Ennis Rakestraw Talks Recruitment Journey and Georgia Bulldogs

Ennis Rakestraw Jr. is one of the fastest rising prospects in all of the 2020 class. Just a consensus 3-star recruit, entering October of 2019, he didn't have a single Power-5 offer. Now, just three months later he has visits scheduled to Missouri, Miami, Michigan State, Georgia, and Alabama.

We spoke to Rakestraw about his journey through the recruitment process and the confidence and faith in his own skills it took to get to this point.

"Everybody dreams of moments like this. And at first, it didn't look like any of this would happen then a few months later, you got what you wanted."

Q: Why do you think teams waited so long?

I feel like I was going unnoticed. I was underrated because I was a smaller guy. You see me now and you're like "Wow, he can be like this. He can do that."

Q: How hard is it to enter your Senior year knowing that you're going to have to gamble on yourself?

Everybody around me was just telling me to wait. And I prayed about it and just decided I was going to wait. And the waiting paid off.

Q: What do you think about your 3-star rating and does it even matter?

It's just all hype. It's really about who goes to the most camps to be ranked. I just feel like the rankings don't matter because there ain't no rankings once you get to the next level.

Q: What do you say to those currently in your situation who are waiting on the big-time offer that may never come?

I say just keep grinding and keep your confidence. That's one thing that's helped me, being extremely confident. I don't care what he's got, I don't care what they've got. I only care about what I got, and I'm going to show the world. If they keep a mindset like that and just pray, they can do anything.

Rakestraw plays for Duncanville High School just outside of Dallas, Texas. It's a 6A school that is littered with Division 1 talents. So much so that recruiters are constantly on the campus speaking to potential prospects. However, for the longest time, none of the big-time programs really paid Rakestraw much mind.

Q: Did any of the bigger schools have contact with you prior to this fall?

They notified me that they were watching me. They would tell me that they are evaluating me, and we'd talk on the phone and they would just pass it up the chain. "Next it's if the DC likes you, then if the head coach likes you" and after a couple of days, the offer would come in.

Q: Has your game gotten that much better over the last several months?

I always had the foundation but it was a chip that really just kicked off everything that really just made me play that much harder. And I'm always gonna have that chip on my shoulder because I wasn't good enough. Everybody is gonna have to pay. Until I'm done playing football, everybody is going to have to pay.

It's something every under the radar high school recruit dreams of. To wait so long and then to finally have all of your dream schools calling your phone and offering you scholarships. Though once it's finally arrived, it can get a bit crazy.

Q: What have the last couple of months been like for you?

Man, it's been hectic. It's been a journey, and it's been a stressful journey but it's one I'm excited to take.

Q: What kind of corner are you? Do you like to play man-to-man or zone?

I'm a team corner, and what I mean by I'm a team corner is whatever the team needs me to do to win, Imma do it. Like this year, they needed me to follow the best receiver from every team. They wanted me to take him out of the game in man to man. So that's what I did and we'd win. Whatever the team needs, I'm there."

And win they did. Duncanville was 30-2 over the last two seasons and played for two consecutive state championships.

Rakestraw will take all five of his official visits as we mentioned, and has not indicated that there is a leading school at this point in his recruitment. Though, we did get his thoughts on Georgia.

Q: What kind of role does the current depth chart play into your decision? Specifically, a guy like Kelee Ringo already being at Georgia?

I mean I want to play you know, but I'm never scared of competition. I feel like he will make me better. Going against somebody like Ringo will make you better because obviously he's a great player, he's the number one corner, but I'm not going to back down from anybody. It's going to be fun.

Q: What do you like most about Georgia?

The thing about Georgia is, the way Coach Warren talks to me, I feel like he's a guy that I would want to play for. I just wanted him to keep it real with me and that's exactly what he did and that's loyalty. I just want a coach to keep it real, and that's what he did.

Rakestraw's story is an uncommon one. Not too often are three-star recruits sitting down weeks before signing day and staring down the decision between some of the nation's biggest football programs. However, after talking to Ennis, you get the sense that he knew this was going to happen all along. He knew his talents, and most importantly his work ethic was Power-5 caliber.