Rolle ready to roll

Through the entire recruiting process the No. 3 player in the country, Princeton (N.J.) The Hun School athlete Myron Rolle kept things close to the vest until he made his decision on Thursday to commit to Florida State. Rolle stopped by with Rivals.com for a bit after his decision and spoke about what led him to the commitment, the decision making process and the joy combined with relief to have the recruiting process over.

The 6-foot-2, 214-pounder announced his decision to attend Florida State in front of family, friends and teammates at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Even the press conference was stressful for Rolle.

"The announcement itself was nerve racking and the lights were very bright. I was sweating and nervous. I had someone from television talking in my ear, but it was ok and went fine," he said. "I decided to do it there because that's where my mom works and I thought it'd be a good fit."

After his announcement, Rolle went over to hug and cry with his four brothers.

"They were tears of joy mixed with relief. It's like a big weight has been lifted now that the decision has been made and it was a very stressful process. I'm so happy I could do it with my brothers and celebrate this moment with my family," he said. "My entire family went to each and every school with me at least once. My family had a lot of input in my decision."

There's no denying that his family was an important factor in his decision. Rolle and the rest of his family held a meeting Sunday night to help him decide.

"Sunday night was decision night and I asked each of my seven family members (four brothers, parents and his sister-in-law) to write an essay about the school they felt would be the best fit for me and why," he said. "Out of those seven only one of them voted for Florida State. After discussing it with the entire family, I went with my gut and everybody was supportive of that. They knew this was my decision to make and they just wanted the best for me."

Rolle went on to discuss what stood out about the Seminoles over his other options.

"I loved the game atmosphere when I went to a game last season and I was really impressed with the academics and academic support on a different unofficial visit," he said. "I felt confident in the coaches and comfortable that coach (Bobby) Bowden would be there for all four years. I also felt that coach (Mickey) Andrews is one of the best defensive coaches in the country.

"I talked to a lot of players about Florida State too especially Antonio Cromartie, Lorenzo Booker, Pat Watkins and others. The good thing about the players was that they didn't pressure me. They told me to go where I have to and do what's in my heart. I felt that I would fit in well there and I know they have a hole at the rover position where I can come in, enroll in January go through spring ball and compete for the starting job as a true freshman. I think I really knew it was Florida State on my second unofficial visit earlier this summer. I got a feeling from that visit."

One other factor that played into the five-star athlete's decision was the ability to represent his home state of New Jersey.

"Playing in the ACC was a bit of a factor because I'll be able to play against schools like Maryland, Boston College and Virginia," he said. "These schools are only about a five or six hour drive for my family. Coming from a close knit family I want them to be able to see me play."

Rolle plans to take his official visit to Florida State next week on September 9th.

Florida State may have come out the winner, but it wasn't by much.

"It definitely wasn't a big gap between the teams. It was a difficult decision for me and each school led at one point during the recruiting process over the last year," he said. "In the end Florida State was the right school for me. From day one it was Oklahoma, then it was Florida and it went on and on from there. I changed my mind twenty or thirty times between then and now."

Rolle plans to take it easy on his first night off from recruiting in quite a while.

"Tonight I'm going out to eat with my family and I'm going to enjoy things and relax," he said. "I'm going to call coach Lilly and coach Bowden."

Florida State's coaching staff had no prior notice of Rolle's intentions before his announcement on television this afternoon.

In the end the six schools finished as follows for Rolle's services; Florida State, Oklahoma, Florida, Penn State, Miami and Michigan.