Josh Sweat commits to Florida State: Seminoles land No. 1 defensive end recruit

Wednesday was an important day in the world of college football recruiting as Josh Sweat of Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith High School selected the Florida State Seminoles over Virginia Tech, Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon.

The five-star defensive end recruit is widely considered one of the top prospects in the country, ranking No. 6 on the 247Sports composite rankings, and No. 1 overall among weakside defensive ends. He is set to enroll in January.

Sweat sustained a serious knee injury early in his senior season, including a dislocation and a torn ACL. Sweat will likely not resume jogging or running until March or April. I saw Sweat in November, and he was able to walk some, though he was using a scooter for part of the day to get around a hilly campus in Tallahassee.

Prior to the injury, Sweat was the No. 1 prospect on the majority of evaluators’ lists. And for good reason(s) as I noted in my pre-injury scouting report.

First, Sweat has the desired size for a weak-side defensive end. At 6’5 and 230 or so pounds, Sweat has the length teams are looking for, and yet has room to add 20 pounds of muscle so that he won’t be a liability against the run.

But what really stands out about Sweat is the ridiculous, incredible burst that most great weak-side pass rushers possess. He explodes at the snap and overwhelms blockers with his speed. Defensive ends either have this or they don’t. And Sweat does.

And it’s not just the speed. Sweat converts speed to power quite well. That’s because he plays with solid bend and lean, driving through his hips and extending his arms. As Sweat matures as a pass rusher, he’ll be able to work better counter moves off that power and speed, swimming back to the inside.

No school backed off due to the surgery, and Sweat is expected to make a full recovery. Florida State, and many programs, sold him on coming along at his own pace and not trying to rush back from the injury.