I first committed to Louisville toward the end of my junior year. Around that time, that was the only school that I felt like really wanted me. They were the only school recruiting me hard, and I wanted to go somewhere where I felt like I was wanted. I wanted to be close to the coaching staff, and I felt that with Louisville early on in the process.
A lot of people told me to wait to commit. But when you’re young and the scholarship offers come in, you get excited and you rush it because you want to be part of that lifestyle. You want that status.
At that point, UGA was still evaluating me. They hadn’t offered a scholarship. They wanted to see more film of me, and they wanted me to come to camp. I never told them I was going to commit to Louisville. We really weren’t communicating that well at the time.
But after I committed, UGA came back to me and said they were really interested in me. Other schools asked about me, but I shut it down with other schools. I was only talking to UGA and Louisville.
I kept Georgia in there because it was close to home. One thing that is very important to me is to be close to my family. I want my parents to be able to come see play, and I also liked everything about Georgia when I first visited there.
I made an unofficial visit there the week of the Mark Richt camp in early June. We sat down and talked with all the coaches, and coach Richt told me that I had an offer. At first, I was excited. I was nervous. I knew I had to make a big decision. This time, though, I didn’t want to rush it. I wanted to make sure I was making the right choice.
I sat down with family and my high school coaches to talk my options out. My coach told me to go where I felt like I should be. He told me to look at it from every perspective, from a football way to the classroom to how my family felt about it. Where would I fit in the best? He wanted me to think about long-term goals rather than short-term goals.
UGA didn’t pressure me into committing. They told me I had an offer, and it was up to me if I was going to take it. They told me to take my time and don’t rush it. After I thought about it for a few weeks, I felt like UGA was the place I should be. They had everything I wanted, including a great degree, and it was hard to say no.
It was very tough to go back and tell Louisville. I had committed myself to a college, and now I was changing my mind. It was kind of messed up, you know? It was hard to tell them. But I did.
I feel like switching to UGA was a good decision for me. I would tell other kids who are thinking about switching to sit down with the people who are most important to you, and see what they’ve got to say. But at the end of day, it’s your decision about where you want to be. They are not the one going to college, you are.
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