Offers rolling in for 2015 FL DB

Six weeks ago Damon Arnette made what now looks like a sharp positions switch.

Arnette spent most of his high school career before then playing wide receiver and special teams. Now the junior from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale is a cornerback, a move his coach suggested in mid-December.

After turning in a standout performance at the U.S. Army National Combine earlier this month, Arnette is seeing the dividends of that move.

"It's been kinda crazy with the attention and everything that I'm starting to get just from this camp I went to in Texas," Arnette said. "I did really well up there. A lot of coaches got a hold of that film of me. They say 6-2 corners aren't that common so they're coming after me pretty hard."

Since the trip to San Antonio scholarship offers have come in from Hawaii, Indiana and South Carolina. Arnette expects Florida State and USF to join the mix soon as well.

Seminoles defensive line coach Sal Sunseri has been in contact and head coach Jimbo Fisher is expected to roll through St. Thomas Aquinas soon. Adding a scholarship offer from the reigning national champions would take Arnette's recruitment to another level.

"That would be great," Arnette said. "That would be truly a blessing. All this is kinda happening really, really fast. Just a month ago I was concerned that football wasn't my sport, you know? Then all this stuff is happening. I'm very fortunate."

Right now Arnette considers himself open to all potential suitors but growing up his gaze has mostly been cast on the Southeastern Conference and other power programs in the region. He considers Alabama, Georgia and Texas some of his "favorite schools."

Staying near home to play college ball is something the 6-foot-2, 185-pound prospect is weighing as things become more serious.

"I wanna play in the SEC," Arnette said. "Like that Southeast region is probably what I'm aiming for but if I have an opportunity somewhere else I won't hesitate to take that chance."

Arnette has some key criteria for making a decision as well.

"I really just look for the vibe there," he said. "That's really what I'm aiming for, the feel that I belong there. When people say, 'Oh, I wanna see who's there or who is already there,' that doesn't really matter to me. I look at it as if you're the best player you're gonna play. The coaches are trying to win. They're gonna put the best 11 out there to get it done. That's really not a concern, who is there. But I also wanna see what history they have of putting out players in the NFL because that's the ultimate goal."