Rivals100 WR Deion Colzie On Notre Dame, Recruiting, Quarantine
Athens (Ga.) Academy class of 2021 wide receiver Deion Colzie had an exclusive video interview with Rivals Southeast recruiting analyst Chad Simmons that was published Wednesday afternoon.
For the first seven minutes of the interview, Colzie discussed spending quality time with family during his quarantine, watching the popular Tiger King documentary on Netflix, mom’s cooking and more.
Then Colzie broke down his recruiting process, which has included a barrage of contact from schools from across the country.
“There’s definitely been some pressure to answer some phone calls and texts as soon as I get them, but I feel like I’m doing a great job of balancing school coming first and getting my assignments done before I get into the recruiting process,” Colzie said.
The 6-4, 205-pounder wakes up to a few texts messages, receives more throughout the day as coaches try to schedule phone calls with him, and is contacted at night too.
“It’s definitely entertaining, for sure,” Colzie added. “It makes you feel good about yourself that tons of coaches from across the country want you and want to build a relationship with you. At the same time, it’s a lot to take in at once ... I’m enjoying the process, and eventually it’ll come to an end.”
Colzie committed to Notre Dame last October, but backed off his pledge last month. The Irish are among a handful of schools still involved in his recruitment.
“Definitely Notre Dame, they’re still [staying] on me,” Colzie said. “I would say Oregon, Georgia, Tennessee, Penn State, there’s a handful of schools on me hard, trying to figure out what my next move is. … Those schools are doing a great job of contacting me and getting to know me better.”
Notre Dame remains a big factor in his recruiting process and his love for the Fighting Irish remains.
“It was extremely tough, for sure,” Colzie said about decommitting from Notre Dame. “Letting Coach [Brian] Kelly know and Coach [Del] Alexander, the receivers coach, it was definitely really tough.
“Growing up a Notre Dame fan, it was tough breaking it to them and reopening my recruitment, but I felt like it was the best decision for me. I feel like I rushed [my decision] a little bit early my junior year and felt like I needed to reopen it.”
Colzie added that nothing has changed with his relationship with the Irish staff.
“We still have the same relationship we had before — talks every day, phone calls, trying to start the whole process over,” he said. "With me decommitting, that’s me starting the process over and rebuilding relationships. They were willing to start rebuilding the relationship as well.”
The Peach State product has picked up close to 10 new offers in the past month, and Georgia is on him more than ever. Bulldogs’ quarterback pledge Brock Vandagriff, a five-star recruit, is recruiting him hard, as is a Notre Dame commit.
“Blake Fisher at Notre Dame still is on me heavy like I never left,” Colzie noted. “Those two are doing a great job selling their school to me.”
Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oregon and Penn State are schools Colzie noted as safe bets to make his top group whenever he narrows things down.
“I can see myself narrowing it down to a top 10 or top eight in a couple weeks,” Colzie said. “I know a handful of schools that are at the top of my list, and a few I’m not as interested in. But as of right now, I don’t have my mind set on what school I want to go to. I can definitely narrow choices down a little bit.”
Colzie plans to stretch his recruitment into the fall.
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