Five-Star Challenge Diary: FSU OL commit Aliou Bah breaks it down

ATLANTA -- The Rivals Five-Star Challenge has now concluded, and Florida State offensive line commit Aliou Bah was gracious enough to sit down with Warchant.com one last time to talk about the entire experience.

In this Five-Star Challenge Diary, Bah discusses what he learned about his game, what other prospects he was recruiting to FSU, what those recruits are saying about the Seminoles and more.

***Don't miss out on our great FSU Football and Recruiting coverage. Get your 30-day FREE trial!***

Arriving at the Five-Star Challenge, talking with other recruits

When we got here on Wednesday, we had the check-in and talked with the media and did a really nice photo shoot. Then on that day, I had a really good talk with Aaron Hester, who is already committed to Florida State. I also talked a lot with Damari (Alston) about how we need him there and want to get him on board. Besides that, I think we just got some dinner and got my mind right for what I was going to go through with the Five-Star Challenge the next morning. I think it's going good with Damari. He said he loved it and loves "Coach YAC" (FSU running backs coach David Johnson). We just have to stay on him hard and reel him in.

The next ,day even during the event or between sessions, I spent a lot of time talking with a lot of recruits there about Florida State. I talked some with Christen Miller, and even though he is a defensive lineman, he has a really good relationship with Coach Atkins (FSU offensive line coach Alex Atkins), and he wants to get over to FSU for a visit because he wants to see what it's about. I don't want to put words in his mouth, but I think he wants to see it. It was clear he admired his relationship he has with Coach Atkins

I also talked a lot with Antavious Woody, who worked out at defensive line but is also a very good offensive lineman. I'm trying to get him on board. I know he's officially visiting on the 25th. There were a lot of guys that are very interested in FSU, and I had my FSU cleats on and my shirt on, so they would know who I was and representing this week. A few guys asked me, "Why FSU?," and I said, "Why not?" It's everything you would want in a school. Great coaches, people, academics. The chance to play early and win.

Mario Eugenio at defensive end is one of the guys that I talked about that is very interested in FSU but doesn't have an offer yet. I could tell he likes the vibe and the FSU staff. Then with Antavious, I was just telling him to slide, and he's coming here to FSU twice in June. I think after those two visits, we are going to stand in a good spot. I just told him to come slide with us over to FSU.

Antavious really likes Coach Atkins. I feel like everyone on the staff at FSU has the ability to establish such great relationships. Especially Coach Atkins because he's so real, funny and direct about everything. Everyone that was an offensive lineman, I told them this is the place and to slide over because we need offensive linemen.

I also talked with Tawfiq Thomas. He's also from Tampa like Mario. He's very talented and a tough guy off the point of attack on the line of scrimmage. I want these guys at FSU, but I want guys that also want to be there. I also talked with Aaron Hester in detail. It was great. We were talking about when we were going back over. I told him I'm probably going over there next week. I actually watched some reps with Aaron and even went against him. He's very fast, so you have to bracket him hard on the outside. He's going to be a very good pass-rusher for us.

Breaking down the Five-Star Challenge

It was a real blessing to get invited, and me just starting to play football recently and then competing in this was a big deal. I had a few teammates competing in the Five-Star Challenge a few years ago, so this was a dream for sure.

It felt a lot different with the camp because you are going against so many elite guys. It was a big brotherhood though. It made me a lot better with all the drills we did with the offensive line coach. If I made a mistake, I would come back to fix it right away the next rep and adjust. I would study the different linemen through the reps to pick up on things.

There was a lot of competing and trash-talking. I felt I did the best in one-on-ones with my punch on initial blocks. I felt like when I got my hands on them, I was very good. If I missed my punch, that is when there were problems or it was game over. But once I got my hands there and the punch was there, I was able to utilize my footwork the way I wanted to, which was most of the time. There are always reps you want back. I learned with the reps that didn't work there is an adjustment for each guy. Some are big on finesse, and others are going to use power with the pass rush, so you have to study them. Some have quick hands or quick feet. Every player is different. That's the takeaway from that, and you have to switch things up.

The toughest guy for me was Antavious Woody. Mario, Quency Wiggins and a few more were good, but Woody was the toughest because he's so quick inside. His hands are so fast, and his footwork is fast, that you have to adjust quickly to the initial punch with Woody.

Calling Coach Atkins afterward

We talked after the event, and I said I felt I did pretty well. We discussed some of the positive and negative plays from the event, and we broke a few things down to correct that going forward. We are going to break it down a lot more. He also got a chance to talk with a few more recruits out there.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Get the latest info, insider content and chat with FSU fans on the Premium Recruiting Board