John Tyler’s Justice Liggins Holds Four College Offers, Receives Attention from More Schools

As expected, John Tyler senior receiver Justice Liggins has seen his recruitment heat up recently.

The 6-foot-1, 192-pounder has four offers and has heard from several more schools. Wyoming, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, and Houston Baptist have offered Liggins, who has 17 catches for 197 yards and three touchdowns through John Tyler’s first six games.

Wyoming is an NCAA Division I FBS program, while the other three are Division I FCS programs. Houston Baptist is a new program that starts playing in 2013 and joins the Southland Conference in 2014.

Liggins, who is being recruited as a receiver, told ETSN.fm on Monday night that an Illinois coach came to John Tyler’s Monday afternoon practice and talked to several of the Lions, including Liggins, athlete DeQuante Woods, athlete Darion Flowers, linebacker Richard Gipson, and defensive back Elliott Hart. He added that a Louisiana Tech coach attended John Tyler’s 63-14 win at Corsicana and showed interest in the same players.

Location has a lot to with Liggins’ recruitment. He said he considered committing to Wyoming, but isn’t sure about the distance and the weather, which would also be factors with Illinois if the Illini were to offer. While location and weather may impact his decision, Liggins said they won’t be the only factors that dictate where he eventually chooses.

“I’m going to have to weigh my options,” Liggins said. “I don’t want to travel that far if I don’t have to.”

That said, Liggins acknowledged that if multiple Lions went to the same distant locale, it would be a big help adjusting to being away from home.

“That’s one thing we were all talking about,” Liggins said. “We’d all have each other we wouldn’t be too homesick.”

As for the ongoing football season, Liggins believes the Lions are coming together, especially on offense, where they started slower than they had hoped. Quarterback Greg Ward, who is committed to Houston, threw six touchdown passes in John Tyler’s 49-point win at Corsicana, while Liggins caught seven passes for 105 yards and two scores.

“It starts with the offensive line. They’re getting better and better every day. Without them nothing’s possible,” Liggins said. “Greg’s doing everything that he normally does. He’s getting the ball in our hands and he’s making plays with the run.”