Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley TE D.J. Howerton traveled to Tallahassee to check out Florida State for the first time on Friday.
The 6-foot-6 and 220-pound tight end was offered by the Seminoles in January, and since then has had multiple good conversations with tight ends coach Chris Thomsen that ultimately led to a visit this spring.
"I had countless good talks on the phone with Coach (Chris) Thomsen and Coach DJ (Daniels). I just wanted to make an effort to come down here and see it for myself, see it in person, and see what they had to offer," Howerton said of his visit.
Howerton got to take in the 12th spring practice and liked what he saw from Thomsen as a coach.
"Coach Thomsen has coached them up well and they have great energy," Howerton said. "You can tell that they have a lot of stuff to learn about and he's coaching them up well — blocking technique and catching the ball, then getting the YAC after the ball. It's good stuff."
His visit on Friday has led to a quick turnaround in scheduling an official visit, which Howerton has scheduled since his departure from campus. Howerton is expected to officially visit on June 16-18.
"Me coming here and already having that connection and me building it more with them in person, it's just somewhere that I want to be. Talking with the head coach, he said some valuable stuff to me that really stuck with me and stuck in my mind. I can see myself here," Howerton said.
"He's not recruiting me, he's pursuing me," Howerton added on Mike Norvell. "That's something I never heard before. I could tell that he's really real. He's gonna give it to me straight. He's not gonna be biased with it at all. That's something that most coaches try to sugar coat a little bit, but he's straightforward. That's something that lit up my eyes."
Howerton plans to decide on his commitment following his official visits early in July. That said, Howerton did also say that he doesn't truly have to decide until signing day in December.
NC State, Rutgers, Florida and Utah are other programs in the mix for Howerton — with all apart from Utah having visits set up. Howerton will first see Rutgers on May 30, Florida on June 6, and then be at Florida State on June 16 before seeing NC State on June 20.
All programs are "neck and neck" in Howerton's recruitment right now, but what will separate a school?
"I would say a school that can develop me as a person and as a player because I know that football isn't forever," Howerton said. "So that personal aspect, getting to know me as a person and my characteristics, that's very important."
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