Ouch. That’ll leave somewhat of a mark.
Proving once again that a verbal commitment made a dozen or more months before signing day is non-binding and means next to nothing, long-time Florida State commit Dante Fowler Jr. became the first National Signing Day five-star flip when he signed a Letter of Intent with in-state rival Florida.
The defensive end -- UF will list him as an outside linebacker -- had given a verbal to the Seminoles back in Dec. of 2010, but has been a shaky commit ever since, saying as late as four days ago that “I don’t know where I’m going.” Now he does know where he’s headed, and the Gators’ top-five class has gotten that much stronger.
ESPN.com’s ACC blogger Heather Dinich wrote that “Fowler said he felt he could contribute more and get on the field faster as a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker in Florida’s system, and he liked the fact that coach Will Muschamp is a defensive-minded coach.”
247Sports had the St. Petersburg, Fla., product rated as the No. 15 player in the country, and was No. 28 according to Rivals.
Don’t feel too bad for Fisher and the ‘Noles for this “loss”, though, as FSU is steamrolling its way through signing day and hurtling straight toward another top-five recruiting class.