Cowart names new decision date

The nation's No. 1 prospect, five-star defensive end Byron Cowart of Seffner (Fla.) Armwood will take at least two more official visits before naming a school, and he has set a new date for announcing a decision on which school he'll play for.

Cowart said he'll announce at the Under Armour All-America Game, which will take place Jan. 2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.

On Aug. 30, the 6-foot-3, 252-pound senior named Oregon as his leader, but now said he has no favorites.

"I'm open right now," he said. "Nobody is leading."

Cowart will take an official visit to Florida on Nov. 15 for the Gators' matchup with South Carolina. Two weeks later, he'll be in Tallahassee to officially visit for the Florida State-Florida game.

He'll take both official visits with friend and three-star receiver Ryan Davis of St. Petersburg (Fla.) Lakewood.

Here's the rest of what Cowart had to say during his phone interview:

Krohn: How important is it to you that Will Muschamp and his coaching staff keep their jobs, and for Florida to have a good season?

Cowart: It's not really that important. Even with the Alabama game, I wasn't looking for them to win. I was looking to see the defensive schemes and the mindset of the defensive coordinator, like 'How do you prepare for Alabama?' They were doing good, they just don't have any depth at the defensive line, so that's where I would come in and play there.

Krohn: So an overhaul of the coaching staff and a new defense wouldn't affect your decision?

Cowart: If coach Muschamp leaves, I doubt the defense will change because I think coach (Brad Lawing) and those guys will still be there - hopefully. I just don't know. We'll have to see.

Krohn: Do you have time to wait for the fate of Muschamp and his staff to unfold?

Cowart: Yes sir.

Krohn: You've been to Florida so many times over your high school career. Talk about the decision to take an official visit there.

Cowart: I'm just doing it because they want to treat me. I wasn't going to take one but they want me to take an official, so I will.

Krohn: As far as taking your official visit to Florida State for the Florida game, who's idea was that? Yours or Florida State's?

Cowart: It was my idea. They were perfectly fine with that. They just want me up there.

Krohn: What have you seen from Florida State so far?

Cowart: The same thing I saw with Maryland. They have a great defensive scheme. They just need more players to run it.

Every college, any NCAA school would be great to go to. All the coaches are there for a reason. They either coached in the league or they know what they're doing. The thing about it is, it's how good can you recruit? Do you have the right players to run your defense? That's why I like Oregon, because they don't care who you are - they're going to get who fits their offense and defense. So Florida State has a great scheme and great players and I know they want a different breed of guys that can stand up and move around and all of that stuff. I like coach (Sal Sunseri) a lot. He coached Julius Peppers and that's really important to me. I've always looked up to Peppers.

Krohn: Will you take an official visit to Oregon?

Cowart: I'm still trying to debate that because homecoming is Nov. 1 and that's the date of the Stanford-Oregon game. I wanted to see that game but I can't do that. So I might go Oct. 18 when they play Washington.

Krohn: Very recently you told us Oregon was your leader but now you're saying that's no longer the case. Where do you stand with the Ducks as of right now?

Cowart: Nobody is leading right now because I want to take some more visits. I'm still talking to them a lot. I think for me they need - and I tell coach (Ron Aiken) this - they need to work hard at playing the run. I don't know what the talk in the league is, but I know a lot of people are saying Oregon people can't play the line and that they're just great pass rushers. I can play the run and I can play the pass, so that's something I want to see him do with his guys. Work on stuffing the run and we'll see.

Krohn: Talk about your decision to push back your announcement date to the Under Armour All America Game.

Cowart: I just want to wait. I don't want to de-commit. I've never wanted to de-commit because it's hell. I just want to wait. I don't want to make any mistakes.

Krohn: What's going to be the ultimate deciding factor for you?

Cowart: I pray a lot, so everything will work out. I don't care who's winning, who's losing, who stays, who goes. When I get that feeling, or message from God, then I'll make my decision. I'm still waiting.

Through four games, Cowart has 23 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 6 hurries for Armwood (4-0).

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