Dwyer's Nick O'Leary chose FSU because if football career ended, 'I'd still like to be there'

Monday, January 31, 2011
by Tom D'Angelo

Photo by Lannis Waters / The Palm Beach Post

Nick O'Leary, one of the country's top tight end recruits, says his football career was just part of what played into his decision to attend FSU in the fall.

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Tight end Nick O'Leary's phone started buzzing as he approached Florida offensive coordinator Charlie Weis at a recent Dwyer High School basketball game.

The text was from his aunt, Barbara Gillespie Nicklaus, who captained Florida State's softball team in 1986.

"You don't need to be talking to him," she said, jokingly.

O'Leary just smiled.

In the end, O'Leary, the all-American from Dwyer, had several options that would have made at least some of his family happy.

His parents, Bill and Nan O'Leary, were both scholarship athletes at Georgia.

His grandfather, golfing legend Jack Nicklaus, and his uncle, Gary, both attended Ohio State.

His uncle, Steve Nicklaus, also went to FSU and played one season of football.

But O'Leary's decision to become a Seminole, which will become official Wednesday when high school seniors sign their letters of intent, was his and his alone.

"There was no pushing either way," Nick said Monday.

Not even from his grandfather, one of the most iconic sports figures in history.

"The only advice I have given him is to say 'Nick, you need to go where you can get a good education off the field, and on the field you need to go to a place where you can best be utilized and a place that can best help you get to the next level,"' Nicklaus said through his publicist.

Nicklaus also stressed finding a spot "where you can get the best college experience, have fun and enjoy the experience, and a place where your parents and your grandparents can support you."

O'Leary, 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, is considered the best tight end in the country by Rivals.com He became part of what many believe will be the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation with his oral commitment 10 days ago, a decision he made based on much more than Jimbo Fisher's offense.

"I want to go someplace that if tomorrow is my last day playing football, I'd still like to be there," O'Leary said. "FSU is that place."

But it wasn't always.

Florida State was not on O'Leary's radar early in the process and the Seminoles didn't contact the Panthers' three-year starter until after he had received several scholarship offers.

Those offers came at the start of his junior season from South Carolina, Boston College, Miami, Tennessee and Rutgers, with Miami the favorite.

The Seminoles jumped in later in the season.

"I got the offer from Bobby Bowden," O'Leary said. "I was kind of like, '(just) another offer.' Once I went up there I loved it."

Florida State started to pull away last summer and in the end, O'Leary chose the Seminoles over Alabama, LSU and Miami.

As for Georgia and Ohio State: The Bulldogs really never were in the picture and he was contacted by Ohio State but said he had no interest.

O'Leary said FSU's struggles during Bowden's final few years never factored into his decision.

"I'm not going somewhere because I think they are going to win the national championship," he said.

But it did help that the Seminoles are poised to win the recruiting title. And O'Leary believes the class is going to get better. He expects Tim Jernigan, the No. 2 defensive tackle in the nation according to ESPN, to sign with the Seminoles. O'Leary and Jernigan met and spoke at the U.S. Army game.

The letters starting coming to the family's North Palm Beach home soon after O'Leary transferred to Dwyer from Benjamin for his sophomore season.

At first they were flattering - O'Leary said he had no clue he was even college material - and O'Leary read every one. Then, they became overwhelming and Bill and Nan had the chore of sifting through the unopened mail.

"Once all those letters started rolling in and then the scholarships, I was just amazed at first," he said. "Once all the coaches started calling I thought it was real cool. Then it started getting a little bit annoying that they would call every day.

"I didn't like to talk on the phone that much and most of the time there was nothing really to talk about."

Bill and Nan did what they could to prepare their son, relaying their experiences from when both were being recruited - Bill a football player out of Cardinal Mooney High in Sarasota and Nan, who played volleyball at Benjamin.

But in the pre-Internet, Facebook, texting, Twitter and even cell phone era, the pressure wasn't nearly as intense.

"I think it can be overwhelming to a lot of kids," Bill said. "Some love it but Nick didn't even have a voice mail set up. He must have changed his e-mail four times."

Nick, his mom, uncles and cousins accept that any offspring of Jack Nicklaus will be scrutinized more heavily than most. Which is why the image of Nick's obscene gesture following Dwyer's nationally televised season-opening 26-22 loss to Cleveland Glenville High in Columbus, Ohio, became national news.

The incident happened immediately following the game in which TV replays showed Dwyer had apparently scored twice in the final moments but officials did not rule a touchdown each time. If not for the Nicklaus connection, the gesture - out of character considering O'Leary's past - likely would never have been recognized.

"There are wonderful advantages to being dad's daughter, dad's grandson," said Nan O'Leary, a three-sport star at Benjamin before playing two years of volleyball at Georgia. "But the one thing I was told growing up, 'you guys have to perform 250 percent to get 50 percent credit' and it doesn't make sense."

O'Leary will have a solid support system in Tallahassee. His brother, Billy, may be transferring to FSU and two of his cousins will be attending the school.

And much of the family will be watching his games from Steve Nicklaus' sky box at Doak Campbell Stadium.

"Nick is a good teammate," Jack Nicklaus said. "He is not a showboat. He is just a big, tough, hard-nosed athlete. His effort level is extremely high all the time. He loves the game and he plays like it."