Seminoles showing local 2023 DB Cam Upshaw that he's a priority
Over the past few years, Tallahassee and its surrounding areas have produced a few of the top players in the country. That is no different in 2023 with talents such as JPII's Makari Vickers, Rickards' Keyon Brown, and Gadsden County's Cameron Upshaw set to break out on the scene as seniors.
A player with a lot of skill from a small school, Upshaw has begun to see his recruitment take off over the last few months. Florida State, Louisville, Iowa, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Michigan State, and others have joined his offer list since the new year began.
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On Monday, Upshaw took an unofficial visit to Florida State to watch the team's second practice of the spring. He was impressed by the tempo of the practice and the energy from the coaches.
"I enjoyed watching them practice," Upshaw said. "The tempo was high and the energy from all of the coaches was high as well, I feel like this Florida State is the old National Championship contender Florida State."
The Seminoles are recruiting Upshaw as a safety so he kept an eye on defensive backs coach Marcus Woodson and defensive coordinator Adam Fuller. He noticed that Woodson was very technical with the unit in getting them to understand why they were doing certain things.
"I noticed that he doesn’t settle for average," Upshaw said. "He wants everybody to know what they’re doing and what they’re doing it for. If they’re doing it wrong, he makes sure they don’t move on until it’s done correctly."
Two players that impressed Upshaw happened to be two guys that are local to the area, redshirt sophomore Travis Jay and true freshman Azareya'h Thomas. Jay is a local legend out of Madison County who dominated in high school while Upshaw competed against Thomas at the prep level this past season.
"Travis Jay and Azareya'h Thomas both stood out to me," Upshaw said. "Their competitiveness was top notch. With Azareya'h being a freshman, he’s already playing, practicing, and competing like the upperclassmen and it’s crazy because I just played against him this past season. Travis Jay is just somebody I knew about for a long time so I really wanted to watch him practice and see where he was compared to what I saw on TV last season."
Following the practice, the Florida native spoke with head coach Mike Norvell and coach Woodson for a little bit. Woodson expressed that he wants to continue building a close relationship with Upshaw.
"Me and Norvell talked a little but I talked a lot with Coach Woodson," Upshaw said. "He was telling me he noticed that I’ve gotten a little bigger since the last time he saw me. I went from 183 to now 190 since the last time I was at FSU, and he wants to make sure we stay in contact. He wants me to learn more about him and start to build a close relationship with each other."
Despite the fact that Upshaw is from the area and grew up a fan of Florida State, the coaching staff is still recruiting him like any other player. They're making him a priority and spending the time to get to know him.
"Yes, I do feel like they’re making it a priority to keep me home," Upshaw said. "They’ve been in contact a lot and are making me a priority for the 2023 recruiting class."
READ MORE: 2023 local WR Keyon Brown building relationship with Ron Dugans
While the Seminoles are an enticing option for Upshaw, he isn't ready to name a top school at this time. South Carolina, Florida, Nebraska, Louisville, Arkansas, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Cincinnati, and Maryland are some of the other teams recruiting him hard.
The next step in his recruitment is to cut things down within the next couple of months. As of now, Upshaw plans to wait until Early Signing Day to go public with a decision.
"I might be dropping a top schools list within the next couple of months but as of right now I plan to wait until August to drop a top schools list," Upshaw said. "Then, after the season silently commit and announce my commitment on Early Signing Day."
Upshaw will visit Florida on March 15 with the goal to return to Florida State on March 19. Outside of that, his only other trip at this time will be to Maryland in April.
Stick with NoleGameday for more on Upshaw throughout his upcoming senior season.
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