All-American return

It probably couldn’t have happened at a worse time.
Playing in front of a national audience on ESPN2, Patterson High School standout Daylon Charlot, a member of Team Highlight in Friday’s Under Armour All-American Game, had just muffed a punt near midfield at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
“At first I thought I was going to get tackled, but when I touched the ball and I looked and I (saw) I still had space, I just took advantage,” Charlot recalled of the play Monday.
Charlot responded by picking up the muffed punt behind him at his team’s 46-yard line, worked his way through Team Armour — at one point working his way between two Team Armour players — and soon headed to the end zone for a touchdown, turning a miscue into a highlight reel play that is now found on the Internet, including YouTube.
Charlot said he was surprised he was able to score a touchdown against such talent at the game.
“I was very surprised because knowing they’re All-Americans, they can make stuff happen where they can tackle me and make a big play off that kind of stuff,” Charlot said.
That Charlot recovered from a miscue is not something new to Patterson coach Chad Blanchard, who said he has seen Charlot do it before.
However, this was against All-Americans.
“That’s the thing that makes it a little different,” Blanchard said.
The return was part of a record-setting day for Charlot, who set a new mark for punt return yardage with 101 yards. He had three returns.
“It was nice to see him have some success in the special teams because he’s such a good return guy,” Blanchard said.
Charlot broke then-prep football player Amari Cooper’s record of 93 yards that was set in the 2012 Under Armour All-American game.
Cooper has gone on to excel with Alabama, one of the schools recruiting Charlot and who he once was committed to. Alabama still is Charlot’s leader among the schools he is considering.
Overall, Charlot said the week spent in Florida was a good one.
“It was great,” he said. “I enjoyed myself because I got closer to a lot of people that I didn’t know, and I got closer to the Alabama commits and the LSU commits,” he said.
And he said both tried to convince him to select their respective schools, too.
As for his recruitment, Charlot said Alabama is No. 1 and followed by LSU, Arizona State and Miami.
During Friday’s game, LSU received a commitment from Tyron Johnson, who is ranked the No. 2 wide receiver in the country, the No. 14 player in the United States and Louisiana’s top prospect in 2015, all by Rivals.com.
Charlot said Johnson’s commitment doesn’t affect his feelings towards LSU, “because I can go anywhere and play and work hard,” he said.
Charlot is ranked the No. 5 player in Louisiana, the No. 15 wide receiver in the country and the No. 145th overall prospect, all according to Rivals.com
The multi-year all-state receiver finished his prep career with 131 receptions for 2,667 yards and 44 touchdowns.
As for the rest of his recruiting, he said he plans to visit Alabama on Jan. 16, Arizona State on Jan. 23 and Miami on Jan. 30.
Charlot said he intends to announce his college destination on Feb. 4, National Signing Day.
To view Charlot’s punt return, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b89T8NCPm_A
Additional reporting by www.tampabay.com