SAN ANTONIO – On the last weekend before signing day, Keldric Faulk was still committed to Florida State and he decided to visit Tallahassee one more time.
Auburn was pushing him hard, but since he had been committed to the Seminoles since July it looked like good news for FSU that Faulk was returning to campus.
But after having some significant second thoughts, as Faulk was leaving Florida State he and his mother decided to go to Auburn one more time.
It was exactly what he needed to flip to the Tigers.
“Whenever I went to Florida State, I already had my doubts going into it,” Faulk said after Tuesday’s All-American Bowl practice. “I don’t like to do anything feeling any kind of doubt, so when my momma brought up the opportunity for me to go to Auburn that Sunday, I felt like that was something I really had to look into. I didn’t want any doubts going into the end of my recruitment.”
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Going into that final weekend, Faulk was telling people he decided on visiting Florida State. That was the plan. But as things wrapped in Tallahassee and there were still some final questions – plus Auburn’s new staff was aggressively coming after him – the four-star made the trip to Auburn, and it changed everything.
“It wasn’t even planned,” Faulk said. “When I talked to my mom the night before and that Sunday morning when we were leaving, she just said, ‘Do you really want to go visit?’ The more I thought about it, I kind of wanted to go see it again. I called them up around 10 o’clock that morning and I got up there around 1:30.
“I always wanted to go to Auburn. Auburn was my No. 1 school when (defensive line) coach (Nick) Eason was there and coach (Bryan) Harsin and it got kind of hard after coach Eason left, so things were more in the mix. But when coach (Hugh) Freeze came in, and the new D-line coach, I built such a good bond with them in only a few weeks. When I went up there it was me chilling and seeing what the big plans for me were and how Auburn could benefit me and my family in the long run.”
Committed to Florida State since July, the final weekend for Faulk came down to two schools. He was pulled in both directions, but in the end the four-star defensive end had to do what he felt was best.
“I feel like Auburn was home for me,” Faulk said.
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