Nick OLeary makes his choice
Dwyer tight end Nick O'Leary had long been considered a strong lean to Florida State. On Saturday afternoon, the 6-foot-3, 235-pounder finally ended his recruitment by committing to the Seminoles. The nation's top rated tight end chose FSU over offers from Alabama, LSU, and Miami, who were also in the mix for his services.
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O'Leary's decision was no surprise considering his love affair with the Florida State program. The Rivals100 member fueled that momentum last weekend when he took another visit to Tallahassee, and from all indications had a blast and was spotted several times wearing Florida State attire. On Saturday, he finally pulled the trigger and made his intentions official with his commitment to Jimbo Fisher and the Seminoles according to Dwyer head coach Jack Daniels.
"This has been in the works for a while I think but Nick just informed me that he committed to Florida State a couple of minutes ago. He wanted to make sure he called all the other schools he didn't choose before making a decision," Daniels told Warchant.com.
From the very beginning, O'Leary was impressed with how Fisher planned to fit him into Florida State's passing attack at the tight end position.
"Nick has always liked the fact that he's an athlete that can be used in a number of ways in that offense," said Daniels. "He can be used at slot, H-back, and tight end. Nick is just such a big weapon and I can say that we sure haven't had a guy with his ball schools before. He's special."
The opportunity for early playing time always plays a part in the recruiting process but O'Leary also has plenty of connections to the program with his uncle also being a Seminole alum. However, what seemed to really put the 'Noles in good position was the close relationship the explosive tight end developed with FSU defensive coordinator Mark Stoops, who was his main recruiter and stayed in close contact with O'Leary. Also playing a factor was assistant James Coley, who serves as offensive coordinator and tight ends coach.
"Nick had a close bond with Coach Stoops and Coach Coley from the beginning. He always felt comfortable around those guys and that relationship only got stronger as the season went on for us at Dwyer," added Daniels. "Coach Stoops made him a top priority and Nick always felt at home when he was in Tallahassee. They got a good one with Nick O'Leary."
Daniels has seen first hand the type of explosive playmaking ability that O'Leary can bring to the table and believes his star player will be able to make an immediate impact at Florida State.
"I think FSU's leading tight end had 21 receptions so I do feel Nick can make an early impact," he said. "He's a great blocker but more importantly Nick will be such a weapon for FSU in their passing offense because he is such a big match-up problem. There is no doubt in my mind he will make a solid impact early for Florida State in having that offense spread out more."