James Wilder Jr. Announces He Will Play for Florida State Seminoles

TAMPA, Fla. – At 6 o'clock Wednesday morning, Tampa Plant High School running back James Wilder's cell phone was blowing up. It was Georgia tight end Orson Charles, a Plant High alum, making one last pitch for the Bulldogs.

"Oh my God," Wilder said. "They (Charles and Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, also from Plant) was coming at me. But they were definitely telling me to go where my heart is, where I felt best."

And that was at Florida State.

Regarded as one of the nation's top recruits – or as Plant High coach Robert Weiner called him: "the most famous high school football player in the country" – Wilder announced during a news conference in the school's auditorium Wednesday evening that he was attending Florida State over Georgia and Florida.

Wilder said he felt most comfortable with the Seminoles, even if the perception nationally is that the SEC is a better conference.

"I wanted to get my decision over to focus on my team and this season," Wilder said. "I knew I wanted to stay close to my wonderful family and that left it down to Georgia, Florida and Florida State. They say the best schools are in the SEC and best competition is in the SEC, but, I mean, I felt more comfortable at an ACC school. It is what it is.

"They say the best athletes come out of the SEC, but just because I'm in the SEC it's not going to make me a better athlete. Even though it's the ACC, I'm going to 'ball out' regardless no matter where I'm at – even if I'm at the Ivy League. Wherever I'm at, I'm going to 'ball out.' "

There's a possibility Wilder's mother, Barbara, will move to Tallahassee in January.

"I don't know yet," James Jr. said. "If not, she's only three hours away."

Wilder said announcing his decision was "getting a big boulder off my back. It was a huge relief."

Wilder and his father, former NFL running back James Wilder Sr., and mother said they listed the pros and cons of the three schools before James Jr. chose Florida State.

Wilder Sr. starred for the Tampa Bay Bucs. Growing up as "the son of former NFL running back James Wilder Sr." has been a challenge, James Jr. said.

"I just want to be a regular person," Wilder told FanHouse. "I have a lot to live up to, a lot of space to fill in those shoes to try to live up (to him). He was here to support me today. It's pretty awesome.

"I'm blessed to be a son of a Wilder. I look at it as a blessing. He knows what it takes to get to the next level and definitely gives me the tips to do that."

Weiner, who has guided Plant to three state titles in the past four years, said he's never coached anyone like Wilder.

"He's one in a million, one of a kind as a football player," Weiner said of the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder. "If he walked in during the NFL combine, no one would bat an eye."

Last season, Wilder ran for 1,004 yards and 15 touchdowns as a running back. He averaged 7.5 yards per carry and scored 14 touchdowns, leading Plant to the Class 5A state championship. Also a terror on defense at end and linebacker, Wilder had 136 tackles and 19 sacks last season.

"Each night I was going to sleep staring at the roof thinking what jersey I could see myself in, what would be best for me.'
-- James Wilder, Jr. Wilder is rated the nation's No. 1 overall recruit by MaxPreps and No. 3 overall recruit by Rivals.com. He's also rated the nation's No. 1 linebacker by Scout.com and the nation's No. 2 athlete by ESPNU.

"It was James' decision, we kind of weighed out the pros and cons and filled in the blanks," his father said. "You're the one that has to go to school, you're the one that has to stay in the dorm and go study."

Wilder's father said academics played a big role.

"That's our biggest plus there (with Florida State)," Wilder Sr. said. "What they have to offer academically. Football, he can play anywhere. He was pleased with the coaches (at FSU) being able to play what he wants to play. These colleges can play tricks with you. What happens if he gets hurt or injured? That was an important thing we wanted to focus on."

Wilder's news conference was televised live locally throughout the Tampa Bay area by Bright House Sports Network, which promoted the half-hour show as "The Decision." The station even aired two replays Wednesday night. And like LeBron James' televised decision, Wilder's also was stretched out for the sake of television.

Wilder's decision wasn't revealed until 25 minutes after Weiner's opening statement. After some opening comments from Weiner, then the playing of a four-minute highlight video of Wilder, and then even more Wilder gushing by Weiner, Wilder, wearing a black and red shirt, took the microphone.

"Before I make my decision, I want to say a few things first," Wilder said.

Wilder then thanked God, his coach, his family, his teammates, friends, academic advisers, pretty much everyone except LeBron James.

Finally, eight minutes later, Wilder reached under a table on the stage and pulled out a Florida State hat.

Wilder initially wanted to wait until National Signing Day, Feb. 2, 2011, to announce his decision, but that quickly got moved up.

"He decided what he wanted to do now so he could concentrate on his senior year," Barbara Wilder said. "It was wearing on him, the family, the friends and causing a little friction because of the push and pull.

"What attracted him to Florida State was the feeling of being home, the coaches were very sincere. They made him feel like he was part of a family. Academically, it was a good school."

Wilder said his recruitment "got crazy" during the past few months.

He said a radio station published his cell number and he routinely received 200 text messages a day from fans of various schools until he changed his cell number two weeks ago.

"I definitely couldn't do this for another six months," Wilder said. "The stress ... regular people will never know, unless they're recruited, they'd never know. There's a lot of people coming at you every day, the calls, you'd never know how much it really is. It's fun, but a lot of stress

"Each night I was going to sleep staring at the roof thinking what jersey I could see myself in, what would be best for me."

Contact FanHouse senior writer Brett McMurphy at brettmcmurphy@gmail.com or follow on Twitter @BrettmcmurphY