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College football programs have been known to go to any length to secure the commitment of a highly touted recruit.

That appeared to be no different in the case of 5-star defensive end Lorenzo Carter, whose family had some awkward company in the stands during his Norcross High (Ga.) basketball game on Jan. 21, via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Michael Carvell:

Pictured on the left-hand side of Carter’s mother (yellow) is new Florida State Seminoles defensive coordinator Charles Kelly. On the right-hand side of Carter’s father (folded arms) is Florida Gators wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Joker Phillips.

Seminoles defensive line coach Sal Sunseri and Gators defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin were also seated nearby. In total, at least six assistants from both schools were in attendance.

“It was a little awkward at first, but then you just relax,” Carter’s mother, Lisa, said about the events, via Carvell’s report for the AJC. “They’re people, we’re people, and you just have normal conversation. It will all work out how it’s supposed to in the end. But they are good people at Florida and Florida State.”

But what exactly could the coaches and Carter’s family have been talking about?

“When I’m watching basketball, I’m watching basketball,” Carter’s dad, Leo, said, via Carvell. “We talked about basketball.”

There’s a good chance Florida’s coaching staff took that as an opening to boast about the school’s basketball team, which has won 11 straight games and is currently ranked No. 3 in the nation at 17-2. More specifically, maybe there was a mention of the Gators’ one-point victory over Florida State, 67-66, back in November.

That would probably lead the Seminoles coaching staff to remind the Carter family of who is superior on the football field. After all, Florida State did thrash Florida, 37-7, on its way to a 14-0 record and the BCS title.

Both parties surely made their best pitches to try to lure in one of the nation’s top defensive linemen, who is also fielding offers from Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Notre Dame, among others.

In a game in which Carter’s Blue Devils eventually won 78-38 at Mountain View High School, it appears the most suffocating defense of the night came courtesy of the Seminoles and Gators coaching staffs.

All stats and rankings used in this article are courtesy of CFBstats.com. Recruit star rankings via 247Sports.

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