Official visit helped Florida State close the gap for Jordan Young
With Clemson by most accounts being the current favorite in the recruitment of four-star safety Jordan Young, the Monroe (N.C.) prospect's official visit to Florida State over the weekend helped the Seminoles begin to close the gap as he learned more about the university and what they bring to the table.
"They did good. They are definitely up there with Clemson right now," Young said. "This visit has really helped a lot to get down here. The difference between them (FSU) and Clemson was that I had got to Clemson six times and here only once. This visit really helped a lot with that."
It was a visit Young admitted that he really needed to take. The four-star had only been on campus once and that was for a junior day visit at the beginning of February. It was a cold, rainy and short visit a few months ago and, while Florida State had done enough to earn an official visit, there were a lot of questions left to be answered about the program.
"It wasn't really a specific thing, it was just me getting down here," Young said. "Because I had got down here (before) and only had a two- to three-hour day. So I really got to spend a lot of time here and get a feel for the campus and the people. It's real good people."
Over the multi-day visit, Young got to experience more of campus and get a full feel for Florida State. He also got to speak with current players about their experience with the Seminoles.
"They said that the coaches were real and that Norvell keeps his energy 24/7. They produce players and DBs and how versatile they let their safeties be. They said just take your time. The coaches coach you hard but they love you even harder. It's all tough love here," Young said.
Florida State will be losing a good chunk of talent in the defensive backfield after the conclusion of the upcoming season and they view Young as someone that can play multiple positions.
"They said I would be able to play all three spots pretty fast. Since they are losing a lot of DBs, they said they can use me in all three spots — corner, nickel and safety. Boundary safety, free safety — everything," Young said.
Young added that he feels like he is best at free safety, where he can roam and play off the quarterback. That is where must of his production comes from.
With getting a better look at the program over the weekend, Young also got to speak frequently with coach Mike Norvell. Norvell's message to Young was consistent: take your time.
"All the conversations that we had throughout were (about) the same things," Young said. "He didn't change. He was just telling me how he liked my versatility. Told me to take my time because it's my process and it doesn't matter how long it takes for me to commit. He just wants to coach me so there is really no timeline for me to commit here."
Young still has a midweek official visit with NC State that begins on Wednesday and he will then travel to Michigan for a weekend visit with the Wolverines beginning on Friday.
Young has a set commitment date for October 12 but said that he will likely know where he is going after his official visits are done. If not, he will do whatever he needs to visit-wise to make sure he makes the right decision.
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