2022 Recruit Gunner Givens Receiving Interest for Multiple Positions, Talks Relationship with LSU Football
Gunner Givens and lifelong friends Zach Rice and Shawn Murphy all have something in common. Not only did the three play on the same travel football team as young teenagers but now they're all being courted by top notch collegiate programs, including LSU.
Their travel team, the Central Junior Hurricanes, was actually the No. 1 little league team in the country for three years and never lost a game until the national championship, where they lost to the OC Buckeyes out of Orange County, California.
"That was the best team we ever played on and we were all 14 at the time and became very close," Givens said. "We talk about everything, we talk about teaming up in college sometimes and we're all just real close."
Givens and Rice have turned themselves into high end offensive tackle recruits out of the 2022 class while Murphy is rated as one of the top prospects in the entire country as a linebacker.
For Givens in particular, Virginia Tech and Penn State are the two schools that talk the most with him because they're both relatively close in proximity to his hometown of Daleville, Virginia. Givens has earned offers from high-profile programs Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Clemson, Baylor, Notre Dame and of course, LSU.
The Tigers offered Givens back in March and have spoken on a few separate occasions since the offer was handed down.
"It was just a huge blessing because LSU is the defending national champions. I mean it was a huge deal to me, a huge blessing," Givens said. "Size, aggressiveness and agility are all reasons they liked my film and I feel it's those three traits that are the main reasons I'm getting so heavily recruited."
At 6-foot-6, 275 pounds, that size and physicality play an important role in Givens' game on the field but it's also helped him earn offers at tight end, offensive tackle, defensive end and defensive tackle. It's why most schools that are recruiting Givens have told him they view him as more of an athlete because his ultimate size will determine where he plays in college.
"My size plays into all of those positions so I'm pretty rangy, I've got long arms which helps me come off the edge on defense and with engagement blocks on the offensive line," Givens said. "It will depend on what my weight is when I graduate which will help teams decide where they want me."
Givens said his technique has improved astronomically since transferring to Lord Botetourt High School, where he arrived as a sophomore to play tight end and eventually made the switch to left tackle. This offseason for Givens has been spent studying film of past great offensive linemen at both the college and professional level as he tries to solidify the position.
On defense, Givens likes watching Chase Young and Nick Bosa while Clemson's Jackson Carman and longtime NFL tackle Joe Staley are his go-to players to watch on offense.
"I really just want to try to mimic what they're doing but the two things I've been working on most are probably hand placement and my kick step. I was playing tight end some so I never really had to kick step very often but I've spent a lot of time working on that," Givens said.
Givens was able to tune into a few LSU games this past season, particularly the two playoff games and said watching a dominant run like that certainly catches his eye.
"It definitely appeals to me because I want to go play at a big time school and hopefully win a national championship and reach the NFL," Givens said. "Watching their team last year, their o-line was filled with monsters. They dominate everybody and obviously the athletes around them to pretty much destroy everyone last year so it was fun to watch."
Because LSU offered Givens back in March right when the coronavirus pandemic hit, he hasn't been able to visit the campus yet. That's something he plans to do in the future but said LSU could wind up being one of his official visits because of the long drive down to Baton Rouge.
In the months since receiving the offer, Givens has spent time not only learning about the program but researching the actual university as well. He always knew it was a dominant football program but is starting to get more of a feel for what life could be like if he were to one day attend the university.
"It looks like a really cool place, a cool campus to be a part of and I've never really been down there," Givens said. "I know people down there that said they love it so I'm excited to finally check it out once all of this clears up."
