Four-star wide receiver Dominique Booth out of Indianapolis, Ind.'s Pike High School chose Indiana over Missouri on ESPN.com around 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday night. Booth originally committed to the University of Tennessee on July 19, 2013 but he decided to re-open his commitment in December. ESPN ranks Booth as the No. 232 recruit in the 2014 class and the 32nd best wide receiver.
Booth was asked why IU and Missouri were his final two choices during the live broadcast.
"Indiana being my home school and...second time around I figured out it was more important the things they had there with offense, the school they have there, the people," he said. "The players they have there are family-oriented, I like that."
Booth said Missouri was one of the first schools he "really fell in love with when it came to recruitment."
The 6-foot, 200-pound wide receiver said he learned more about the recruitment process the second time around. Initially, Tennessee, Florida State, Vanderbilt and Alabama were his final four schools before he ultimately decided on Knoxville, Tenn. and the Volunteers.
"I learned the big names aren't what's important, really, it's what's good for you that's more important," Booth said.
After re-opening his commitment, the Pike product said he ignored the size of the stadiums and the teams' fans on Twitter when deciding where to go to college.
When Phil Murphy, a Digital Producer at ESPN, asked him where he would play college football, Booth put on an IU hat and held up a No. 3 Indiana jersey. The jersey was symbolic because the last Hoosier to wear No. 3 was wide receiver Cody Latimer, who announced on Sunday that he will enter the 2014 NFL Draft.
Booth cited playing in his home state, a high-powered offense, "really good coaches," and being accepted into the "family" of the current players on IU's roster as reasons he chose to become a Hoosier.
"I love being a part of that family," he said. "I was on my official (visit) and we probably spent like an hour or two just talking about playing here next year and what we're going to do and highlight plays we're going to make and stuff like that. I'm already accepted as a player amongst them."
On Dec. 31, IU Coach Kevin Wilson announced that six student-athletes, including Booth, had signed financial aid agreements and been offered admission to IU. The Indianapolis native will be one of the mid-year enrollees who will begin taking classes on Dec. 13 when the spring semester begins.
"Dominique is one of the premier wide receivers in the country," Wilson said in the release. "From day one, we made a commitment to recruit the state of Indiana and it is nice to get another Indianapolis metro player who can help our program take that next step. Dominique is ready to shine on the national stage and to continue the lineage of great Indiana receivers."
"He is a tremendous student who is very mature physically and mentally. Dominique is a perfect fit for our offense, one which became the first in Big Ten history with five 1,000-yard receivers on the same team, and we can't wait for him to arrive in Bloomington"
