According to most services, Mario Edwards Jr. is the top player in the country. Edwards has been committed to Florida State since March. But recently, Edwards has been looking around a bit. For a while, Edwards was taking a hard look at Oklahoma.
Mario Edwards Jr. Visiting FSU And LSU Before Deciding
Will Mario Edwards stick with his commitment to the Seminoles?
He’s since eliminated the Sooners, but after a great visit to Austin, is strongly considering the Longhorns. A visit to LSU also looms on January 27th. Yet there are still strong ties to Tallahassee, including that Edwards is a legacy, as his father was an All-ACC defensive back in the ‘90s before playing in the NFL. Florida State’s history of producing All-Americans at defensive end is also impressive to Edwards.
This weekend, however, Edwards is visiting Tallahassee. He recently participated in the Under Armour All-America Game. SB Nation caught up with him shortly thereafter.
Edwards had recently listed his top three as “Texas, LSU and Florida State” in that order, which was surprising since he maintains that is still committed to the Seminoles. “I said that because I haven’t [officially] visited FSU or LSU yet. I’m still verbally committed to FSU, I just visited only Texas, so that’s why I said they’re on my list right now,” Edwards explained.
Edwards plans to make his final decision on signing day. “I’ll let each team know that I won’t be attending between the 21st and signing day,” Edwards said.
Edwards maintains that he is still comfortable with Florida State. “I’m still comfortable with them. This is just me right now exploring my options and seeing what each school has to offer,” explained Edwards. In fact, he had a good time with some other future ‘Noles. “There’s a relationship with me, Chris [Casher], Dante [Fowler]. We all like to go out there and compete and have fun, so we were just having a competition to see who could beat the tackle the most,” said Edwards.
There’s some thought that the 6’4”, 290 pound Edwards will have to move inside to defensive tackle. Recruitocosm has reported that Edwards was very impressed with how Texas defensive coordinator Manny Diaz would use him. Edwards also played some defensive end during the Under Armour All-America week. I asked Edwards about his desire to play defensive end. “I’m a defensive end. I know I have to move around a bit in college, but I’m a defensive end,” he said.
And while he is visiting Florida State this weekend, he plans to visit LSU on the 27th. What would Edwards need to see from LSU to switch his commitment? “Social life, how I feel about the team and the coaches and how we connect. And how they would use me at defensive end,” Edwards said.
Edwards also spoke to the Dallas Morning News recently, saying:
“I’d say right now it’s LSU, Texas and Florida State,” he said, adding that he visited Texas recently, and has visits lined up with FSU on Friday and LSU on Jan. 20.“I want to go where I can get my degree in 3 1/2 years. I can do that at those three schools and all three use their defensive ends great. They really want their ends to get after it.”
For more on Florida State recruiting, visit Tomahawk Nation.
For more on Texas recruiting, visit Burnt Orange Nation.
For more on LSU recruiting, visit And The Valley Shook.
