As a young football player in his hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Shamar Arnoux was able to develop his love for competition. His time in South Florida allowed him to set an edge in his game before transferring from Westlake High School to Carrollton High school prior to his senior year.

During his youth, there were a number of defensive backs that Arnoux could have been influenced by, but it was Florida State great and NFL star Jalen Ramsey that caught Arnoux's attention.

"I fell in love with that part of the sport watching Jalen Ramsey. Growing up, I always looked up to Jalen Ramsey. To see that he played every position in the secondary — corner, safety, nickel — that influenced me and inspired my competitive edge."

It's not just the versatility, it's Ramsey's ability to get in receiver's heads that also made him stick out to Arnoux as a kid.

"Oh, yeah, that's me," Arnoux laughed. "There is a time and place for it but I feel like DBs need to be nasty. The receiver already has the advantage on you going forward. I'm smart, I think outside of the box. I'm going to get into your head knowing that I'm going to move backwards. So me talking and getting into your head slows down your route because you're trying to figure out what I'm going to do."

After a wild recruitment, Arnoux flipped and signed with Florida State on signing day and now he has a chance to pick up the mantle and emulate the player that he grew up idolizing.

"Ultimately why I picked Florida State is because I put the trust in this program and coaches in this rebuild. I come from a household of adversity. I would rather choose to get it out of the mud. I'm competitive and I feel like us as a team will be better this year because everyone's mindset is competitive," Arnoux said.

The competitive mindset that Arnoux developed as a kid is something that he believes will reverberate throughout the entire defensive back room led by defensive backs Coach Pat Surtain, another South Florida native.

"I've know him since my freshman year. He's a family friend, too. That connection is strong and he is relatable because we came from the same place (South Florida)," Arnoux said. "... It's the connection that they build with you. Coach Norvell and Coach Surtain are genuine people. They kept the communication good, they check on me and they showed me how bad they wanted me."

Arnoux won't be alone is the transition to college football either, as teammate and Florida State legacy athlete Antonio Cromartie Jr. signed with the Seminoles in February. While Cromartie won't get on campus until the summer, competing together is something that Arnoux is looking forward to.

"I was really excited because Cro' has been looking forward to this — it's his big moment," Arnoux said. "He came down here and camped every year. Other people would have given up and lost hope in their dreams but he kept fighting. He's the true definition of hard work. I salute that man."

"It definitely gives me an opportunity to show leadership and be assertive," he added. "I know he is going to be behind (when he gets here). Just me being that friend and teammate, I'm going to help him and guide him and he's going to learn quicker than others."

Arnoux joins a defensive back room spearheaded by exciting young talent looking to take the next step in their respective second and third years. Early group workouts and now the Tour of Duty workouts have begun to mold the chemistry of a defensive back room that will need to set a competitive edge as a focal point in coordinator Tony White's defense.

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