Top UGA target de-commits from Florida State
Isaac Nauta, who is rated as the nation’s No. 1 tight end and has flirted a lot recently with UGA, backed off his pledge to Florida State on Tuesday.
Nauta, who is originally from Buford, had been pledged to FSU since last December.
“He called the Florida State coaches today, and let them know,” his father, Jay Nauta, told the AJC. “He is a kid of integrity. He let them know in advance. He de-committed because he wants to make sure he’s making the best possible decision.”
What was FSU’s reaction? “They were actually good about it,” Nauta’s father said. “They said ‘We understand Isaac. We understand 100 percent of where you are coming from. And maybe, at the end of the day, you will come back around our way. That’s all we can hope for.’ He has good conversations with all the coaches at FSU. Everything is good.”
UGA appears to be surging with Nauta after he attend last week’s Dawg Night prospect camp and then hung out a couple of days with Jacob Eason, the 5-star quarterback from Lake Stevens, Wash., who is committed to the Bulldogs.
“As far as Georgia, I know UGA has always been one of the schools at the top,” his father said. “I know that he has said that from the start.”
In the last few days, Nauta also visited TCU, Texas and LSU last week on unofficial visits. “Isaac has family at TCU,” his father said. “His uncle is there. Isaac feels like when he’s not committed, he doesn’t have to answer to anybody about why he is visiting a school. He wants to finish that out without any pressure or hassle.”
What’s the new timeline for Isaac’s decision? “I’m not sure,” his father said. “We, as his parents, have always stayed out of it because Isaac knows the business. And he’s looking at it as a business decision. It could be … it’s going to basically be when he figures out that that’s the spot.
“I know there has been a lot of press about our family living in Georgia, but we always tell him ‘You need to go where you fit the best and excel the best.
“You never really plan for anything of this. We didn’t do any training for being a kid like this in the recruiting process. It’s a lot. You don’t realize it until you get into the pressure of it. I told him this is going to heat up even more (after the de-commitment). He understands. He’s a pretty level-headed kid.
“He is going to know where he needs to be at the end of the day.”
Nauta transferred from Buford High School to Florida’s IMG Academy after his junior season. He reports to IMG later this week.
— ICE ❄️❄️❄️❄️ (@inauta18) July 28, 2015
