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'It felt like home': Cocoa DE Javion Hilson shuts his recruiting down, remains with FSU football
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- 'It felt like home': Cocoa DE Javion Hilson shuts his recruiting down, remains with FSU football
After completing his official visit at Florida State last weekend, Cocoa's defensive end, Javion Hilson, made up his mind.
He is still all in.
Hilson committed to the Seminoles on Jan. 16 and has been loyal to the Seminoles since then. FSU has been on the Cocoa star since his sophomore year.
After his exit meeting with the coaching staff on Sunday, he feels great about shutting down his recruiting and sticking to the Seminoles.
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"I could have gone to any school in the world, but here, it always felt like home," Hilson said after his visit.
"Ever since I came my sophomore year — Day 1 — it felt like the place for me. I love the defensive scheme that they run. They have first-rounders at my position and everything."
Hilson had teams like Texas pushing to recruit Hilson, but it was not enough.
He wanted to remain in his home state.
"I really don't see myself going out of town," Hilson said. "I felt like I would always stay in Florida and this is the best team in Florida so that's why I decided to stay here."
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Javion Hilson wants to take weight training seriously
Javion Hilson, edge rusher, Cocoa, Florida
With Hilson all set to join the Seminoles next year, now the preparation before enrolling begins.
Hilson plans to become an early enrollee after his senior season at Cocoa High.
He plans on playing defensive end in FSU's four-man front, which played a role in his decision to remain at FSU while other schools considered him an outside linebacker.
"My goal is to get downfield and stop the run and stuff," Hilson said. "It's the same thing that I do at the high school level.
"We run the same defense as my high school. That's why I chose here, and I love the coaches."
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FSU hopes to look for the next Jared Verse when recruiting edge rushers. During his weekend on campus, he met fellow defensive end Patrick Payton.
The 6-foot-5 junior talked about his former teammate and how he wasn't committed to the weight room then. It opened Hilson's eyes. He looks to take weight training seriously between now and before he joins the Seminoles.
"I spent time with him when I got here," Hilson recalled.
"He was telling me that I'm next. Keep working, stay dedicated, you gotta love the weight room and put on some more weight. Stay consistent and don't sleep. Keep working."
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Payton and Hilson took a tour around the weight room facility. Payton looked back on his freshman year and saw how much weight training made a difference for the redshirt junior.
Payton weighed around 205 pounds before enrolling at FSU and subsequently bulked up to 254 pounds. He explained the process of weight training to Hilson.
"When we went inside the weight room, he showed me pictures of when guys came in their freshman year and what they look like now," Hilson said. "How the weight room is serious and how he is going to put a lot of weight on you."
In his junior year, Hilson registered 94 total tackles, 27 TFLs, 14. sacks and 44 QB hurries.
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Hilson is listed as 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds and is rated as the top defensive end and No. 5 in Florida, according to 247 Sports.
FSU football's Class of 2025
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5-star, Solomon Thomas , offensive tackle, Raines (Jacksonville, Florida)
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4-star, Javion Hilson, edge rusher, Cocoa (Cocoa, Florida)
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4-star, Kevin Wynn, defensive line, Greene County (Greensboro, Georgia)
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4-star, CJ Wiley, wide receiver, Milton (Alpharetta, Georgia)
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3-star, Tramell Jones, quarterback, Mandarin (Jacksonville, Florida)
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3-star, Ethan Pritchard, linebacker, Seminole (Sanford, Florida)
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Javion Hilson stays committed to FSU football after his official visit
