http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/
By JOHN STEGEMAN
Interim Sports Editor
After anchoring Portsmouth's offensive line for the last few seasons, John Prior is moving on to a bigger stage.
The 6-foot-6, 280-pound lineman signed a national letter of intent on Wednesday to play his college football for coach Bobby Bowden and the Florida State Seminoles.
Prior has been talked about as a recruit for the Seminoles for some time and was happy to have finalized his situation and realized his dream
"Right now this means everything to me," Prior said. "I don't think it’s fully sunk in right now but here in a few its going to. Its the highlight of my life right now."
Prior wasn't a top recruit early in his career but showed his ability his junior and senior seasons. Even as well as he played, he said some doubted he would play for a top school.
"I was the kind that told everyone I was going to go play (Division I) and nobody really believed me," Prior said. "I think that's what made me work harder. It really didn't sink in until last year when all the coaches started rolling in and I thought maybe I did have a shot to do this. I went ahead and took it and now I'm here signing."
Prior's coaches raved about his ability at the signing on Wednesday.
"He's just nasty," Jon Born, a PHS offensive line coach said. "If you put him in a room with anybody, he'll come out the winner. He's a hard-nosed knock-people-down type of kid."
"John brings a lot of attributes that major colleges look for," Trojans’ offensive line coach Ted Newsome said. "There's obviously his size and he has great agility for a man his size. He has great strength and the intangibles that major colleges look for to play at the level he's going to be expected to play at."
As the signing approached, Prior was still getting offers from Marshall and said it was a tough decision.
"That was nerve wracking," Prior said. "It was a scary moment but I had to sit down and realize where my heart was going to lead me. And I think this is it — Florida State."
Portsmouth head football coach Curt Clifford sympathized with Prior's situation and felt he made a good choice.
"We think Florida State is a good fit for John," Clifford said. "He also had considered Marshall and I don't think he could have gone wrong with either place.
"At Portsmouth High School, we try to do what's right for our kids," he added. "We don't pick the school they go to. We market our kids and get the films out and make the contacts for the kids and the college coaches are the ones that make the decisions (for who is offered a scholarship."
Prior said he is looking forward to playing for FSU and could play as a freshman.
"Right now we're looking at not (being) a red shirt," Prior said. "So they're going to use me my first year. They're really not sure where I'm going to go yet because I can play all three positions on the line."
While Prior is excited about the future, he thanked God, his family and his coaches for the opportunities he has had so far.
"This was the best four years of my life so far," Prior said. "Friday nights are unbelievable in this town. I loved this program and loved playing for this program. Once a Trojan, always a Trojan. I'll come back one of these days to see how fellow Trojans are doing."
JOHN STEGEMAN can be reached at [email protected]
