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Live Oak's Joshua Braun will enroll early at UF. (COURTESY)
LIVE OAK — Joshua Braun, a National Merit Scholar semifinalist, graduated early from Suwanee High School on Thursday.
Today, he will begin practicing with the Gators football team.
The 4-star offensive tackle has decided to enroll early at Florida over Georgia, changing course on his recruitment in the 11th hour. He committed to UGA back in June, but backed off his pledge Wednesday after Arkansas hired Bulldogs offensive line coach Sam Pittman.
“I’m going to Florida,” Braun told the Lake City Reporter Thursday night. “When Coach Pittman left, I decided to step back and reevaluate everything until they hired their new O-line coach. I talked with Coach (Kirby) Smart about it and he understood my position and respected my ability to do that.
“I just wasn’t comfortable with that situation and I wanted to go in a different direction. Florida reached out and met with me again. Florida and Georgia were my two choices and it was close when I made my initial commitment, so this final decision was pretty easy to make.”
The Top247 recruit conducted an in-home visit Monday with UF co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach John Hevesy, who served as his primary recruiter. The 6-foot-6, 335-pound Braun built a strong relationship with Hevesy during the recruiting process and looks forward to playing for him at the next level.
“We click great,” Braun said of his future position coach. “I can’t wait to play under him. I enjoy his coaching style. He’s from up north so he’s a little rougher, or acts that way. My brother played for a hard-nosed coach and I’ll get to have the same experience.”
Braun has two older brothers, Trey and Parker, both of whom played college football at Georgia Tech. Parker played for Texas this past season as a graduate transfer and started 12 games at left guard.
Now Joshua Braun embarks on his college career with the Gators.
“I will be on campus Friday to start practicing with them and being part of the team,” Braun said. “That will last until Dec. 20 when they go on break for their bowl game. Then I will start college classes on Jan. 6.”
In order to graduate this month, Braun had to dual enroll at Florida Gateway College for a semester and also took an online course over the summer. He said it wasn’t difficult pulling double duty in the classroom this fall, but leaving high school early is bittersweet.
“You don’t really know what it feels like to be a senior until you are one,” Braun said. “I remember showing up on Suwannee’s campus when I was in eighth grade and my dad was interviewing for the coaching position. That seems like just yesterday, but it was actually four years ago. It blows your mind.
“After I graduated, I was reflecting on how quick it all went by. I’m thankful I was able to play at a program and a school with such tradition. A lot of teams don’t have that, they’re trying to build it. We have an expectation and a standard at Suwannee, and it was special trying to live up to that.”
In September, Braun was named one of 16,000 semifinalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. His brother Trey earned the National Merit Scholarship, and Josh will find out in February if he’s a finalist.
“It would be great,” Joshua Braun said of the possibility. “Not many people are able to do it, so I’m thankful for the opportunity to be in the running.
“It’s definitely special and unique. It eased my application for early enrollment. Some football recruits have to pull teeth to get them through, but it was easy for me to get admitted.”