Stability key for four-star LB Gavin Nix after FSU visit

As four-star linebacker Gavin Nix departed from his junior day visit to Florida State on Saturday, the Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy backer talked extensively about the details that are beginning to stick out to him about FSU.

"It's been a minute since I've been back," Nix said. "So I wanted to come back and see everything and catch up with the guys. Coach Norvell and Coach Fuller have been down to see me at school. It was a big focal point — me coming back up and seeing everything."

While some prospects use junior day visits to familiarize themselves with the coaching staff and address on-field questions they may have, Nix used the visit to learn about the academic side of being a collegiate student-athlete.

"The main thing (we talked about) was the school," Nix said. "There are certain things I want to major in. I've been here a few times so I pretty much know the ins and outs of things. Next thing I want to do is come back in the spring and see a practice — see how they operate. That's the last thing I haven't been able to see in recent times so that's the last step moving forward."

That doesn't mean that Nix didn't get to spend time with coaches, as Nix got some time to learn some things from linebackers coach Randy Shannon.

"Coach Shannon is really wise. He's a big teacher of the game. Today we went over giveaways that offenses can give you. We went over a little bit of what they do in their scheme. It's really a system that allows their linebackers to excel and that's one thing that attracts me a lot. Like I said, he is really smart and he teaches his guys some great things," Nix explained.

Nix also got to meet with coach Mike Norvell during his visit and Nix expressed a sentiment that has been echoed from a lot of young prospects.

"Norvell is a man of his word," Nix said. "Like I said, I've been here a few times. And two years ago when I first came here, he made a promise to me that he is taking this program in the right direction. We were able to regroup today and he told that he was a man of his word and he wasn't lying. He's doing great things with this program and I love that. That energy flows through his whole staff and you don't see that a whole lot with head coaches."

Seeing Norvell's promises come to fruition over the course of the last two years has made the Seminoles stand out as an attractive option for Nix. Additionally, the stability of the program and it's coaching staff has played a big role in how he sees Florida State.

"Stability is rare in the game. There are a lot of moving places," Nix said. "I wanna go somewhere where I'm going to be under the guys that recruited me. Seeing what he has done here and seeing the trajectory that he is taking his guys and this program - that's huge. Stability is everything and that's one thing that Florida State has."

Nix has not been able to narrow down his list of top schools just yet, hoping to work things out while he makes spring visits. He does want to make a decision before his senior season begins.

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