Glenwood’s Cameron O’Neil sees offers come pouring in

For Glenwood wide receiver Cameron O’Neil, scholarship offers have been piling up faster than his 40-yard dash time.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound rising senior received his first FBS offer May 16, when Illinois showed its interest with a scholarship. Virginia soon followed with an offer of its own.

“It’s been real busy,” O’Neil said later that day. “I’ve had a lot of schools looking at me so far, and last Wednesday (May 10) Virginia and Illinois came down to see me run routes. I guess they liked what they saw and made the decision to offer me.”

If O’Neil thought it was busy then, it would be hard to describe the days that followed.

O’Neil has since seen more offers come his way. Memphis offered him a scholarship a week after Virginia and Illinois. The next day, Pittsburgh did the same, as did Mercer.

According to Glenwood head coach Jason Gibson, this is still just the beginning for O’Neil. Gibson said several other schools have shown interest, including Wisconsin, Michigan State and Troy. Gibson added a coach from Alabama came by with a camp invite for O’Neil, providing him an opportunity to add to his already-growing collection of options.

For Gibson, it’s no mystery why O’Neil has garnered so much attention.

“He’s the best player on the field,” Gibson said. “He can run, he catches the ball better than anybody in this area, he’s physical and he can block. He’s the prototypical Division I football player. He’s what you’re looking for.”

Gibson commended his player for his work ethic on and off the field, which Gibson explained is an underrated aspect of recruiting. As important as athletic ability is to the equation, Gibson said the first questions he receives from college coaches is about character and grades.

Those factors, Gibson said, are non-issues for O’Neil.

“It makes it so much simpler, to be able to put your reputation on the line for a young man who works hard and represents himself, his family and school (so well),” Gibson said. “Those are the guys in recruiting who are winners, and he’s a winner.”

While O’Neil’s offers list grows, he admitted how much those first offers from Virginia and Illinois meant to him.

“It was a lot of relief off me because I was stressing about when I was actually going to get that one offer,” O’Neil said. “It was exciting. I really haven’t had that (FBS) college really look at me. Just to show that they were interested in me, it meant a lot to me.”

O’Neil said after those first two offers that he was in no hurry to commit, which quickly proved to be the right decision. As the options continue to come in, he said he wants to find a team with a family-like atmosphere surrounding it.

“I just want that team that knows how to bond together and come together,” O’Neil said. “I just want to feel that connection when I go there.”

O’Neil was candid in saying there’s plenty he can work on before fall. He plans to add some weight before his senior year while also improving his route running. Gibson said O’Neil needed to be prepared, because most opposing coaches will key in on him in game planning.

“He’s going to have to be the most dominant player on the field,” Gibson said. “He’s the kind of guy when you watch film and prepare to play us, you’re going to have to say, ‘How do we stop No. 6?’ You’re going to have to. I think he’s that type of player.”

Based on his progress, O’Neil seems up to the challenge.

While O’Neil weighs his options for the next level, he offered a message for the fans who will one day watch him in college as well as those who will see him as a senior at Glenwood.

“I’m an exciting player and fun to watch,” O’Neil said. “Just know that if you come see me, you’re going to like what you see from me.

“I’m always, I guess you can say, going to put on a show.”

This story was originally published May 30, 2017 at 1:30 PM with the headline "Glenwood’s Cameron O’Neil sees offers come pouring in."