Taco Bell helps Indiana try to land a 5-star recruit

By Ross Kelly April 14, 2018 at 11:41am

As this past season of college basketball has taught us, the world of recruiting high school athletes can be a shady business.

Both coaches and shoe companies have come under fire and are currently being investigated by the FBI for the illegal tactics they used to land top players.

Romeo Langford is a top prospect in the Class of 2018, and while he’ll look to keep his name out of any headlines involving the FBI, Langford does have one recruiter who is sure to raise some eyebrows.

Taco Bell.

A restaurant in the fast food chain is trying to sway Langford’s college choice by recruiting him via a sign in front of the franchise. Langford is an Indiana native, and the Taco Bell is trying to keep him in state with the Indiana Hoosiers.

Sellersburg Taco Bell has chimed in on the recruitment of Romeo Langford. #iubb pic.twitter.com/jB7JlbLXLT

— Andy Luther (@andyluther300) April 10, 2018

The Taco Bell sign is located in Sellersburg, Indiana, which is 10 miles from where Langford goes to high school. At New Albany High School, Langford scored over 3,000 career points, which is the most ever at the school and the fourth-most in state history.

Do you think Langford should sign with the Hoosiers?

Langford is the No. 5 senior in the nation per 247 Sports and is the top-ranked player yet to commit to a school. He plans to announce his college decision April 30 at the same gym where he made himself an Indiana high school legend.

Indiana is considered the favorite to land Langford as 247 Sports says there is a 67 percent chance he signs with the Hoosiers.

But as with all of these top recruits, there is competition among college programs for his services, and Kansas and Vanderbilt are also in his top three destinations, he said on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbXUUa0FfnC/?hl=en&taken-by=yeah_yeah22

Taco Bell wasn’t the first local business to pitch the Hoosiers to Langford: A sports bar in Jeffersonville, Indiana, also got into the act. Earlier this month, Hoopster’s Sports Grill rather politely called for Langford to don the crimson and cream.

https://twitter.com/JRagerS2/status/981580806253629440

If Langford does stay home and choose IU, he will be the prized signee of the Hoosiers’ 2018 class. While both Kansas and Vanderbilt already have two five-star prospects signed, Indiana doesn’t have any, and Langford would be the school’s first since 2015.

While most of the top prospects made their commitments earlier this year or even in 2017, Langford is making sure he doesn’t rush the decision and fully thinks it through.

“I’ve thought of what I like about each place, but really I’m not worried about that too much,” he told the Indy Star. “I’ll make the right decision when the time is right.”

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