Rawls, who is the cousin of former Gopher standout Tyrone Carter, caught up with Gopher Hole to talk about the latest on his recruitment.
Kenneth Rawls, a 6-foot-3 rising senior wide receiver from Pompano Beach (FL) Blanche Ely, attended the Minnesota Gopher Senior Camp Wednesday. Rawls, who is the cousin of former Gopher standout Tyrone Carter, caught up with Gopher Hole to talk about the latest on his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: How many camps have you had a chance to attend this summer?
Kenneth Rawls: Three. Miami, USF (South Florida) and here.
Gopher Hole: You have some ties with the Gophers with your cousin having been a former player here. What did you know about Minnesota before you got up here?
Kenneth Rawls: He was telling me that it was a great place to be. It’s a great environment. Being that I came up, I love it. It is a great environment. A lot of friendly people. The stadium is awesome. The facilities are awesome. The indoor facility. Everything about the place, I love it.
Gopher Hole: What offers do you have right now?
Kenneth Rawls: FAU (Florida Atlantic), UMass, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Toledo and a couple others.
Gopher Hole: What is going to be the main factor that makes you pick School A over School B or C?
Kenneth Rawls: My main thing is academics, the environment, who shows me the most love and that is about it. Play some good ball.
Gopher Hole: Have you thought much about what you are going to try to major in at college?
Kenneth Rawls: Criminal law and sports medicine.
Gopher Hole: What things are you really working on in the offseason to continue to improve yourself as a player?
Kenneth Rawls: At the camp, Coach told me that I need to work more on my explosiveness, so when I get to Florida that is what I will work on and I’ll bust my butt working on it a lot.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as your strengths as a player?
Kenneth Rawls: My strength is making big plays. Coming down with the ball. When the ball touches my hands, I am going to catch it. I run great routes.
Gopher Hole: You have another teammate, Terry McCray, who the Gophers are looking at. Have you guys talked about possibly playing at the same school? Has that come up?
Kenneth Rawls: I told him that we should get to the same school and go there and he laughed said okay, okay. We always joke around about that.
Gopher Hole: What are the expectations for your high school team this season?
Kenneth Rawls: We just want to win a lot of games. I want to be a major part to my team.
Gopher Hole: What was your record last year?
Kenneth Rawls: We went 5-5.
Gopher Hole: Is that a motivating factor to do even better for your senior season?
Kenneth Rawls: Yes. It is motivating me a lot. Spring, I made a lot of big catches, big plays, so I had a lot of pressure on me. I was making big plays for my team and then we lost (wide receiver) Devante Peete (who has offers from Alabama, Miami, Ohio State and Florida). He went to (perennial power) St. Thomas Aquinas, so I am like the go-to player on the team, so everyone depends on me. I work hard and it is paying off.
Gopher Hole: Is that something you are looked forward to being more of a leader now that you are a senior?
Kenneth Rawls: Most definitely.
Gopher Hole: What are you hearing from the Gophers?
Kenneth Rawls: Being that I came up, I got a chance to see a lot. Tyrone showed me a lot and it has just been great since I have been up here. I don’t even want to go back home.
Gopher Hole: Is this the first time that you have been to Minnesota?
Kenneth Rawls: Yes.