As we wind down the Florida portion of Warchant's Spring Recruiting Tour, it's time to make a trip to Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres to catch up with a pair of elite defensive linemen in southwest Florida. In this installment, we'll break down the latest with each prospect and also reflect on their respective journeys throughout the recruiting process.
Also see the previous stops on our Spring Recruiting Tour:
Stop 1: Madison County -- Checking in on FSU commit Travis Jay, more
Stop 2: Hollywood Chaminade -- WR Dunmore, teammates have FSU's attention
Stop 3: Cardinal Gibbons DE Bogle opens up about the 'Noles
Stop 4: FSU commit Akeem Dent oozes confidence
Stop 5: 'Noles hot on trail of several IMG targets
Fuller breaks down where things stand with FSU
LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. -- The recruitment of four-star defensive end Quashon Fuller has certainly taken more twists and turns than originally expected.
In making his commitment during his sophomore year of high school, Fuller made it clear that he was a huge Seminole fan growing up and that he had every intention of signing with Florida State as part of the class of 2019.
Then Jimbo Fisher bolted Tallahassee for Texas A&M this past December, and suddenly Fuller began to second-guess his future plans.
"That hurt my heart a lot when Jimbo left," Fuller said. "Never thought he would leave, and then it just shook things up for me because I didn't know how much the new staff would like me. I love FSU, always have. So my mother thought it would be a good idea to be more open, just in case, to look at a lot of programs."
While he remains committed to Florida State, Fuller is also considering some other schools, including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Auburn and Miami. The four-star lineman said his feelings for FSU as an institution haven't changed, but he does want to see how his relationship develops with the Seminoles' new coaching staff.
He'll get a much better feel for that this weekend, when he takes an unofficial visit to Tallahassee.
"As I said, my mom wants me to keep options up with other schools," Fuller said. "I didn't really want to do that at first, but I need to give myself options. I love FSU, and I've done my part in committing to them ... but now I need to see how much the new staff wants me when I visit this weekend."
Like some other recruits, Fuller felt a little lost during the transition between Fisher and new head coach Willie Taggart. But he added that the Seminoles have picked things up in recent weeks, with handwritten letters arriving in the mail and additional attention coming from assistant coaches Raymond Woodie, Odell Haggins and Mark Snyder, as well as Taggart.
Fuller went on to explain what he hopes to see and hear this weekend at FSU.
"I just want to see what happened with the contact, and also the reasoning behind it," he said. "I also want to see how comfortable I feel around the new staff. I already know how much I love Florida State on the other areas, but my comfort around all the questions being answered and the staff is really the main thing I'm going to look for."
Fuller also added that he's friends with fellow FSU commit Michael Morris, and that he talks frequently with major FSU target Raymond Woodie III and several other Seminole targets.
Although he plans to take five official visits this fall, Fuller said there's a chance he could solidify his commitment to FSU if things go well this weekend. He also hopes to attend several Florida State games this fall, and he added that he hasn't seriously thought about backing out of his commitment.