2023 RB DJ Braswell enjoys first visit to Florida State
Sandersville - Washington County (GA) standout running back DJ Braswell was on campus this past weekend for Florida State’s first recruiting weekend of 2022. Coming off of a strong junior season, Braswell has been a running back the coaches at Florida State have been watching since November 2021.
One thing that the current coaching staff can do better than most is evaluate. DJ Braswell, a running back from a small town in south Georgia, emerged onto their radar in November of last year when they issued him an offer. With their first recruiting event of 2022 this past weekend, Braswell was in town to check out the campus and meet with the coaches.
“I’ve been talking to FSU for 2 months now,” Braswell said. “I’ve talked to the running back’s coach Coach “Yac” (David Johnson) as well as the head coach Mike Norvell. Since they offered they’ve been telling me how they wanted me to come there, and that if I work hard off and on the field I can help them.”
“The visit this past weekend was my first one to FSU,” Braswell continued. “It was a very good visit and I can see myself playing there. I liked how personal they are. They aren’t fake and they seem like they can help me be the best person I can be. I went there with my dad, grandfather, and grandmother. They loved it, too and they liked how the coaches are real and that they are going to tell me the things they need to, not what I want to hear.”
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While Washington County didn’t finish off the season as they hoped, DJ flashed a ton of potential as he showed big play ability.
“My junior season was pretty good, we lost our rhythm offensively about halfway through the season and didn’t finish like we wanted,” Braswell explained. "I had 80 carries for just over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns, and I played some corner and safety and had 2 interceptions. I’ve always played running back, and I am going to play some receiver my senior season.”
DJ said that the meeting with Norvell went very well, and combined with the campus, he came away impressed with what FSU has to offer.
“The meeting with Coach Norvell was good,” Braswell said. “He told me that I can be like every other guy he’s had that has made it to the NFL if I came there and put in the work. I could come there and help change the program and help them win championships. He told me that I’d have to work the whole time I was there. I liked that. I liked the whole visit. I like FSU as a community, I like the stadium and the facilities, and I loved the campus.”
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While DJ likes to be a downhill runner, his legit track speed makes him a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball.
“I’m a downhill back, but I am athletic and a hard worker, and I can also get out and catch the ball,” said the 5’11”, 194 pound back. “I started running track in 8th grade and I also play basketball. Coaches from Kansas, Wake Forest and some others have mentioned my speed. I run 10.75 in the 100 and 22.00 in the 200. Track is something I want to do in college, too. Those times are from 2 years ago because we missed track last year because of COVID.”
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While Braswell has just two offers (Nebraska and FSU) his recruitment is starting to pick up steam as Kansas, Wake Forest “and a lot of others” are showing interest. He has a visit to Nebraska scheduled the 29th of this month and plans to visit FSU again at some point before he makes a decision before the start of his senior season.
