ST. PETERSBURG – Dressed in a Florida State sweater vest and hat, St. Petersburg tight end Jeremy Kerr officially signed with the Seminoles Wednesday morning in a ceremony at the school’s Archives Room. It was not the clothes he thought he would be wearing just a few months ago.
Since the summer, Kerr was verbally committed to Miami. His room was full of Miami gear and he couldn’t wait to be a Hurricane. Then he took a visit to Tallahassee. Things changed when he got back to St. Petersburg.
“Things happen for a reason,’’ Kerr said. “I’m certainly glad I’m wearing this today.
“The visit helped a lot. I just felt at home up there. You can’t beat Tallahassee. Everybody knows everybody. It’s a family up there. The coaches made it clear to me that I was important to this team. I just had a gut feeling.’’
Despite a slew of assistant coaching changes at Florida State, including the loss of offensive coordinator James Coley to Miami, Kerr stuck with FSU.
“They say you don’t go to school for the coaches,’’ Kerr said. “It stinks to lose coach (James) Coley. But (tight ends) coach (Billy) Napier is a great guy and I’m excited to play for him.’’
Kerr will room with fellow freshman recruit Ryan Hoefeld of New Orleans. He is also close friends with St. Petersburg Catholic and FSU running back recruit Ryan Green. The two went to Southside Middle School together and have been in contact throughout the recruiting process.
“We text all the time,’’ Kerr said. “We can’t wait to get there.’’
As for all that old Miami gear?
“I had a ton of it,’’ Kerr said. “Got rid of it. But I’ve got even more Florida State stuff now.’’