Florida State recruiting: Mid-May updates

There is smoke out there that FSU may not take a prep QB at all, which would be a mistake in my opinion- talk about adding even more negative recruiting fodder, my goodness. I’m not a big fan of Flaherty- he has a weird throwing motion that needs a lot of correction. But with FSU having (stupidly) put all its eggs in the Monds basket, this is where we are now. While it certainly increases his earning power (and was the family’s primary motivation, IMO), I think Monds would’ve benefitted from sticking in the 2028 class. Maybe a coaching change or something happens with ND and FSU could throw money at Monds again, but things don’t look good at QB this cycle.

RB: The three names I mentioned last month were Ty Keys, Gary Walker, and Marquis Fennell, with the Seminoles trending heavily for Keys and Fennell. Despite the best efforts of new RB coach Kam Martin, Keys and Florida State couldn’t agree on a number. The Miami Hurricanes then swooped in and offered Keys what he wanted, and he quickly committed to the U. I doubt he follows through on his FSU OV. If this were the pre-NIL days, Keys would’ve already been a ‘Nole, but the power of the dollar is alive and well in recruiting. Fennell likely rises up the board now and FSU could benefit from other programs having higher targets on their boards. He’s a threat in the passing game and could be an underrated gem if FSU lands him. Penn State has surged for Walker, with Clemson and Virginia Tech battling to stay near the top. Walker still has his final OV scheduled to FSU, but I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he commits elsewhere before the ‘Noles get a crack at him.

Others who have OVs scheduled for the summer are Brayden Tyson, Jayden Miles (likely to go to the SEC), and Kelsey Gerald, with Nigel Newkirk having cancelled. I like Tyson a lot but South Carolina just hosted him for a visit and he’s scheduled a commitment date of May 15, prior to any other OVs. South Carolina likely presented a larger offer for him than FSU will, so it’ll be interesting to see if he follows through on OVs or not. Here’s the thing, though- I don’t think FSU needs to invest heavily in another prep running back this cycle. Florida State needs to see its major investment in Kromah realized first, then can look to the 2028 cycle to drop more cash on the position.

WR: In the last update, I named the quartet of Sean Lee, Jabari Watkins, Cam Wade, and Antwan Lockett as the four I was watching closest. Three of the four haven’t changed, but Watkins announced yesterday that he is no longer taking his FSU OV, effectively eliminating the Seminoles. Very disappointing turn of events there. I think FSU sits in very good position for Lee and has moved up more with Lockett, though neither is a sure thing. If FSU can weather OVs to Alabama and Auburn for Wade, they have a good chance at securing him over the summer.

There are a couple other names you’ll see a lot from pay sites in Jamarin Simmons and Tramond Collins, but FSU has major catching up to do with Clemson and Florida respectively. Neither would be in FSU’s class if signing was today, which is particularly disappointing in Simmons’ case as he plays for Godby High School in Tallahassee. Since the last update, Tim Harris has also secured a couple of OVs for out-of-state prospects like Arnold Mugerwa and Namajay Thompson.

TE: Chris Thomsen expanded the board since the last update, and has FSU involved for several prospects in addition to current commit Connor Winn (I still need to see a lot more from Winn to justify him in the class- he’s barely played high school ball due to numerous injuries). DeShaun Thomas is the newest name, and perhaps the most realistic. He’s a rising prospect from Merritt Island and also like Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, and Pitt. Joshua Pettigrew is another under-the-radar prospect visiting FSU (and Alabama).

George Lamons Jr. was the big target but announced his commitment to Auburn in mid-April. FSU had made a nice move for him and is still fighting for him to keep his OV. Colton Johnson was added to the OV list but FSU will have to hope Ole Miss and Tennessee don’t prioritize him. Carter Blackwell and Sam Faniel both have OVs set up but FSU is up against Clemson and Duke for Blackwell, and Alabama, Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech for Faniel.

OL: I mentioned previously that OL recruiting tends to progress more slowly under Herb Hand, as he likes to evaluate prospects for a while before offering, and that’s still the case thus far in the cycle but a few more targets have emerged. Jatori Williams is still the biggest name to know, though FSU is up against strong competition there and he’ll be expensive. Abram Eisenhower committed to Georgia, but FSU has a couple more under-the-radar OT prospects set to visit in LiMarcus Jones (Tennessee) and Jacob Burns (Georgia). Jones is leaning toward the SEC while Burns will look to show out against better competition than he previously played in Massachusetts. DaJohn Yarborough, Elijah Morrison and Shavezz Dixon also have summer OVs set. Each of them will be a fight as well.

DL: There’s been more movement along the DL recruiting since the last update. Sam LeJeune is still the major name to know here, as FSU has invested a ton of time and significant resources into his recruitment. It won’t be easy to pull him out of the Sip with other SEC programs fighting hard, but this is a recruitment FSU has to win. Not doing so would be an enormous failure. I previously mentioned that I’m keeping an eye on Wesley Gover, Jason Lewis, and Avrian Pauley. Lewis and Gover both like FSU quite a bit, and both should be winnable recruitments. Pauley committed to Alabama. Karlos May will visit but I expect him to go to a deeper-pocketed program.

The new name I find most interesting is Eric Vaulx, Jr. FSU got in on him early and since offering, Vaulx is hovering near blue-chip status and Tennessee, Auburn, and Missouri have followed suit. Florida State gets the first crack at him and will look to shut down that recruitment. Errol Demontagnac is also a new OV addition, but Nebraska is the favorite for him.

EDGE: Nick Williams is working his tail off. My goodness. Anthony Cavallaro is already on board and a total of NINE edge prospects are slated to visit this summer. Jabarrius “Chicken” Garror, Fred Ards, and Desmond Malpress. The Seminoles have put in major work with Garror and his decommitment from Alabama portends well for FSU to land him as long as they pay up. Ards has also long been a priority but FSU still has major work to do there, as well as with Malpress. I’m less confident on FSU snagging either of them at the moment.

The new name since last update is a big one- Abraham Sesay, a national top-50 player and top-five edge rusher. Sesay is coveted by just about everyone and while I’m certainly not getting my hopes up, Williams getting him to OV is a major move. LSU will get the first crack at him and look to throw enough money at him to shut it down. If they can’t do that, Notre Dame and FSU are lurking later in June. This is a kid you’d have to invest significant money into but he’s also an immediate help as a true freshman. Jaxon Holly, Elijah Cox, TK Cunningham, and Santana Harvey are other prospects with OVs set for FSU. Of those four, Holly and Cunningham are likely more attainable.

LB: FSU already has Greg Batson on board (though he’s flirting heavily with Mississippi State) and Ernie Sims continues diversifying his board. Kaden Henderson, who was previously the big click-bait name at pay sites, cancelled his FSU OV so hopefully we won’t have to keep hearing about that. Ethan Hauser and Fred Ford are both still visiting over the summer, with Ford having recently earned blue-chip status.

New names since last update are Mikahi Allen (New Jersey), Ellis McGaskin (Alabama), and Trace Washington (Georgia). Washington is FSU’s if they want him. Allen and McGaskin are going to be major fights with SEC and B1G programs, and again, the Seminoles will need to hope those schools have bigger priorities. It’s encouraging to see Sims gaining traction with a wide range of targets, though.

DB: The most frustrating developments since last article fall squarely within defensive back. FSU’s top commitment, Mekhi Williams, is no longer a strong pledge in my opinion. FSU came close to locking it down for him in the spring, but close doesn’t cut it. He’s now scheduled to take visits to Wisconsin, Nebraska, and as of a few days ago, LSU. If LSU pushes for him, I think they’ll get him and Mike Norvell’s streak of losing his highest-ranked commit will continue. FSU still has a good chance fending off the other two programs if LSU passes on Williams. Jemari Foreman is still on board as well but Louisville and Virginia Tech have since emerged as contenders for him. DaYon Cooper looks to be a solid commitment.

The biggest new addition is safety Ta’Shawn Poole (Georgia), who is immensely talented and pushing for top-50 national status. He’ll be a kid FSU will have to pay up for to fend off Clemson, Tennessee, and Alabama, but also someone who could factor into the rotation quickly as a true freshman. Other visitors include Kamauri Whitfield (Florida), Tae Walden (Tennessee), Joshua Vilmael (Texas), Trenton Blaylock (Texas), Jeremiah Proctor (Georgia), Seth Williams (Georgia), Kamoni Adams (Georgia), Brandon Leavell (Tennessee), Romel Koon (Tennessee), and Khamani Estrada (Georgia).

Notice the pattern there? Only one in-state target, and Whitfield is trending towards Florida. Having a board of defensive backs with so few representing Florida is malpractice. I’m glad Georgia is somewhat represented but having more target prospects from Tennessee than Florida, and then throwing in two mid-level kids from Texas, is one of the dumbest things I’ve seen from FSU recruiting in a while… and that’s saying something.

Will FSU land anyone this summer? Is it going to get any better?

The answer to the first question is yes. FSU will land some commits over the summer, which has traditionally been the most productive time on the trail in the Norvell Era. Here’s my advice- if you don’t already, consider every one of them to be highly-unsteady commitments. There’s a very good chance we see plenty of attrition in this class at various points, and it may mean more three-star commitments than usual (even for Norvell).

The answer to the last question rests entirely on when Mike Norvell is no longer employed as head coach. We all know what a new coaching staff can sell. If Norvell continues for another full cycle, though, FSU will have to throw significant money at prospects to get them to come to FSU- overpaying in a big way.

Right now, FSU is only scheduled to host a handful of top-200 targets. That’s brutal, but it’s no secret that FSU’s program is highly unstable and you can bet that every school competing against them is mentioning it to these kids and their representation.

But hey, softball is kicking ass! I’ll be back in a couple weeks with visitor previews as in years before.