WEST PALM BEACH – Palm Beach Lakes running back Antonio Outler had long thought about committing to South Dakota.
But on Thursday, Aug. 6, he made it official.
“I feel like it’s time to make my 40-year decision,” Outler said on his Twitter.
For Outler, the decision to commit to South Dakota over any other school was because of the love that the FCS institution showed him throughout the process.
“Just the love from Day 1,” Outler said. “It’s like, before they offered me, they were contacting me every other day, always keeping up with me. Once they offered me, they kept doing the same thing. It wasn’t like they just offered me and they disappeared like the rest of the schools.”
Ranked as the top running back and the fourth best overall player in New Era Prep’s Top 50 for the Class of 2021, Outler received five official offers, including Charlotte and Middle Tennessee. Although schools like Auburn and Kentucky reportedly held interest in Outler, they all seemingly took their name out of the race.
“It brings you down when you get a big offer and then they don’t talk to you after that,” Outler explained. “It’s like, what am I doing wrong? I did something good enough for you to offer, but now you’re gone. It’s different, it’s just harder. It’s really harder on you. The people who have a lot of offers, it’s really harder on them because everyone’s watching you. But in reality, behind the scenes, there aren’t many schools talking to you.”
Although Outler previously told New Era Prep that he intended to visit South Dakota in person, discussions with Coyotes running back coach Dante Warren and recruiting coordinator Paul Ockinga changed that.
“Coach Warren and Coach O are some very, very, very smart men,” Outler explained. “So, this afternoon, Coach Warren, he called me on Facetime, and he wanted to show me the new locker room. He knew I wanted to see that new locker room … And I had never seen the field from a person’s eye view either. So when he Facetimed me and I seen that, I was like ‘Oh yeah, this crazy.’… South Dakota isn’t like an SEC school, but the atmosphere is very similar.”
Should Outler ultimately sign with South Dakota, the running back would join three former Palm Beach Lakes Rams. Last season, incoming freshmen Jailen Holman and Vincent Starling joined sophomore linebacker Jakari Starling at South Dakota.
Although things can change between now and Early National Signing Day in December, Outler said that he intends to enroll in January 2021.
We’ll see what happens between now and then.
PHOTO CREDITS: South Dakota Football
