re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition

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Lanett, Ala. -- In today's pass-first college football, prospects who can affect the passing game are as valuable as they have ever been. It's part of the reason the SEC is already heavy after class of 2019 defensive back Trikweze Bridges.

Measuring in a 6-foot-4, 175 pounds as a high school sophomore is fairly uncommon for a wide receiver and even moreso for a free safety. But Trikweze Bridges fits the bill early on and combined with his length and ball skills, has many college football programs interested.

The class of 2019 standout is closing in on double-digit scholarship offers.

"I've got seven offers," he said. "Louisville was the first one, Jacksonville State, Alabama, Mississippi State, Troy, Kentucky, Florida.

"But I've just got to stay humble and keep working, I can't get a big head."

Bridges hasn't, though he has begun attempting to learn more of some of his suitors with unofficial visits to Louisville and Kentucky last weekend in addition to in-state stops at Alabama, Auburn and Jacksonville State under his belt. The trips will continue.

One of the most recent was to Tuscaloosa, but he didn't hold the Crimson Tide offer at that point. That news stands as one of the early surprises in his recruitment.

"Alabama, because it's an in-state team and it's the team I grew up watching," Bridges said. "We haven't talked that much but we're working on it. They like the way I get after the ball and that I'm a good safety."

The Lanett (Ala.) prospect has a connection to a former Panther great who attends another school already on the offer list.

"My cousin (Marlon Bridges) plays for Jacksonville State but I haven't just visited as a prospect," he said. "I've been there. At Florida, I went to camp two years ago when I was a freshman."

As Bridges looks to make return trips to many of the programs having offered this month, it will only be apart of the foundation of his own evaluation. He is in no rush to accelerate the recruiting process.

"Probably the middle of my senior year," he said of a decision timetable.

It goes beyond football, too.

"Football won't always be there, so my academics will be important, like what fits me," Bridges said. "I'm looking at architecture or physical education."

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