Most of the hype surrounding Florida State football in recent months has centered around the Seminoles’ 2022 recruiting class.
And with good reason.
It ranks in the top five nationally with 15 current commitments, and more than half of the class is comprised of four- and five-star prospects.
That would be a nice haul in any recruiting cycle, but particularly in FSU’s present situation, coming off of a 3-6 record in Mike Norvell’s first campaign.
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As our Corey Clark wrote last week, it’s a very impressive sign that Norvell and his staff have been able to win over so many high-profile recruits at a time when the ‘Noles just suffered through their worst season in decades.
And it’s a testament to those 2022 commits, guys like Travis Hunter and A.J. Duffy, who could go just about anywhere in the country but have made pledges to the ‘Noles because they believe in the potential of the program and the vision of Norvell and his staff.
If Florida State does indeed turn things around in the next few years, the lion’s share of praise is going to be piled on two primary groups of players — that 2022 recruiting class, assuming it sticks together, and the Division-I transfers who came in this offseason. There’s almost no way the Seminoles would be able to record significant wins this fall without the help of Jermaine Johnson, Jammie Robinson, Keir Thomas, McKenzie Milton, et al.
But I was reminded on Wednesday, as we spoke with five members of the Seminoles’ 2021 class, that this is a group that deserves a great deal of appreciation from Florida State fans as well — even though that likely won’t happen anytime soon because of their unimpressive national ranking.
When the dust settled on FSU’s 2021 class, it was ranked No. 30 nationally. That is far below Florida State standards and was understandably greeted with consternation from the fan base.
But as we pointed out at the time, that class never had a chance to be very highly ranked because Norvell and his staff were saving so many spots for transfers. They knew they needed to not only improve the roster’s overall talent, but its level of experience as well. They needed as many grown men as possible.
For that reason, FSU only signed 17 high school and junior college prospects in December and February; the only other team in the Top 30 nationally that signed fewer was Oklahoma with 16.
With such limited numbers, it was imperative for FSU’s future that the coaches hit on a high number of those recruits, and based on what we saw in the spring from the early enrollees — Malik McClain, Kevin Knowles, Joshua Farmer, Joshua Burrell, Jackson West and Byron Estes — they may have done just that.
McClain, Knowles and Farmer look like they can contribute right away, and the others are not far behind. All six, in fact, appeared better than advertised coming out of high school.
It’s too early to know how the rest of the class will look; we won’t know that until preseason practices begin next month. But either way, you have to give that entire group a ton of credit for signing with FSU when they did.
Not only were the Seminoles coming off a 3-6 season, but these prospects lived almost all of their recruiting process in a pandemic.
They didn’t get to take official visits. Many of them had never met FSU’s coaches in person. Their families didn’t get to break bread with Norvell during the all-important in-home visits. They didn’t get to speak face-to-face and decide in their hearts whether he was the guy who could turn the Seminoles’ program around.
Yet somehow, after months and months of text messages and video chats, they decided FSU was the place to put their faith.
“I just felt it through the Zoom — they were being real with me,” Virginia pass-rusher George Wilson said in Wednesday’s newcomer interviews. “I felt the energy from Coach Norvell and Coach Odell [Haggins] and Coach J.P. [John Papuchis].”
Wilson was not one of the highest-rated prospects in the country; he was a three-star recruit from Virginia Beach. But he also had plenty of other options. He was previously committed to South Carolina, and the other two schools in his final three were North Carolina and Auburn. He chose FSU.
It was a similar story with fellow pass-rusher Patrick Payton. He was previously committed to Nebraska and was getting late interest from the hometown Miami Hurricanes and others when he signed with the ‘Noles in early December. He could have waited for things to shake out in December and January to see if there were any more attractive options, but he jumped on board with the ‘Noles.
“They’re trying to build something new over here,” Payton explained Wednesday. “So I want to be a part of that. We can turn this around. … Years down the road, I’m gonna be able to say, ‘I was a part of that turnaround at Florida State.'”
Said fellow 2021 signee Byron Turner: “We all got one goal right now — and that’s winning a natty. We’re looking forward to getting on the field. We’re all competing with each other …. we’re just ready to ball.”
It’s obviously extremely premature for anyone on the Florida State roster to be talking about national championships. But if these guys can help the Seminoles just get back in that conversation before their careers in Tallahassee are done, they could go down as one of the more important signing classes in school history.
And perhaps the most crucial of the Mike Norvell era.
When the 2020 class signed, Norvell had just led Memphis to its first conference title in school history and a Cotton Bowl berth. There was reason to be excited.
The 2022 class, meanwhile, was sparked by the buzz of the impressive offseason transfers, and they at least have been able to meet the coaches in person and go on official visits.
That 2021 class, though … they had just watched 3-6 play out, they were the first-ever signing class recruited almost entirely through Zoom, and they still picked Florida State and Mike Norvell.
It’s definitely a group worthy of your respect.
Contact managing editor Ira Schoffel at ira@warchant.com and follow @IraSchoffel on Twitter.
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Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council