3-star OT Ruble picks FSU

At Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha today, offensive tackle Brock Ruble committed to Florida State over N.C. State and Maryland.

"I came up with my decision and everyone tells me to trust my gut feeling and it's sending me to Tallahassee next year," said the 6-foot-8, 321-pound Ruble. I've been talking about this feeling that I would need to have and I got it with Florida State. I had a good feeling with all three schools but it was a little stronger pull with Florida State."

The atmosphere on the Tallahassee campus and around the Seminole program helped convince Ruble that Florida State was the place for him.

"Everything about Florida State was a big draw for me," he said "From the coaches to the people behind the program to the players to the people to hang out with around the building, everybody was so great. The academic structure for Sports Broadcasting was great for what I want to do when football ends."

Florida State assistant coaches Sal Sunseri and Rick Trickett helped tip Ruble's scale in favor of the Seminoles.

"First of all, I had a great connection with coach Trickett and coach Sal," Ruble said. "Coach Trickett is from West Virginia and coach Sal is from Pittsburgh. I'm from southern Maryland so there isn't much of a difference between the way they act and the way I act. We all kind of think and act the same way. It was an interesting thing.

"I knew the school that I wanted to go to had to advance me in three phases: As student, as a person and as a player," he said. "When it came to advancing me as a student and as a person, all three of these institutions were pretty much the same. The two offensive line coaches from N.C. State and Maryland are amazing also. I sat in film sessions with them and watched them coach their boys and I know they are great.

"There is no denying the fact that last year coach Trickett made a second round pick out of a guy that really only played one year of football and the starting left tackle right now, Cameron Erving, was a defensive lineman about a year and half ago," said Ruble. "Coach Trickett turned him into a future pro. When it comes to developing young athletes into great players, coach Trickett has done it for a while and has done a great job."

The amazing yet turbulent season that Jameis Winston is having is something that had an effect of Ruble's thought process.

"They thing about the hype around Jameis Winston is that it didn't affect my decision but not in the way that you might think," he said. "I was down on Florida State because of the allegations against Jameis. I was thinking that if he gets charged and if there is some NCAA investigation down there it wouldn't be a good situation for me to walk into. Now that's cleared up and Jameis is doing a great job for Florida State and I think he will continue to do well."

Maryland and N.C. State provided some excellent alternatives for Ruble and he was very close to choosing both of them.

"Honestly, these three schools were so close that it was a 1a, 1b and 1c type of situation," Ruble said. "All of these schools are so great and they were so great to me. The new coaching staff down at N.C. State is going to be great. Coach Edsall has had such terrible luck with injuries this year and last year. His two best playmakers go down with broken legs in the same game this year and last year they had to play a linebacker at quarterback. I'm sure that them going to the Big Ten and getting some big time recruits in the area will help them.

"I've visited all three schools a lot of times so no matter which school I chose I knew it would be a good decision," he said. "There was just something about Florida State that gave me that feeling that it was the best choice for me."

Ruble took an official visit to Florida State on October 25 but is unsure of when he will return to Tallahassee.

"I don't know when I will visit Florida State again because of basketball season," said Ruble. "I really hope I'm done with recruitment, barring some unforeseen circumstance."

Ruble is Florida State's 25th commitment in the 2014 class.