PALM BEACH GARDENS – There were a total of three schools that made it to the top of Darrell Sweeting’s list.
They were Charlotte, Temple, and USF.
It was ultimately a tough call between Charlotte and Temple, meaning that USF ended up being out of the final mix.
Posted at exactly 6 p.m. this evening (July 1) on his Twitter account, the Benjamin 2023 athlete briefly wrote about how well Temple’s coaching staff treated him before making his final decision to go with Charlotte as his college football home.
Sweeting spoke more about Temple.
“Temple is a great program and great school,” he said. “They have a great coaching staff. Coach Jules Montinar (Temple cornerback coach) made it a very tough decision. He coached Ka’iir Elam at Florida last year. Me and Coach Jules have developed a close relationship through Ka’iir. If it wasn’t for Charlotte, that’s where I would be at right now.”
With that being said, Sweeting spoke on his level of excitement for the Charlotte 49ers coaching staff and environment. He took his official visit to the Conference USA school on June 11.
“They (the Charlotte coaching staff) are A1,” the 6-foot-1, 175-pound athlete said. “Coach [Will] Healy, Coach [Greg] Brown, and Coach Kap [Dede] are just the few coaches and recruiters I met. They are awesome. Then for the school as a whole, I have a chance to go and play as a true freshman, which is definitely what I look forward to. Their facilities are awesome. And the city is one of the best out there.”
The Benjamin athlete revealed that he will be playing at cornerback for Charlotte.
“I got the perfect body fit for corner, and my ball skills and foot work are add-ons,” Sweeting said. “I’m going to be lock down at corner.”
Sweeting had more to say about the Charlotte college football program.
“Charlotte has something special going on right now. You won’t believe it until you see it. When I visited the campus, I wanted to pull the trigger right then. The way the coaches connect with the players is wild. It’s just a special connection. I wasn’t rushed. I felt like I was home. I tip my hat off to Coach Healy and our program. It’s going to be a lot better these next few years, since we’re going to move over to the AAC. There’s something special about our 2023 class, which will change the game for Charlotte. All of us can play in our first year. It’s pretty crazy. I’m ready.”
Sweeting spoke on the state of the Group of 5.
“I just got made a 3-star today by 247 Sports,” Sweeting said. “What I love about the Group of 5 schools is that they take a chance on players like me. Schools like Charlotte trust me to be a great player. They took a chance on me up front. I love the fact that their coaches take the time to speak with me, check up on me, and believe in me. And not only that, they do a great job of getting you ready for the NFL. It’s very special to feel wanted off rip. 704, we’re going to wake the whole city up.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Charlotte Football and Daniel McCullon
