2023 OL Jordan Church enjoys Florida State's genuine approach
The Seminoles welcomed multiple unofficial visitors to campus this past weekend. 2023 offensive lineman Jordan Church was one of the last recruits to make it in, arriving in the afternoon. Following his visit, Church took the time to speak with the media about his experience.
The Florida native enjoyed learning more about the campus but what stood out on this trip was how head coach Mike Norvell and offensive line coach Alex Atkins kept it real with him.
"Oh, it was amazing," Church said. "They showed me around the campus. It was a great campus. The garnet and gold jerseys, they look good on me. I talked to coach Atkins, he's a real down-to-earth dude. He keeps it real with you. I like that as a coach. I talked to coach Norvell, he gave me a speech, it was just exactly what I wanted to hear."
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Offensive line coach Alex Atkins has a unique way of connecting with recruits. With Atkins, he's keeps it straight up when talking with prospects and lets them know that it won't be easy if they choose Florida State.
"Coach Atkins was just giving me the real," Church said. "When he recruits, he is not going to sugarcoat anything. He is going to keep it real 24/7. He is going to push you. He's not going to be like it is going to be a cakewalk. He says some days I'm going to hate him. He's going to push me to my limits. But I like that because that is only going to make me better.
"I feel like that is a coach I can trust," Church continued. "Aside from all the other coaches, what they tell me, he's the only one that really kept it real with me. Really the one that told me that if you get here, I'm going to push you. It's not going to be a cakewalk. It is not going to be easy. So that was nice."
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Church also had a meeting with Norvell that went very well. The head coach stressed that if Church wants to be great, he needs to become a Seminole.
"He was telling me basically the same thing," Church said. "He was like some days I'm going to hate him too. I know they work hard here. I'm ready to work. He was asking me do I want to be a good player or a great player. He was telling me the difference between those two. I told him I want to be a great player. He said if I want to be a great player, come here and he is going to show me how to be a great player."
Florida State was the first school to offer the 6-foot-3, 326-pound offensive lineman. It meant a lot to him at the time and it still matters now.
"That was my first offer," Church said. "I've always felt great about the Seminoles. I mean, when they first offered me, I was like this school is always going to be in my top choices because that really motivated me more to keep pushing. That was like the best day of my life."
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The Florida native is going through a transition this offseason as he elected to spend the final season of his high school career at IMG Academy.
"It's something to get used to," Church said. "It's way different work but I feel like that is going to prepare me for the next level so I love it so far. Waking up early, getting in the weight room, conditioning, yeah, it's going to get me right."
As of now, the Seminoles are the top team in Church's recruitment. Florida State likes him at offensive guard. Louisville, Ole Miss, and West Virginia are a couple of other teams that are involved right now. Church will be back in Tallahassee to check out a spring practice. He doesn't yet have a set timeline for a decision.
Stick with NoleGameday for updates on Florida State's recruiting over the next few months.
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