LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Only one team can win a recruiting battle but many times it’s interesting to look on the other side of the coin and ask, ‘What if?’
At media day for the Under Armour Next All-American Game, Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney asked a bunch of top prospects who finished second in their recruitment. Here were their responses:
“It was primarily those two (Oregon and LSU) and then Michigan State was trying to make a run. They were actually third.”
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“[His June visit to Clemson] was a big game-changer. It was the cherry on top, the solidifier. I felt maybe in January when I took a visit that maybe Clemson was going to give Bama a push but in June they took it over completely.
“From that January to June period I feel like Clemson is showing me everything I need in a school and I aspire to have in a school but it’s like, damn, it’s Alabama. It was my dream school. I had the denial period there but I said, ‘I can’t say no to this,’ everything I’ve been working for. When I put it into perspective, that’s how I made my decision.”
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“Auburn and Florida. It was hard because [Tampa Catholic] coach Jeris McIntyre and coach Dontarrious Thomas played linebacker with coach Cadillac [Williams]. They were telling me about their experience and the Auburn family when they went down there. They weren’t on me too hard because they understood it was my decision and my recruiting process but Oklahoma was in my ear heavy just about staying loyal.”
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“It was really close. I had some conversations with my parents about Florida so it was pretty close. I had a really good connection with coach [Kenny] Martin and he has a really good plan for me and I wanted to stick with that.”
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“Miami. It was like kind of toward the end which was on them but coach [Jahmile] Addae is a great coach. I learned that at the end of the process that there are great coaches everywhere but he’s one of the best for sure. If I wasn’t playing at UF then I’d be playing at UM.”
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“It was definitely a tight race. It came down to signing day. I didn’t have my mind made up until the day that I signed so it was definitely a tight race. It was LSU [in second place] and then Florida. What I liked about LSU, the DBs that went there, they already set the pathway so going to a school like that and putting up numbers would definitely help your stock.”
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“Texas A&M. I had a really good connection with the running backs coach. It was a hard decision. I kind of knew I was going to land at Notre Dame but I was still looking at other places, having interest in somewhere else. But Notre Dame was always big for me and my family pushed Notre Dame a lot.
“Texas A&M was second. They did a really good job recruiting but I just didn’t feel that was my type of environment. Notre Dame fits me better – fewer people, closed environment and it’s a really chill place. Texas A&M – big school, lots of kids, I don’t really like all the attention. Notre Dame is kind of small and the right place so that’s why I chose it.”
*****
“A lot of people were surprised. My family likes Florida as well. A lot of people were surprised like my friends, my neighbors and people I go to school with. It was hard. Bama is Bama, really. Growing up as a Bama fan, it was hard to turn down Nick Saban and coach [Freddie] Roach but I feel like that was the best for me.”
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“I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say I didn’t think about [Florida State]. I grew up a Florida State fan, it’s been my dream to play there. I just think at my point in life, Texas is where I want to be and that’s why I stuck with Texas.
“I texted Florida State on Monday of that week and I told them I wasn’t going to be signing with them. It was literally in the back of my head the whole time.”
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“Florida also high on the list, one of the biggest reasons why not because it was too close to home. It was Georgia [in second place] and then it was Oregon for the third one. Me and [Dell] McGee kicked it off and we had a strong, close connection.”
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“It was LSU. I just liked them, I loved the coaching staff and how they had stuff set up for me to play.”
