped in a Taco/Shell" or "The DEs just made a Hard/Taco hit"
September 14th, 2011 at 11:00 PM ^
One of my best friends in high school was nicknamed bean dip. The only bad part is that he is about 5'5" and plays soccer in college, otherwise I would try to encourage him to go to UM. Maybe he can try and kick for us to complete the duo if we get Taco.
September 14th, 2011 at 11:01 PM ^
Damn double posts
September 14th, 2011 at 7:33 PM ^
Me likey this idea...
September 14th, 2011 at 7:38 PM ^
September 14th, 2011 at 7:48 PM ^
despite the fact that he's destined to be referred to as "Li'l Taco" due to the fact that Tacopants is nearly twice his size.
September 14th, 2011 at 8:00 PM ^
That's okay. Tacopants is a little oversized for his position, and has deceptively low top-end speed.
September 14th, 2011 at 8:31 PM ^
This kid can sure help.
September 14th, 2011 at 9:05 PM ^
http://mgoblog.com/content/tacopants
Here I figured this would help. I have been constantly looking at the blog for about a year and half now and never really understood the tacopants reference and I looked it up. I know many others out there still in the dark on this one as well.
January 11th, 2012 at 8:28 AM ^
2013 Taco Charlton - Pickerington Central - Jr yr - DE 33- PROMO - HD - YouTube I cant wait to get Taco hear to Michigan. He is the real deal.
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