TAMPA -— Plant running back/linebacker James Wilder Jr., the son of the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers standout, wants to stay in the family business of carrying the football.
Wednesday afternoon, he chose to give Florida State University his verbal commitment that he will sign a national letter of intent on Feb. 2, 2011 to be part of the Seminoles’ Class of 2011. The announcement, which came at 5:25 in the Plant High School auditorium after a lengthy and somewhat drawn-out ceremony, obviously disappointed Georgia and Florida fans, who were hoping the 6-foot-2, 219-pound Wilder would verbally commit to their school.
Wilder only told a few people — family and head coach Robert Weiner, who introduced him during the 20-minute ceremony that was covered live by ESPN. When he took the stage, Wilder was wearing a red sweater vest over a black golf shirt, indications that his choice might be Georgia. AOL Fanhouse had reported Tuesday night through sources that Wilder had chosen Georgia.
But it was all a ruse. When it came time to finally announce, Wilder reached under the table, picked up a hat and put it on his head.
The hat was garnet and gold.
“I’m going to be a Seminole,” Wilder said.
Later, he would reveal why he chose to wear black and red. “I just wanted to mess with their fans,” he chuckled.
Wilder is quite a catch for the Seminoles and first-year head coach Jimbo Fisher, who inherited the position after Bobby Bowden’s exit from the school he brought to prominence, winning two national championships (1993, ‘99) in 32 years. It’s a coup for him and Eddie Gran, the associate head coach/special teams coordinator/running backs coach. Gran coached under Tommy Tuberville at Mississippi and Alabama and spent last year as running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Tennessee for Lane Kiffin, He has sent several running backs to the National Football League, among them Carnell Williams, Ronnie Brown, Rudi Johnson, Brandon Jacobs, Heath Evans, Kenny Irons, Deuce McCallister and John Avery.
In the end, that resume sold Wilder, who is ranked as the No. 1 player by Tom Lemming and MaxPreps, No. 3 on Rivals’ 100, No. 6 on Scout.com and No. 19 on ESPNU 150 list.
“Florida State has a history of sending big running backs to the NFL,” he said. “I felt comfortable with coach Fisher and coach Gran.”
The Gators recruited Wilder as a running back but thought his future was at linebacker/defensive end, positions he has played for Plant, the reigning Class 5A state champion on the basis of its 21-14 victory over Bradenton’s Manatee High School last Dec. 18 in Orlando’s Citrus Bowl. In that game, Wilder rushed 20 times for 137 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown run, and also caught a pass for 20 yards. Defensively, Wilder was credited with four tackles, including two quarterback sacks totaling 18 yards, and he broke up one pass. MaxPreps and ESPN’s Scout, Inc. concurred with Florida’s opinion.
Instead, Wilder will be spending the last Saturday in November during seasons 2011-14 possibly as a target for the Florida defense.
“I haven’t told coach (Urban) Meyer yet,” Wilder said. “I really like coach Meyer a lot and I’m sure coach Meyer will respect his decision.”