Chad Bumphis, the 5-foot-10, 193-pound four-star wide receiver from Tupelo, Miss., has helped lead his team to a 3-0 record with 600 total all-purpose yards. He's caught three touchdowns and has scored on two punt returns and one kick return.
Bumphis, Scout.com's No. 23 wide receiver, has 15 scholarship offers and says he now favors No. 4 Florida and No. 9 Alabama slightly over Ole Miss, Tennessee, Mississippi State and No. 6 LSU.
"Florida has been one of my favorites since recruiting started," Bumphis said. "Percy Harvin is my favorite player and I love their offense. I've also gotten to know the coaches pretty well and have a good relationship with them."
In fact, Bumphis spoke with several of their coaches over the phone earlier this week. "I talked with coach Urban Meyer, (wide receiver coach) Billy Gonzales and (offensive coordinator) Dan Mullen," he said. "They said they were just watching my tape again and that they see me playing at Florida."
Bumphis is also planning on attending the Florida/Tennessee game on Sept. 20 in Knoxville. "I just hope to see a good game," he said. "I haven't seen Tennessee play yet this season and I know that Florida is great. Their offense is amazing."
The school that is recruiting Bumphis the hardest is Alabama. "They send a whole bunch of letters and are usually the first ones to call each week," he said. "I really like (defensive line) coach Bo Davis and he says that they would use me in the slot and have me return kicks too.
"I really like the offense at Alabama and how they play," he said. "I love how they are spreading it around and getting the ball to their playmakers."
He attended the Alabama/Tulane game on Sept. 6.
Bumphis hasn't set up any official visits yet and doesn't plan to until after his season. "We have a real good team and our goal is to win state," he said. "I'm probably not gonna take any visits until after. Right now I don't want anything to interfere with our season."
Another school that Bumphis says is recruiting him hard is Mississippi State. He actually attended the low-scoring Auburn game on Sept. 13. The Tigers won 3-2, but Bumphis says the Bulldogs had their chances.
"It was actually a pretty good game," he said. "You never really knew what was gonna happen and Mississippi State had a lot of chances to win, but couldn't do it. It was kind of crazy."
Regardless of the scoreline, Bumphis very much enjoyed his time in Starkville. "I love the fans," he said. "I like how they really welcome you with open arms. They knew my name and everything."
Bumphis started the season by attending the Aug. 30 opener with Ole Miss and Memphis.
"Ole Miss surprised me with how well they are throwing the ball," Bumphis said. "I'm really impressed with them. I also really like their wide receiver coach (Ron Dickerson) and feel like I could learn a lot from him. He's a real good coach and real cool."
With a list full of SEC teams, it's not surprising that Bumphis also has LSU in his sights as well. "They've got a lot of tradition," he said. "They are winning championships and I went there during the summer and I liked seeing what it takes to play there. They really work hard and it shows."
Bumphis reports a 2.5 core GPA and a 19 ACT on his retake.