In another early-season blow for Florida State Seminoles coach Jay Norvell and his team, who were not voted into this week’s Associated Press Top 25 despite being ranked 10th in the preseason, Cocoa, Fla., standout player Javion Hilson announced Sunday he would opt out of joining the team.
After careful consideration, I have decided to withdraw my acceptance to Florida State University and reapply. I will make a final decision in December. I would like to thank everyone at FSU for their support.
— Javion Hilson (@javion_hilson) September 8, 2024
Hilson said in her departure announcement that she plans to make a final decision in December.
The 6-foot-3-1/2, 235-pound Hilson holds offers from nearly 40 schools in total, including Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana State, Miami, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M and USC. However, during official visit season, Hilson visited Florida, Florida State and UC San Francisco. Those schools could again be on Hilson’s final list as he moves forward as an undetermined prospect.
Texas officially pursued Hillson a year ago when defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski extended an offer to the prospect, who was viewed as a four-star prospect. The Longhorns were considered the favorites shortly after Hillson took his official visit to Austin, but that initially wasn’t enough to sway Hillson’s commitment in January. At the time, the Seminoles were coming off a 13-1 season in 2023.
Hilson was committed to the University of Alabama from December until Nick Saban’s retirement in January.
He is ranked as the No. 34 player nationally and the No. 2 player at the edge, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Texas currently has Texarkana Pleasant Grove’s Lance Jackson and Aleef Hastings Smith-Ologbo secured as edges, with Hillson being the only currently uncommitted prospect at the position who has an offer from the Horns.