Florida State commitment Asante Samuel Jr. was one of four players at St. Thomas Aquinas High (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) presented with an Under Armour All America jersey on Wednesday.

“It’s a blessing,” said Samuel. “I’ve been dreaming of this since the eighth grade. After watching all my home boys play in the game in the last couple of years, now I get the chance to play.”

The 5-foot-10, 170-pounder has risen to the No. 25 ranked prospect in the Class of 2018, but he knew early on that he had potential to be Under Armour All-America Game level player.

“I would say I realized I could be an All-American my freshman year. When I was going against the older players in practice that were highly ranked, I was holding my own and having success.”

Samuel committed to Florida State in April, and the early season struggles have done nothing to give him pause.

“I just felt like a family out there,” he said. “It fit. I had seen the opportunity to make an impact when I visited. Teams have a bad season, and we just have to bounce back.”

Four questions with Asante Samuel Jr.:

What player are you looking forward to competing with or against in the Under Armour All-America Game?

It doesn’t really matter to me. Whoever gets in front of me, it’s going to be whatever.

If you could start a team with any player in your class, who would it be and why?

It would probably be Justin Fields. I’ve seen him play. I like how he plays and his confidence to lead.

What is your earliest football memory?

I’ll say winning the youth league Super Bowl when I was on the 100-pound team for the Lauderdale Lions. I think I was 12 or 13.

What number do your wear, and why?

I wear 13. Nobody really wears 13 that’s a great defensive back, so I chose it to be different.