James Mayden attended camp at Mississippi State and that resulted in his first offer: from the FCS Southern Jaguars of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
"I went to the three-day camp at Mississippi State," explained Mayden. "Southern had coaches there, too, and their defensive coordinator went on to offer me. It felt really great to get that first offer, but I want to stay level-headed.
"It would also feel really, really great to get a Mississippi State offer, and I'm getting interest from Houston and Louisiana Tech. I like all the coaches at Houston. I'm getting recruited by Coach Travis Bush, Coach (Brandon) Middleton and Coach (Tony) Levine.
"Coach Levine (Cougars' head coach) wants to get a close and personal relationship with me. I like all three of those coaches at Houston, and it's a school that's close to home."
What about Louisiana Tech?
"I'm being recruited by Coach (Stan) Eggen (at Tech), said Mayden. "I went to their Junior Day in Ruston. Their coaches liked that I'm level-headed, and they liked my versatility -- how I can play DB or receiver. I'm also interested in SMU: my step-dad went there for school to get his master's degree.
"I also like Texas A&M. I like the offensive coordinator (Kliff Kingsbury) they got from Houston. I like any school close to home. The farthest I'd want to go is Kansas. I like Kansas, and I have family there."
Last year, Mayden accumulated 248 receiving yards and 132 rushing yards with two touchdowns.
He maintains a grade point average in the 3.8 to 4.0 range - and has excellent size for a prospect with two more years of school remaining.