Site Unseen: Meet this FAMU football early signee that chose the school prior to visiting

Sometimes, you just know where you want to be.

That claims true for Florida A&M football's newest addition and early signee, Jacksonville State transfer offensive lineman Ashton Grable.

Grable, originally from Gordon, Georgia, was one of 11 of the Rattlers' early signees in December. But it wouldn't be until last weekend that he would take his official on-campus visit to FAMU.

"I like the campus, the coaches, the vibe ― everything I've seen, I liked and feel good about it," Grable said. "Everybody treats you like family. I can tell it's going to be fun playing for Coach (Willie) Simmons and Coach (Joseph) Henry."

Last weekend was FAMU's first official visits of the 2023 calendar year as National Signing Day approaches on Wednesday, Feb. 1.

Grable was one of six players to visit the university ― hosted by the Simmons, director of recruiting Devin Rispress and the rest of the Rattlers' coaching staff.

"Official visits are a critical part of the recruiting process and we feel we have a lot to offer here at Florida A&M anytime we can get these young men and prospective student athletes to see it," Simmons said. "We feel that greatly enhances our chances to land some of these top-tier student-athletes.

"Devin Rispress and director of on-campus recruiting Kyndal Perry does an amazing job of putting on great weekends and our assistant coaches and support staff does a phenomenal job of making these guys feel at home. The success we've had in recruiting can be greatly attributed to them."

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Site unseen, Grable put his trust in a teammate and coaching staff to sign to FAMU

Grable isn't the only Jacksonville State transfer that's coming to FAMU in the 2023 football season.

His JSU teammate, safety Deco Wilson will join him in the orange and green. Wilson, who visited and committed prior to Grable, played an instrumental part along with the Rattlers' coaching staff to convince him to sign with FAMU.

Therefore, Grable committed via social media then signed his national letter of intent on Dec. 21.

He is set to officially begin classes at FAMU on Jan. 9 and slated to graduate in 2024. Grable has three years left of eligibility.

"It's crazy ― I just followed my gut and committed," Grable said. "I've been liking it ever since and feeling good about. I haven't had any second thoughts or second guessed myself.

"I was looking at campus tours and then my teammate, Deco, came down here and told me about the campus and the coaches. The coaches told me that I'll get a good degree and get to play in some good games while having fun."

The main objective of recruiting is being a genuine connection with prospects of interest.

And that's what Simmons and staff did since Grable entered the transfer portal on Dec. 1.

"Recruiting is about the relationships that you build more than anything else," Simmons said. "Myself, Coach Henry, Coach Ayeo (Randolph) worked extremely hard to build a great relationship with Ashton and that allowed him to feel comfortable signing with us.

"We made him feel like we're the type of men that he wants to play under and the representation that Florida A&M has definitely helped that as well. We're excited that we were able to get them on campus so what they thought about FAMU can now be affirmed."

Grable ready to learn and already feeling apart of the FAMULY

Grable, a redshirt sophomore, enters his career at FAMU as one of the youngest offensive linemen on the roster.

The Rattlers will return its entire starting offensive line, including All-SWAC selections left tackle Jalen Goss and right tackle Cameron Covin.

He'll use the experience and advice they share to help him compete for a role and polish his skillset as a young collegiate offensive lineman.

"They've played way more ball than I have because I didn't play at lot last year at Jacksonville (State)," Grable said. "I can learn a lot as far as getting prepared for games and studying defenders."

Grable is already feeling the love from Rattler Nation.

As he begins his academic and athletic career on the Highest of Seven Hills, he's feeling more than welcome in his new home for the next three years.

"It's been wild and I've loved it," Grable said. "When I posted on Twitter, it blew up in like ten minutes. That's how I know that it's a lot of love down here and they really care about the players and the team."

Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@gannett.com or on Twitter @3peatgee.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU Football: Early signee Grable puts trust in JSU teammate, coaches