On Monday evening, Denham Springs, La. defensive end Caleb Roddy sent out a tweet announcing/celebrating his latest 40-yard dash time of 4.82 seconds. That’s fast, but perhaps less notable than the time it took him to decide on his collegiate future just hours earlier.
At 6:49 p.m., Roddy tweeted that he had received his 32nd scholarship offer, from in-state football power Louisiana State. At 6:53, Roddy tweeted that he planned to accept LSU’s offer and was officially a committed Tigers prospect. You can see both of the tweets directly below.
Four minutes is barely enough time for Roddy to put together his text announcement to incorporate in his celebratory tweet, but that’s what he did. Even more amazing was the speed in which Roddy’s commitment hit the web. Somehow, he was even scooped about his own pledge. Really.
Seriously, how did New Orleans Times Picayune Jerit Roser possibly release news of Roddy’s commitment the same minute it was happening? Apparently he was able to get better reception at LSU’s camp day, which is where Roddy received the offer. Still, the fact that he could beat a rather energetic and vigilant social media user like Roddy to Roddy’s own piece of news is not to be taken likely.
Apparently, neither is Roddy’s commitment, with the teen insisting that LSU is his dream school, allowing him to play big-time football in his own backyard.
“I’d been thinking about it for months,” Roddy told the Times-Picayune. “When I tweeted that Arkansas was not my leader anymore, that was when I found out that I wanted to go to LSU. I just kept that quiet, though, but it was a really easy decision, because it was the best for me, my family and everybody. It’s the best school in the country.
“I told myself that if I came out and was flat, I wasn’t gonna get my offer, and if I came out and busted my butt, I was — kind of black and white with no gray area. Mainly I just told myself, ‘You need to do your best. You have to be on the top of your game today to get that offer.’ And I was.”