2025 4-star LB Tarvos Alford looking for right fit: ‘A place where I feel comfortable’

Port Saint Lucie (Fla.) Vero Beach 2025 four-star linebacker Tarvos Alford has 29 major college football offers, including offers to many of the nation’s best programs.

While Alford still has a ways to go in his commitment and isn’t close to making a decision any time soon, he has thus far zeroed in on around 10 schools in his recruitment. That list includes schools like Florida State, Florida, Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee, Penn State, Miami and Louisville.

When searching for the right fit, Alford said his No. 1 priority is to attend a school where he and his family feel comfortable.

“The main thing is definitely just a place where I feel comfortable,” Alford told On3. “Where me and my family feel welcome and appreciated. A coach that’s going to develop me. A winning program. And just somewhere that’s going to make me a better man on and off the field.”

Alford said that the multitude of visits he has taken this summer have been important, all coming back to relationships. He said that it is much easier to get a feel for who he is talking to in person rather than over a screen.

Also important to Alford on these visits is observing the culture surrounding a program.

“That’s definitely very important,” Alford said. “I feel like nobody wants to go somewhere where it’s a bad environment around the school, the people are bad. I want to go somewhere the people are going to support you no matter what when you’re up and you’re down.”

Georgia getting involved

As Alford hopes to be committed by this time next year, those visits go a long way in narrowing down his decision. He recently visited defending back-to-back national champion Georgia for the first time.

“It definitely puts them in the mix for me,” Alford said about his first trip to Athens. “It means a lot to me. Just because of all the success they’ve had at my position, and all the success they’ve had as a team overall going back-to-back national champs.”

Alford said that he had been hearing from the ‘Dawgs a few weeks prior to when he initially wanted to visit in June, before making it to Athens in late July.

“Overall, just the way the staff treated me,” he said about what stood out on this visit. “I felt comfortable around them and seeing the way coach (Glenn) Schumann coaches. And the way Kirby Smart coaches as well.”

FSU focused on relationships

Alford then followed up that visit with a trip to Tallahassee to see Florida State.

“I got to talk with coach (Mike) Norvell one-on-one,” Alford said. “Got my one-on-one time with coach (Randy) Shannon. But they had a camp — I didn’t participate in the camp but I was watching. So I got to observe the way coach Shannon coaches and instructs his techniques.”

Shannon was the Miami linebackers coach when Ray Lewis was in Coral Gables, something that Alford noted about Shannon’s resume.

“He’s a great coach, he’s been around for a long time,” Alford said about Shannon. “Coached the best linebackers like Ray Lewis. And he’s very technical with movements and stuff like that.”

As for what stood out about Florida State, it was something that Alford said is key to making his decision — the relationships.

“Definitely just the relationships we had built before they offered me,” Alford said. “Because coach Shannon wanted to get to know me before they offered me. They didn’t want to just throw out an offer, they wanted it to mean something.”

Norvell is entering his fourth season as head coach of Florida State. In a short time, he has turned the ‘Noles program back around and is set to potentially be a national contender in 2023. What many have credited for this is his personality.

“He’s definitely a very high-energy coach, which I like,” Alford said about Norvell. “Seems like he always keeps his players pumped up and ready to go to war.”

Miami and Florida continuing in-state push for Alford

Further south, Alford noted his close relationship with Miami linebackers coach Derek Nicholson.

“Definitely the energy that coach Nicholson brings,” Alford said about what stands out at Miami. “And just how our conversations flow, I feel very comfortable around him and coach (Mario) Cristobal. Just how the whole staff treats me as a high priority, and always letting me know I’m their guy.”

Elsewhere in the Sunshine State are Alford’s childhood-favorite Florida Gators. Alford’s sister attended Florida and he grew up a fan of the in-state Gators.

“Definitely just the way they always keep in contact with me,” Alford praised the Gators. “Every time we talk, they always make sure I know I’m a high-priority guy and they really want me there. Then just how once they found out that they were my childhood school, they still recruited me hard. They didn’t back off and think, ‘Yeah we’ve already got him on lock because he already was a fan of us.’ They still recruited me very hard.”

Florida is one of the schools that Alford said he hopes to make it out to this fall for a game. That list also includes Ohio State, Miami, Penn State, Tennessee, Louisville, Florida State and Georgia.

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