Florida State lands four-star defensive back from Lake Gibson HS
LAKELAND, Fla. (BVM) – The future is bright for the Florida State Seminoles football team as they have been heavily active in the 2022 recruiting cycle.
Beating Alabama and other powerhouse schools in the process, the Seminoles have acquired Sam McCall, a defensive back from Lake Gibson High School. This is exactly the kind of player that the Seminoles have been looking for after failing to make a bowl game for the second straight year. The eager 18-year-old will look to make an immediate impact as he starts his college career this fall.
The 6-foot-2 safety is already getting comparisons to NFL athletes such as Eddie Jackson of the Chicago Bears. McCall possesses a bigger physique than most defensive backs with a great ability to control his body and shows elite ball skills to make his ability stand out from his competition. He impressed many scouts throughout his high school career due to his aggressive defensive style and impressive speed after he recorded a 11.1 second 100-meter dash. McCall has also played on the offensive side of the ball as a wide receiver posing as a dual threat.
Initially, McCall was committed to the University of Florida back in the late stages of 2020 but with the recent firings of some of their defensive backs, some of whom he had associations with, he decommitted and chose Florida State as his future home. The same narrative happened with Travis Hunter, one of the top wide receiver/defensive back prospects in the country, who recently flipped his decision from Florida State to Jackson State University and will join Deion Sanders there. Seminole coaches Odel Haggins and Marcus Woodson can be thanked for their recruiting efforts in securing McCall’s commitment to the FSU program.
A large part of why McCall has been in the gridiron spotlight for quite some time is because of his production and talent. In 2020, he led the Lake Gibson Braves to an 11-2 record and made a deep run in the 6A high school playoffs, one of the most competitive divisions in Florida. As an offensive player, he recorded 52 catches for 903 yards and 10 scores. On the defensive side of the ball, he had 18 tackles and 4 interceptions. His efforts on both ends made him shine throughout his illustrious days in high school.
Florida State will be utilizing McCall as often as possible in their efforts to make it back to the top in order to relive their glory days of the early 2010s. The Seminoles have been notorious in producing NFL-caliber talent of late. Derwin James of the Los Angeles Chargers and Jalen Ramsey of the Los Angeles Rams are both products of the Seminole program and still continue to thrive at the highest level. Hence, Florida State has been given the name “DBU” in reference to their factory of successful production of defensive backs.
McCall will look to be the next big star at Doak Campbell Stadium and hope to give the Seminole faithful more to chop for. The talented defensive back will get his first chance to do so this fall as the Seminoles open their 2022 campaign against the LSU Tigers in Atlanta on September 4th.
