TAMPA — The recruiting process came to an end for two of the state’s top recruits Wednesday. But only one of those journeys ended with Gainesville as the final destination.
Groveland South Lake High cornerback Nick Waisome and Tampa Plant High athlete James Wilder Jr. both made their college choices public Wednesday, with Waisome announcing live on ESPNU and Wilder revealing his decision at a press conference in the Plant auditorium.
Waisome, a four-star cornerback accoring to Rivals.com, committed to Florida on Wednesday night in Orlando.
On the live show, Waisome removed a South Lake High hat he was wearing, pulled out a blue Gators cap and donned it as he announced his decision to the cameras.
“The place I’ll be playing my college football at – the University of Florida,” Waisome said on the broadcast.
Waisome is rated the 11th best cornerback recruit in the nation by Rivals and runs a 4.44 40-yard dash. His oral commitment makes him the 14th member of the Gators’ 2011 recruiting class.
It was long assumed that Waisome was Florida’s to lose, and many suspected he was leaning toward the Gators after his showing at the team’s annual Friday Night Lights camp last month.
After the camp, Waisome spoke of the strong bonds he built with UF’s coaches, and when he made his decision Wednesday, that was one of his deciding factors.
“I had a great relationship with the coaches, some of the players,” Waisome said. “I like the atmosphere, the school is always a fun place. I just liked it overall. Great school, win championships and I’m ready to play.”
Mike Farrell, the Midwest and Atlantic East recruiting analyst for Rivals, said Wednesday via his Twitter account that Waisome reminds him of current Gators freshman Cody Riggs, a four-star cornerback recruit out of Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas before signing with UF.
Farrell added he doesn’t see Waisome being as good as UF junior cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who was a Parade All-American before enrolling at UF. In Jenkins’ two seasons for the Gators, he has totaled 77 tackles, five interceptions and has broken up 17 passes.
While the Gators added a big piece of the recruiting puzzle with Waisome’s verbal, his commitment seemed like a consolation prize after Wilder’s decision earlier in the day.
In front of a crowded Plant auditorium, Wilder, the No. 3 recruit in the nation according to Rivals, committed to FSU.
Wilder came to the stage wearing a black shirt with a red vest, fueling speculation that stemmed from an AOL FanHouse report that he was going to commit to Georgia.
While Waisome didn’t waste any time in making his decision known, Wilder had fun with those in attendance before revealing his intentions.
During a speech in which he thanked his coaches, teammates, family, fans, God, Wilder paused for a moment and reached under the gold-draped table he was standing at.
“Oh yeah, and the school I’m going to be choosing is – going to be told in a few moments,” Wilder said as the crowd let out a laugh.
After finishing his speech and pulling another pump fake on the audience, he finally reached into a bag under the table, pulled out a garnet FSU cap and gave a few tomahawk chops.
“After looking and doing a lot more research, it came down to Georgia, Florida and Florida State,” Wilder said. “It was hard passing up Florida. They know how to win, they know how to get people to the next level.”
He notified FSU’s coaches two days before his commitment but refrained from going public with the decision until Wednesday’s press conference.
“It’s a great decision, great fit and he’s going to get to play on the offensive side of the ball,” Plant coach Robert Weiner said.
As a junior at Plant, Wilder, who Weiner called a “one in a million” football player, played running back on offense, and defensive end and linebacker on defense.
In 13 starts, he rushed for 1,004 yards and 15 touchdowns on 134 carries while tallying 136 total tackles, 19 sacks and 42 tackles for a loss. He also forced six fumbles and blocked six kicks en route to the Class 5A state title last season.
While he excelled on both sides of the ball, Wilder has been adamant that he wants to play running back at the college level. His father, James Wilder Sr., played running back in the NFL for 10 seasons.
“He made a grown-man decision today,” Wilder Sr. said.
The 6-foot-2 Wilder chose FSU because it was close to home, the coaches recruited him as a running back and because running backs coach Eddie Gran has a history of developing big, powerful backs, having turned nine of his former players into current NFL backs.
While verbal commitments are non-binding until a player signs his national letter of intent in February, Wilder said his mind and heart are set on FSU.
“I’m sure coaches will still be trying to recruit me,” he said. “But I think this is it.”
