It’s FSU for Columbia area’s top-ranked senior football prospect
Joshua Burrell couldn’t wait any longer to make his college decision.
The Blythewood High School rising senior receiver committed to Florida State on Friday evening. He made the announcement on his Instagram page where he revealed an FSU shirt under his jacket.
Burrell is a four-star recruit and the No. 3 ranked prospect in South Carolina by 247Sports Composite, which factors in all networks. He is the third high-profile Midlands recruit to announce his college choice this month and second this week. Chapin’s Thornton Gentry committed to NC State on Thursday, and River Bluff’s Kendall Long committed to Syracuse earlier in May.
Some of Burrell’s other Power Five offers included Louisville, Georgia Tech, Duke, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Arizona State, North Carolina State and Nebraska.
Burrell said he plans to graduate high school in December and enroll at FSU in January.
The 6-foot-2, 208-pound receiver visited FSU on March 7 along with his twin brother, Jordan, who also is a Division I recruit. He hoped to get back down this summer but the NCAA hasn’t allowed recruits on campus since the coronavirus pandemic started in March. All visits and face-to-face interaction with coaches are off-limits until at least July 31.
But Burrell has stayed in close contact with FSU coaches over the past few months, even has been playing intense Madden video games with Seminoles offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham.
The “whole recruiting game has definitely changed,” Burrell told The State. “Since we don’t have any visits, they are doing a lot of contact by FaceTime, Zoom calls and making sure they are in front of us so we don’t forget about them.”
Burrell had 57 catches for 950 yards and 11 touchdowns last season for the Bengals. He is the eighth commit for new FSU coach Mike Norvell for the Class of 2021 and the first receiver.
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 6:01 PM.
