DE Mario Edwards Jr. keeping it in the family

In 1995, Florida State added a player named Mario Edwards to their roster. years later, his son also is a Seminole. In front of a national ESPNU audience, five-star defensive endMario Edwards Jr. announced Wednesday that he will follow his father's footsteps to Tallahassee.

Asked why he chose FSU:

"FSU cared about me as a student athlete, felt like home there."

What do you think about the recruiting class coming in?

"We definitely have a great class coming in, a lot of talent.

What did your dad say about FSU?

It's going to be a good place, you compete with the best."

It's been a long road of uncertainly for Mario Edwards Jr. Last spring during an unofficial visit, he decided to pull the trigger and commit to Florida State. At the time, he told Warchant.com, "This is where I wanted to be, so I didn't think there was a reason to wait."

But a short time after his commitment, he started having second thoughts about his decision. Was Tallahassee too far from his family? Did he rush to make his decision without experiencing other schools?

For months he remained committed to the 'Noles, but still visited other schools. In January, during the Under Armour All-American game practices in Orlando, he stated he was going to decide between LSU, Texas and FSU.

Two weeks ago, after making official visits to Florida State and LSU, he told Warchant.com that he was "sticking with Florida State, and that's where I'm headed."

"The reason I picked FSU is the feeling I have while I'm there and because they have back-to-back (recruiting) classes that are top of the nation and I want to be a part of that," he said.

During his senior season, the high school All-American racked up 72 tackles, 32 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. Edwards will be a legacy at Florida State since his father played for Bobby Bowden in the late 1990's and helped lead FSU to a national championship in 1999. He set an ACC record with four interceptions in a game versus Wake Forest in 1998.

Rivals.com ranked Edwards as No. 1 at his position, No. 3 in the nation and No. 1 in the state of Texas.