2023 DL Keith Sampson details commitment to Florida State

Florida State's newest commit discusses his decision.

Florida State landed one of the nation’s best interior linemen Saturday as Keith Sampson from New Bern, NC made the decision to commit to FSU. We caught up with the 4-star defensive tackle after the visit to get his thoughts on what led to his decision.

One of the things that makes Keith Sampson a top defensive lineman is his burst and ability to use leverage. He has a high motor and shows great effort, and he uses his hands very well along with using moves advanced for a player at his stage. Those factors are why Mike Norvell and Odell Haggins were pursuing Sampson hard. That paid off for the Seminoles as Keith made his commitment to FSU on his visit Saturday.

According to the talent prospect, he knew Friday that FSU was going to be the place for him.

“First, I kind of had it set in my mind yesterday, basically the history and watching practice today and how Coach Odell was working with the guys,” Sampson said. “Coach Norvell, he is just a good man. I just - him and Coach Haggins, those two, they both have really been the main two guys I've been talking to. Everything that they've said over the phone, is how they were. They didn’t act one way on the phone and a different way when I got here on campus. That was the biggest thing for me.”

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Coach Haggins’ reputation as one of the very best defensive line coaches in the country is a primary reason that Sampson committed Saturday.

“I definitely want to be coached by coach Odell because he is just not the person to tell me all of the things I’m good at, but also he’ll tell me the things he wants me to work on,” Sampson said. “He pointed out the areas I need to work on, so I am going to work on those immediately once I get home.”

Several weeks ago Keith dropped a top list that initially didn’t include FSU. Coach Haggins called Keith soon after, and after the dust settled, his accurate list with FSU on it was released.

“The list I dropped the first time, there was some commotion, so I let that die down and sent the second list out after,” Sampson said. “Coach Haggins was on the phone right after. Knowing that I had put my top list out, and FSU wanted me here, that was different. He said that if I came on campus to visit it would be a game-changer, which it was. He was right again.”

Landing blue-chip interior lineman in the 2023 class was a priority for FSU, so when Keith gave the coaches the good news, they were ecstatic.

“They were all surprised,” Sampson said. “I was talking to my parents about it last night after we got back to the hotel from the visit. I kept asking them all day, how do you guys feel about it. They kind of knew this is where I wanted to go because I am not much of a talker, so if I am talking about it a day after, continuing to talk about it, that shows them this is the place I want to be. Once I knew my parents were all good about it, that was the deciding factor for me because it's hard to be away from your family. When I saw they’d be fine about it, that was the deciding factor.”

“Coach Norvell almost threw me out of my chair,” Sampson continued. “Coach Haggins, he kind of already knew because our relationship is like that. Coach Watson was our tour guide. Him being a father with a son that has gone through the recruiting process, he was giving us the ins and outs. He talked to me like I was a regular person. He’s another reason why I chose to come to FSU.”

Keith explained that the schools on his top 5 list were there for a reason, so when he visited there was a chance that if things went well, a decision could be made. With how the day went, he now knows that FSU is his future home and that his recruitment is now shut down.

“I didn’t think I would commit coming into the visit,” Sampson said. “It was 50/50. When I come into the visits it's always 50/50 because there are things I now liked about each school on the list, but today's visit, overall, all of the conversations, it felt like it was the right time to commit. The private conversation with Coach Norvell and Coach Haggins, him breaking down my film in depth with me. Practice today was the confirmation, the intensity they played with. I want to major in sports science or kinesiology. FSU was one of the only schools to bring a professor to talk about their program. He promised my parents they’d take care of me. I am going to take them for their word. Coach Haggins has been here for a while which played a factor. Players that used to play here come back years later you can tell that's a family thing. My recruitment is shut down. I will come back here but I don’t know when yet.”

Stick with NoleGameday for more updates coming out of the weekend.

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