Three stand out to Troupe

Tifton (Ga.) Tift County four-star wide receiver Israel Troupe recently debuted on Rivals.com as the Peach State's top pass-catcher and the No. 9 prospect overall. While he still has several schools on his list, he's currently most focused on three teams.

"I would say the teams that stand out the most right now are Georgia, Florida and South Carolina," the 6-foot, 200-pound Troupe said. "I also like teams like LSU, Louisville and Maryland."

Troupe recently took an unofficial visit to Athens and liked what he found.

"I was at Georgia while their camp was going on, but I didn't participate in the camp itself," he said. "I met with pretty much all the coaches while I was there. They told me that I can play football and baseball if I come there. They also said I'd have a chance to contribute early if I came in and worked hard."

Troupe, who caught 36 balls as a junior, will next turn his attention to the Florida Gators.

"I'm going to Florida's camp this weekend, and I'm going to be participating. I like the fact that Florida runs the same type offense we do at my high school, so I'd be able to jump right in if I went there. Their coaches text me pretty much every night, especially coach (John) Hevesy and coach (Billy) Gonzales."

South Carolina should receive a visit a bit later in the process.

"I really want to take a visit to USC to see what everything is like there," he said. "They are really putting together a great recruiting class with coach (Steve) Spurrier. Coach (Steve) Spurrier Jr. texts me a lot and stays in touch with me regularly."

Troupe has a good idea of what he's looking for in a school.

"Good academics for sure," he said. "I also want to see how I interact with the coaches and have a good feel for what the depth chart is like at each school. I want to play football and baseball in college if I can, but that's not going to be a big deciding factor for me."

A decision could be on the horizon for Troupe.

"I'm going to try to do it before my season starts. If not, it will be sometime during the season."

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