Five-star Jaiden Woodbey explains flip to FSU
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - Jaiden Woodbey did not have his mind made up.
It was a rough Tuesday night of tossing and turning but then a workout Wednesday morning cleared his mind and the five-star safety from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco finalized his decision.
He was going to commit to Florida State, his dream school.
So that’s what Woodbey did in a jam-packed room here at Athletic Republic, the gym where he sweated so much and strived so much to be the best.
USC safety Chris Hawkins was there, his father, Armond, is Woodbey’s 7-on-7 coach. USC running back Stephen Carr was off to the side, a former Ground Zero teammate. A bunch of friends and college players were in attendance as well.
But Woodbey had his sights set on the Seminoles especially after landing a late offer from new coach Willie Taggart and then taking a semi-secret trip to Tallahassee last weekend helped, too.
“I always wanted the offer,” Woodbey said. “Whether I got it really early or really late, it was one of those things hopefully I get the offer so I could go visit. Visiting was everything I thought it would be. I grew up watching this team play and it’s kind of been my dream school. It exceeded my expectations when I got up there.
“Me and my brother grew up watching these two teams play (Florida State and Miami). We went to the national championship when they played Auburn and we went to the game when they played Oregon and my brother went to the game when they played Michigan last year.”
The five-star had been committed to Ohio State for months and raved about the Buckeyes’ ability to produce top-notch and NFL-ready defensive backs. It was a big selling point.
A late trip over to USC moved the Trojans way up his list and Woodbey said if he didn’t choose Florida State, he would have picked USC. Ohio State, which he had been committed to all the way up to Wednesday’s decision, was running third.
Last weekend, after the USC visit, Woodbey jumped on a plane and headed to Florida State, to see what it was all about and to see what he thought of the coaching staff.
Taggart thoroughly impressed.
“I believed in what coach Taggart was telling me,” Woodbey said. “This is a Power Five program, they had a wobbly season last season but once they realign things they’ll be at the top.
“He was basically telling me when I go there I’m going to have a great opportunity to play just like every other school was telling me. For some reason, I believe him more than anybody else. This recruiting game, I honestly hate it.
“When I was a freshman or sophomore, I wanted all the attention and all the offers but as you get older you realize there are only two or three schools you really want to talk to. When you develop that relationship, it’s really, really hard to break it. I had to call Ohio State and USC today and tell them I wasn’t going. Those were two long conversations. They were kind of emotional but I had to do it, grow up and be a man and tell them I wasn’t going to their school.”
Ohio State and USC offered almost everything Woodbey wanted. At Florida State, he just saw more. It is his dream school and the five-star made that dream happen by choosing the Seminoles late Wednesday.
“I felt like it was an opportunity,” Woodbey said. “They have depth at every single spot but safety. … I grew up watching Jalen Ramsey and Derwin James play. Just coming from California doesn’t mean I can’t pursue my dreams like anybody else and I will once I get there.
“(Taggart) basically wants me to be like Derwin James and to fulfill what he was doing. That’s how I grew up playing. I wanted to be like him my last high school year. I tried to model my game after him. I felt like me going to Florida State that’s going to help me.”
