Florida RB Kendrick Raphael Talks BYU Offer

Raphael received an offer from BYU earlier this week

On Tuesday, BYU offered 2023 running back Kendrick Raphael a scholarship. Raphael, who preps at Naples High School in Florida, holds over 20 scholarship offers including offers from various ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12 schools. As a junior last season, he ran for over 1,300 yards and 18 touchdowns. We caught up with Raphael to get an update on his recruitment and to discuss his recent offer from BYU.

While it will happen occasionally, it's not typical for BYU to recruit the state of Florida. So how did BYU get in touch Raphael? He was interested in BYU so he reached out to BYU's coaching staff on Twitter - eventually he got in touch with graduate assistant Jordan Howard.

"Actually, I've been like interested in [BYU] for a bit," Raphael said. "I tried following a bunch of people on the staff and then [Coach Howard] followed me back and texted me, we started talking ever since."

On what piqued his interest in BYU, Raphael said, "Well they have a stable coaching staff, an energetic head coach as well. They also put backs in the league. They also have like a good environment over there...I'm trying to see the environment for an official visit either soon or in the fall."

Raphael already has three official visits lined up to NC State, Duke, and Iowa, meaning he could take to more official visits after that. He plans on taking one of his final two visits to BYU, but the visit might not happen until the fall. "I'm thinking of a midweek official [in June]," he said. "If that if that doesn't happen maybe in the fall."

On why he became interested in BYU, Raphael continued, "I watched [BYU] on tv a lot and also watched a lot of the highlight from games last year...I've been interested in them very, very much. I watched them a lot growing up as well. They became a lot better of a team over the years."

On what his conversation was like with Coach Howard when he received the offer, Raphael said, "It was great. He told me a lot about the school...how BYU is very different from other schools, that it's not for everybody and I feel like they accept me, which is great for my life, and they have also a great network outside of football things."

Raphael doesn't have any connections to the program and he lives over 2,400 miles from Provo. "It's very far from Florida but it would be a great change," Raphael said, "It is very beautiful over there."

As of this writing, Raphael doesn't have a decision timeline.

Kendrick is listed at 5'11, 180 pounds. His speed jumps out on film, and he also has the ability to finish through contact. Should he choose BYU, he could have the opportunity to see the field early on in his career.

Power five teams have been recruiting Kendrick for quite some time now - BYU has some ground to make up if it wants to have a real chance to land Raphael's services. In addition, it's never been easy for BYU to sign players all the way in Florida. While it's certainly going to be an uphill battle, getting Raphael on campus for an official visit would go a long way in making up ground in his recruitment.

Running back is a position of need in BYU's 2023 class, and the Cougars are seeking high school prospects that can come in and help right away with the transition into the Big 12.