Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, VA) defensive end Josh Sweat has selected Florida State. The 6'5", 240-pound senior announced his decision this morning at a press conference at his high school. The plan is for him to graduate from Oscar Smith this month and enroll at Florida State next month.
A consensus 5-star recruit, Sweat is an Under Armour All-American. He chose the Seminoles over Virginia Tech, Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon.
The decision wasn't an easy one for Sweat, who said that he was up until around 2 or 3 Wednesday morning thinking about the choice.
"It was rough," Sweat said with a laugh.
Asked what ultimately led him to pick Florida State, Sweat said: "I just felt that relationship with the people there. They made me feel good about the whole thing. They are a winning program also, but my comfort comes first, before all that other stuff."
FSU's Jimbo Fisher was in Chesapeake yesterday morning to meet with the coveted recruit.
"He seems like a real lively guy that sticks behind his players and cares about his players," Sweat said of Fisher. "That's one of the guys you can really give your all for."
It was the opinion of many that Sweat's decision would come down to Florida State and Virginia Tech. The Tigers senior did not admit to having a final two -- he said he did not really eliminate any of the five while thinking about his decision Tuesday night into Wednesday morning -- but he did speak highly of the Tech coaches.
Sweat made an official visit to Blacksburg the weekend of the Virginia game, which is one of the times he met with head coach Frank Beamer. After that weekend, Bryan Stinespring, Torrian Gray, Bud Foster and Charley Wiles traveled to Chesapeake to meet with the Tigers star before today's decision.
"I love all those guys. I just want to really thank them because they were excellent. They were excellent people. I would love to make everybody happy, but you just can't. But they were excellent people and I like 'em a lot," Sweat said of the Tech coaches.
Oscar Smith head coach Rich Morgan called Sweat a "great kid," adding that "He has really gone about this the right way. He narrowed his list from about 70 schools to five in June, and he kept his word... he visited all five schools. He did exactly what he said he would do. In the end it just came down to where he felt most comfortable, and obviously Florida State was where he felt he was most comfortable. I think he struggled with the decision because I think they are all really good schools. The final five, they are the epitome of college football. I don't think you can really go wrong, so it was those little points that separated one from the rest."
With Sweat off the board, Virginia Tech will now have to look elsewhere to fill the need at defensive end. Good Counsel (Olney, MD) standout Darius Fullwood and Virginia Beach native Trevon Hill, the latter a 4-star recruit, have committed. Houshun Gaines, a product of Nash Central High School (Rocky Mount, N.C.), and Fork Union's Yosuah Nijman are among the remaining possibilities. As is 4-star defensive end/linebacker Ricky DeBerry Jr., who is expected to announce his decision next Friday, December 19. Many feel DeBerry will leave the state, however.