Rivals100 LB Dean loves FSU visit, plans to return for official

"I love it here. It was really good,” Dean said. “I wanted to see how they would coach me here, and they certainly showed me everything I wanted to see in that type of setting.”

First campus visits can come with surprises both good and bad. When he was asked what surprised him about visiting FSU, Dean had only good things to say.

"How well I got along with all the guys (FSU’s current players) from the start,” he said. “We really connected, and I wasn't shy or quiet, and I could talk with all of them. ... The culture [at FSU] is real, and it's laid back. It also fits me perfectly because I'm chill and laid back, so I felt very comfortable."

After he finished with his workout during the Saturday Night Live event, Dean said that FSU is now one of his top schools. He said he plans to reveal his top five soon and make a decision in December.

One of the highlights of the trip, according to Dean, was his conversation with FSU head coach Willie Taggart.

"Coach Taggart is really cool,” Dean said. “I feel more comfortable here than how I've felt in visiting other schools a couple of times. I was very impressed how much education is important to Coach Taggart. And he didn't just talk about it a little, but we talked about it a lot. He was very genuine about it.”

Although he is rated the No. 1 inside linebacker in the country and has offers from many of the nation's top football programs, Dean said academics will play a large role in his decision. And one of the reasons he relates well with Woodie is because the Seminoles' linebackers coach preaches the importance of academics; Woodie was an Academic All-American during his playing days at Bethune-Cookman.

Dean said he would like to pursue a degree in engineering.

"They [took] me to the school of engineering and got a chance to talk with the professors and different people around engineering. I was very impressed." he said. "Coach Woodie [also] knows ball. He's very smart about the game and knows how to put his linebackers in the best spot. We talk about everything and not just football as well. It's always constant communication with him about everything. He's very real, but Coach Woodie really knows his stuff about the linebacker position and how to develop linebackers."

Because he was in Tallahassee for several days, Dean was able to spend a lot of time with fellow Mississippi native Cam Akers. Among other things, the sophomore running back shared details about campus life and what the football program is really like.

"He spoke in detail about what it's like as a player here, and what you go through," Dean said. "That was big for me in finding out more from the players in how they feel about FSU, and they like it a lot."

Dean is listed as an inside linebacker by Rivals, but he said FSU's coaches told him that he has the versatility to do more than that.