College football recruiting: Canton McKinley's Dior Garner excited by increased attention

CANTON — A year ago, McKinley High School’s Dior Garner only had one Division I college football scholarship offer. Now, soon to be a senior, he has 14 offers.

Garner has a simple explanation. Once he played a lot during a productive junior season last fall, he had a lot of tape of himself to show off to college coaches. The coaches were intrigued.

“I barely had any sophomore tape, and a lot of coaches liked my film but just wanted to wait until after my junior season,” Garner said. "Now, I have a lot of coaches contacting me every day.”

Garner played nose tackle for the Bulldogs the last two years, becoming a full-time starter during his sophomore season. As a junior, he made his starting debut at left offensive tackle, making him a two-way player. He only allowed one sack all year. On defense, Garner recorded 52 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, two sacks and three pass breakups. He helped McKinley win the Federal League and reach the second round of the OSHAA playoffs.

Garner began picking up recruiting momentum in late January and early February, as he received offers from the MAC — including Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Miami (Ohio) — and Temple. Those offers joined one from a year ago from Bowling Green.

Since last month, a combination of FBS and FCS programs have been recruiting Garner. That includes Coastal Carolina, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee State and Gardner-Webb. Other schools that haven’t offered Garner but have shown interest are Michigan State and California. According to Garner, Cal will be flying out to Canton sometime this spring to meet with him. Garner also is planning his official visits for the spring.

“I have some visits scheduled with Coastal Carolina, Ball State, Miami of Ohio, Temple, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan this month,” Garner said. "And I have a lot of coaches who are going to come to see me this spring during the open period. But I’m just taking it all in, and blessed and grateful (for the interest).”

Garner doesn’t know when he plans to make his final decision, but he does list some factors that would lead him to commit to his future team.

“I’m looking to go where it’s great people,” Garner said. “I can get on the field and get developed the best and my relationship with the coaches.”

More: College football recruiting: Latest Division I offers for Stark County's Class of 2025

This article originally appeared on The Repository: McKinley's Dior Garner gaining college football recruiting momentum