Clay-Chalkville 4-star wide receiver Mario Craver has been attracting attention since early in his athletic career.

“The first thing I remember about Mario is watching him in middle school and watching him run down the field on kickoff team, and he would lay people out,” Cougars head coach Drew Gilmer said. “Here is this little guy just flying down the field with no regard for his body. He just caught your attention.”

That “little guy” is now one of the state’s top Class of 2024 recruits.

Craver (5-foot-11, 165) is listed at No. 14 in the latest 247 rankings for rising seniors. On3 ranks him one spot below that at No 15. He is the No. 3 wide receiver in most rankings behind only Alabama commit Perry Thompson of Foley and uncommitted Cameron Coleman of Central-Phenix City.

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“He’s just a very instinctive player,” Gilmer said. “He knows how to maneuver his body in traffic. He catches the ball extremely well, and he has that little wiggle in him where he just makes one little move and makes you miss. You have to get the football in his hands. If you do that, good things happen.”

Craver dropped a Top 10 last month that included Miami, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M, Florida, Louisville, Florida State and LSU. He told AL.com last week that he has visits planned for Ole Miss on June 3 and Auburn for the Iron Bowl in the fall.

“I’m definitely getting a little tired of it (the recruiting process),” he said. “I’ve been in it for a long time. I’ve been thinking about trying to get my officials set up and going ahead and making my decision.”

Craver is pinpointing August or September for a possible decision date.

“He has a very high ceiling obviously,” Gilmer said. “He is that slot receiver everyone is looking for that is that constant home run threat. The great thing about him is you can throw a perimeter screen or slant. You don’t have to throw it all the way down field. If you throw it to him in space, the odds are pretty good that good things will happen.”

Craver caught 32 passes for 525 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2022. That followed a sophomore season where he snagged 45 passes for 937 yards and 10 TDs as Clay-Chalkville went 15-0 and won the Class 6A state title.

“Playing against a guy like that makes you better and gets you ready for the next level because you are going to see the same type of guys,” teammate and Alabama commit Jaylen Mbakwe said of Craver.

Craver said he has two big goals for the 2023 season.

The first is leadership.

“I’m just trying to become a better leader and pick up the young guys and really focus on being a leader for my team because I know that will be a big role when I get to college,” he said.

The second? Win a second state title in three years.

“We all have to put it together,” he said. “We know we are talented. We just have to have that team bond like we had in 2021. As long as our team bonds together, I think we should do good.”