5 Questions with five-star Florida State commit Javion Hilson
Javion Hilson is widely considered one of the best edge-rushers in the nation, and flipped from Alabama to Florida State a month after winning the 2S state championship with Cocoa.
He's already proving why he is one of the best Seminole commits in this class just two weeks into the season, tallying 16 total tackles, 6.0 TFL, 3.0 sacks, and five quarterback hurries as the Tiger defense has given up just 10 points through it's 2-0 start.
USA Today's Jon Santucci and Nick Wilson sat down with Hilson in the latest episode of the State of Florida Recruiting H.Q. podcast, along with Florida commit Devin Jackson, four-star Venice EDGE Asharri Charles, and recruiting analyst Larry Blustein.
You can listen to the full conversation, as well as the rest of the episode's interviews, by clicking here.
Question: What's it been like the last couple of weeks watching Florida State?
Hilson: Shoot, right now, I'm not paying attention to Florida State right now. I've been watching the games and stuff but I'm kind of locked in with high school, working on leaving my legacy at Cocoa and just dominating this season.
Florida State Football: Will Florida State even make a bowl game after 0-2 disaster, and other overreactions.
More Florida State Football: Florida State has identity crisis after 0-2 start.
Florida High School Football: See who made the poll in 7A to Rural in Week 3.
Cocoa has allowed just 10 points through your last eight quarters, what is clicking on the defense that is leading to that kind of success so far?
Hilson: With Coach [Dan] Diesel, our defensive coordinator, we do this thing — we call it 'Bloody Tuesdays'. We do a lot of pursuits, a lot of Tiger Crawls and that gets adrenaline moving. You'll be tired and stuff so it's like a mental thing. It messes with you and stuff so you've got to keep pushing through it. We also come together as a team, a lot of communication and stuff in the practices. Making sure everybody knows their responsibility on the field, and I think that's a big help for it, too.
You guys went in and blew the doors off of a defending state champion in Mainland, and then you know as soon as that's over you've got IMG. What is it like waking up in the morning and knowing it's IMG Week?
Hilson: I know they're a big, competitive team, they're No. 1 in Florida and stuff... We know they're a big team, but hey, it could be the Miami Dolphins, we're still going to dominate. We don't care who it is. When them pads come on, you know it's time to go.
The four-week stretch you have coming up is pretty impressive — at IMG, vs. Heritage, at Venice, and then home against Norland. If we're talking again in week 7 and Cocoa is still undefeated, what do you think the reason for that will be?
Hilson: Like I said, the Tiger Crawls and all of that. We do a lot of running, because you know on the D-Line, we're the most athletic on the field. And having that communication, making sure everybody knows what they're doing on the field - and we got a lot of young guys, too. Say if I go down, we make sure they know their stuff, too. All about knowing the plays, just being communicative on the field and all of that.
You guys are loaded on both sides of the ball, what is it like in practice going against your No. 1 offense.
Hilson: I know we've got the best offense in the country. It's like playing in actual game. If you practice hard at practice, you make plays on Fridays. So it's basically like playing an actual game. We've got the best defense and the best offense in the country, so we get after it when them pads are on.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: 5 Questions with Florida State football commit Javion Hilson