A mother's tale: How Florida State made the most of its second chance with Jaheim Bell

New Florida State transfer commit Jaheim Bell is not big on media attention. He didn’t do interviews with reporters when he came to Florida State for his official visit last weekend, and he didn’t hold a press conference or anything like that to announce his decision.

Warchant was able to catch up with Bell’s mother, Dolores Lakisha Blakely, on Monday evening, and she was kind enough to share a lot of details about her son’s decision, the recruiting process, the family’s changing views on Florida State and much more.

Here is that conversation:

Q: First off, what was today like for your family and Jaheim?

A: My phone is still blowing up now. It was so crazy all day long.

Q: So let’s talk about how this process started for Jaheim and with Florida State. What was it like when he entered the portal and when did Florida State get involved?

A: First, Jaheim went to compliance (at South Carolina) to put his name in the portal. They told him it would take like an hour to go through. I think it actually took less than 30 minutes to get into the portal. And five minutes later, FSU was calling. It was that fast.

Q: So moving back to his time in high school, I remember him visiting Florida State back then and that he had an offer. What was the feeling at that time about FSU because it was obviously a much different coaching staff at first and then it was a transition period.

A: Florida State has always been his dream school. So when he got that offer, he was really excited. And our whole family grew up on FSU football. It was just at the time when it came down to make a decision out of high school, FSU wasn’t at a point they are at right now. And it wasn’t a good decision for him with players leaving left and right too.

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Q: Quick question on the background of your family, Dolores. Are you guys from Valdosta or Lake City?

A: I’m originally from Miami, but Jaheim was born and raised in Lake City.

Q: Moving over to his time in high school in Valdosta, I know he dealt with some knee injuries. How did he handle that and how did his game improve while he was at South Carolina?

A: He worked a lot on his speed and his route-running. Those were the two main things he worked on after the MCL and ACL injuries in high school.

Q: So when it came to looking at Florida State this time around, were there any previous coaching connections there? How did they build those connections with Jaheim so quickly?

A: Basically, two coaches from the FSU staff that are still there, Coach Haggins and Coach Dugans (defensive tackles coach Odell Haggins and receivers coach Ron Dugans). We always had a really good relationship with both, but especially Coach Dugans. Even outside of things, when he knew Jaheim was not going there out of high school, there was a great bond. He understood why. He was upset, but there were no hard feelings. He still remained close to our family.

So when it came down to the decision or FSU recruiting him, I told them I didn’t want to talk to anyone but Dugans first because I already had a relationship with him and wanted to talk to him first and then go from there.

Q: When you guys came for the visit, did they do the big greeting outside? What was that like for you guys?

A: Jaheim actually went around the back and came off the side. So Norvell (head coach Mike Norvell) didn’t realize we were in the back. Then he greeted us and we talked for a while. He did his speech to the recruits, and then we went to the different places for the visit.

Q: I imagine Jaheim’s process was a little different than a lot of recruits because he had been to Florida State before and this seemed like more of a business decision for him than typical recruiting. What was the visit like for him?

A: Mostly it was about interacting with the staff. I’m not going to lie, a lot of the stuff with the visit after Friday afternoon we skipped, because Jaheim had been through a lot of that stuff and he had already made up his mind Friday afternoon where he wanted to be. And so he did other stuff to get himself prepared to go to FSU.

Q: Did he get a chance to hang out with any current players?

A: Oh yes, he knows Tate Rodemaker because that was his high school quarterback. He also knows Winston Wright very well because he played with him on the Cam Newton 7-on-7. He knew Jammie Robinson and Jaz Turnetine from South Carolina, and there were a couple of other players he knew as well.

Q: It seems like Jaheim and Tate had a close relationship from their time at Valdosta. What is their relationship like?

A: In high school, it was on. It was like they could read each other’s minds. When Tate was in trouble in the pocket, Jaheim always comes back to the ball. They always had signals that they gave to each other. Jaheim knew that sign meant that he needed to break or go another route or to come back. They had a great relationship.

Q: Then moving over to FSU starting quarterback Jordan Travis, what was Jaheim’s interaction like with him on the visit? Was it a big deal that he is coming back next season?

A: It was good for Jaheim because Jordan actually came over during the visit on Friday for that night practice, and he talked to Jaheim. And then he went over to Jordan’s place and they talked a little more. He said everything went great. Jordan told Jaheim he was excited he was coming to Florida State and he can’t wait to have him here and with the offense.

That was very big that Jordan took time to come over there and say something. A lot of the playmakers at FSU came over there to Jaheim to say something to him. That made him feel better — that he wasn’t coming into a situation where he feels like an outsider. He’s coming to be a part of something great they are doing together.

Q: You said he made his decision Friday afternoon. Was there something about FSU that just set that off for him or was it more about the team they have coming back next year?

A: He just felt like it was home for him. Jaheim and Coach Norvell had a very long conversation on Thursday. Coach Norvell actually flew over to South Carolina on Thursday. That connection he made on that Thursday, just talking to him. Jaheim just knew it was the fit and checked all the boxes for him.

Q: So when it came to the actual commitment, what was it like when Jaheim called Coach Norvell? What was their reaction?

A: He actually didn’t call him. … [On Saturday night at dinner], we were sitting at the table, and I looked at Jaheim and he looked at me, and I was like, “Coach is asking for you to think about your decision and call him back.” Jaheim just said, “Like my mom said, Coach, this is where I want to be. I want to be a part of something great.” Very much so on their excitement when Jaheim committed. They tried to keep it low-key, but a few of them were talking pretty loud and you could tell how big it was to them. They tried to play it cool, but it kept oozing out of them at dinner, as one person would tell another person. So they were very excited”

Q: How did it feel on Sunday morning when you were heading home?

A: Confident that he made the right decision. Very confident, actually, that he made the right decision.

Q: Did you kind of sense even before the weekend that this is how it would go?

A: Yeah. The more he talked, the more he went over stuff. Like I said before, immediately when he hit the portal, we were thinking and saying what teams would call. We knew Florida State would call. Knew Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss would probably call. So we started dissecting the offenses, the quarterback situation, the offensive schemes. This wasn’t a situation where he just chose Florida State off the fly. No, we looked at stats and a lot of stuff and why Florida State checked all the boxes.

Q: Did you guys get to watch some of Florida State’s games this season? Or just keep track of the scores. And how big of a deal was Jordan Travis’ season?

A: We actually got to watch two games: The Florida and LSU games, and both games we were very impressed. Just offensively the scheme, the playcalling, to me everything was on point.

And yes with the quarterback, that was a big deal because sometimes that can make or break a team. That played a big part for Jaheim, for the simple fact that he played with five different quarterbacks at USC. Everytime he looked up, he had a different quarterback. He had three different offensive coordinators, and three different tight end coaches while he was there.

“When watching the FSU games, we saw Camm (McDonald). Camm was great in space. He might just not have the speed that Jaheim has, but he knows how to get open and he’s great in space.

Q: Did FSU lay out their plan for how Jaheim would be used on offense? I imagine he can and will play just about everywhere.

A: Oh yes, everywhere. He’s just Jaheim. … They noticed that Jaheim is great in space, so that’s the way they are going to use him because he can make people miss. It will make defenses think hard on what to do with him.

Q: Following up on what you said before about FSU, how different does the program look now compared to when he was coming out of high school?

A: They have made great strides based on what we saw three years ago. It was like, I thought it was the end of Florida State three years ago. I’m not going to lie. Norvell came in there, and he turned things around, definitely. With Coach Norvell, it was about how genuine and real he is. His personality just oozes, and he treats everyone the same. I didn’t see anything that changed with any player throughout the whole visit. He was the same with everybody. There weren’t any favorites. Same with everyone.

Q: Lastly, when is Jaheim arriving at FSU, and what are your feelings about this finally being done?

A: The earliest he’s supposed to be at FSU is January 4th. That’s what we are shooting for. Hopefully we will have everything out of the way in registering for classes, enrolling and just need to move him into his apartment. For me, it is a big relief. I don’t have to worry about this, that or the other. All I have to do is pick his stuff up from South Carolina and pick him up and deliver.

*ALSO SEE: Corey Clark: Already-elite FSU offense just added a major weapon in transfer Jaheim Bell

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.