LB Tavion Wallace (Jesup, Ga., Wayne County): I put a future cast in for Wallace. I believe he visits this weekend. I expect him to pull the trigger as well for FSU. He likes the Noles and they like him. He is a major need for FSU. They need linebackers.
OL Peyton Joseph (Warner Robins, Ga., Houston County HS): Joseph has been a lean for FSU for a while. It came down to whether FSU wanted to take his commitment. I believe he has been given the go ahead to pull the trigger. Joseph will most likely end up in FSU's class soon.
DE Nicolas Clayton (Gainesville Buchholz): Clayton recruitment went from FSU being the leader and landing his commitment to up in the air. Keep an eye on this recruitment as it may go sideways today. It is a matter of if not when Clayton will pull the trigger for FSU. I think he is vastly underrated. This is one evaluation I believe the coaches have hit on. Size - Check (6'5). Speed and quickness (Check), length (Check). Clayton Checks all the boxes. He can come off the edge and put pressure on the quarterback. He reminds me of Brian Burns in some of his clips. I like his versatility. You can put his hands on the ground and let him go. You can also have him stand up and drop back into coverage.
2026 QB Brady Smigiel (Newberry Park, Calif.): I was told at the FSU camp that to expect a big commitment from a QB (Class of 2026). I mentioned it to Pat after what was said to me. Brady was the QB. He is ready to pull the trigger. Brady is on campus and the good news should come by this weekend. I put a future cast in for Brady. BIG arm, big-time size. I have said many times, you have to have some ELITE traits for FSU to recruit you IMHO.
SOME BAD NEWS. Tramell Jones - I expect him to end up a Florida Gator. He has taken some trips to Gainesville and from what I have been hearing Jones is off to Gator Land. I am to the point with SFE players to not bother recruiting them anymore. Vernell Brown, who is also on the Express and very close to Jones, will be joining him. I had Brown rated the No. 1 slot receiver in Florida. I still would not be shocked to see Brown end up a DB in college. I think once Jones pulls the trigger FSU moves on.
Who would they go after? I was told FSU has been recruiting Luke Nickel and Carter Smith. I expect Carter Smith to be the focus of their search. He has the potential to be a big time QB. I have him rated as the No. 1 option. He is raw but Smith is very talented. He has a baseball background as well.
RB News - Ousmane Kromah / Byron Louis - It would be great to land both but I like to be on the conservative side and say FSU will get one of the two. I know Kromah has visited and FSU is in a better spot but with the ties to AH Plantation and Pat Surtain, I would side more with Louis. Both are great backs and in a Mike Norvell system they would do really well. I do think FSU will try and take two backs this year.
WR News - Update - Moore will be making a decision and it is down to UF/FSU. FSU had momentum through the spring, UF has made a move. Even if Moore does not choose FSU at this time, I believe they will win out in the end. Most here know my feelings about UF. I put little stock in most of the prospects that commit to them now.
FSU is going for the big dogs. Daylan McCutcheon out of Lovejoy, Texas, looks to be leaning towards FSU. With the news of Brown this takes away a little bit of the sting. Daylan is a four-star WR. I will go back and evaluate McCutcheon and give some thoughts on him as a receiver. Joshua Moore. This is going to come down to an FSU, Florida and Miami battle. The Hurricanes have made a move with Moore but I am still feeling good about FSU. I have stated the longer these go on the odds go down IMHO. Moore was a lean to FSU and has continued to wait to pull the trigger. FSU needs to lock this one down. Malik Clark has visited recently. I personally would rather see FSU hold off before taking commits from the 2nd tier receivers.
TE news: Hollis Davidson visits this weekend. I think he is part of the Summertime commits. FSU needs a TE and Hollis is at the top or near the top of the board. It is time. FSU needs to lock this one down and be able to move on. Chase Loftin is still an option but I am skeptical that a prospect from Nebraska will come all this way when the Huskers are trying to rebuild their program. Matt Ruhle is a good coach and recruiter.
OL - We spoke about Peyton Joseph earlier. We still feel good about Max Buchanan and Josh Petty. I still feel FSU will only look at the top group of lineman right now.
DL- Jalen Wiggins is taking another visit this weekend. We have said follow the visits. Pat has heard as well that Wiggins could end up in FSU's class. Wiggins plays DE but we project him as a DT in college. Myron Charles will be back on campus this weekend. This is another one that FSU needs to lock down. It is time the Big Man becomes a Seminole. He has leaned that way for a while. Charles does like Texas so they have put some thoughts in his mind but we still like where FSU stands. Kevin Wynn is on campus this weekend. He could help close out what could end up a very good DL class.
The two players FSU will hold out on are Jared Smith and Zion Grady. FSU is on both but you guys know my feelings about players from Alabama.
LB - FSU has a commitment from Ethan Pritchard who is now listed as a LB. Tavion Wallace looks to become a Seminole this weekend. This news is a big reason why it seems the recruitment of Michael Hastie has been slowed down. FSU is still recruiting Ty Jackson and Zaydarius Rainey-Sale. Those two are options for the Seminoles. Gavin Nix takes a visit but he has been leaning to UM. This visit is huge as Gavin has not been back to FSU since early this year.
DB - FSU DB recruiting has been very good the past couple of years. They need safeties. Gregory Thomas is taking a visit this weekend and has a commitment date. It is down to FSU and Clemson. You never know when it comes to Clemson. FSU has not done well in these head-to-head recruitments with the Tigers. FSU should have one major advantage and that is Pat Surtain.
Shamar Arnoux - The Georgia DB is another kid we really like. Big, long and athletic. He has all the physical tools to being recruited by FSU. You don't see to many 5-9, 5-10 players in this group. They have to be elite at that size for FSU to recruit them.
Ben Hanks has visited. I expect him to choose between Miami and UF.
FSU has put themselves in the Bryce Fitzgerald and Ladarian Clardy sweepstakes. I would like to see Clardy in their class as I feel he has major upside. Bryce is one of the top safeties in the Southeast.
Final thoughts: FSU sits in a good spot right now in recruiting. You would like for them to bring in a QB this year. I think you need to bring in quarterbacks in every class. A name that I would like for them to take a look at and get on campus is Ryan Killmer out of Tocoi Creek. He can sling the rock. While not a finished product the kid can push the ball down the field. He has very good hand talent, which is important to coaches. He was great at the FIU camp. I think someone can land the kid and develop him into a quality QB. With many options off the table this kid is not going to scare any younger guys away from FSU.
OL Peyton Joseph (Warner Robins, Ga., Houston County HS): Joseph has been a lean for FSU for a while. It came down to whether FSU wanted to take his commitment. I believe he has been given the go ahead to pull the trigger. Joseph will most likely end up in FSU's class soon.
DE Nicolas Clayton (Gainesville Buchholz): Clayton recruitment went from FSU being the leader and landing his commitment to up in the air. Keep an eye on this recruitment as it may go sideways today. It is a matter of if not when Clayton will pull the trigger for FSU. I think he is vastly underrated. This is one evaluation I believe the coaches have hit on. Size - Check (6'5). Speed and quickness (Check), length (Check). Clayton Checks all the boxes. He can come off the edge and put pressure on the quarterback. He reminds me of Brian Burns in some of his clips. I like his versatility. You can put his hands on the ground and let him go. You can also have him stand up and drop back into coverage.
2026 QB Brady Smigiel (Newberry Park, Calif.): I was told at the FSU camp that to expect a big commitment from a QB (Class of 2026). I mentioned it to Pat after what was said to me. Brady was the QB. He is ready to pull the trigger. Brady is on campus and the good news should come by this weekend. I put a future cast in for Brady. BIG arm, big-time size. I have said many times, you have to have some ELITE traits for FSU to recruit you IMHO.
SOME BAD NEWS. Tramell Jones - I expect him to end up a Florida Gator. He has taken some trips to Gainesville and from what I have been hearing Jones is off to Gator Land. I am to the point with SFE players to not bother recruiting them anymore. Vernell Brown, who is also on the Express and very close to Jones, will be joining him. I had Brown rated the No. 1 slot receiver in Florida. I still would not be shocked to see Brown end up a DB in college. I think once Jones pulls the trigger FSU moves on.
Who would they go after? I was told FSU has been recruiting Luke Nickel and Carter Smith. I expect Carter Smith to be the focus of their search. He has the potential to be a big time QB. I have him rated as the No. 1 option. He is raw but Smith is very talented. He has a baseball background as well.
RB News - Ousmane Kromah / Byron Louis - It would be great to land both but I like to be on the conservative side and say FSU will get one of the two. I know Kromah has visited and FSU is in a better spot but with the ties to AH Plantation and Pat Surtain, I would side more with Louis. Both are great backs and in a Mike Norvell system they would do really well. I do think FSU will try and take two backs this year.
WR News - Update - Moore will be making a decision and it is down to UF/FSU. FSU had momentum through the spring, UF has made a move. Even if Moore does not choose FSU at this time, I believe they will win out in the end. Most here know my feelings about UF. I put little stock in most of the prospects that commit to them now.
FSU is going for the big dogs. Daylan McCutcheon out of Lovejoy, Texas, looks to be leaning towards FSU. With the news of Brown this takes away a little bit of the sting. Daylan is a four-star WR. I will go back and evaluate McCutcheon and give some thoughts on him as a receiver. Joshua Moore. This is going to come down to an FSU, Florida and Miami battle. The Hurricanes have made a move with Moore but I am still feeling good about FSU. I have stated the longer these go on the odds go down IMHO. Moore was a lean to FSU and has continued to wait to pull the trigger. FSU needs to lock this one down. Malik Clark has visited recently. I personally would rather see FSU hold off before taking commits from the 2nd tier receivers.
TE news: Hollis Davidson visits this weekend. I think he is part of the Summertime commits. FSU needs a TE and Hollis is at the top or near the top of the board. It is time. FSU needs to lock this one down and be able to move on. Chase Loftin is still an option but I am skeptical that a prospect from Nebraska will come all this way when the Huskers are trying to rebuild their program. Matt Ruhle is a good coach and recruiter.
OL - We spoke about Peyton Joseph earlier. We still feel good about Max Buchanan and Josh Petty. I still feel FSU will only look at the top group of lineman right now.
DL- Jalen Wiggins is taking another visit this weekend. We have said follow the visits. Pat has heard as well that Wiggins could end up in FSU's class. Wiggins plays DE but we project him as a DT in college. Myron Charles will be back on campus this weekend. This is another one that FSU needs to lock down. It is time the Big Man becomes a Seminole. He has leaned that way for a while. Charles does like Texas so they have put some thoughts in his mind but we still like where FSU stands. Kevin Wynn is on campus this weekend. He could help close out what could end up a very good DL class.
The two players FSU will hold out on are Jared Smith and Zion Grady. FSU is on both but you guys know my feelings about players from Alabama.
LB - FSU has a commitment from Ethan Pritchard who is now listed as a LB. Tavion Wallace looks to become a Seminole this weekend. This news is a big reason why it seems the recruitment of Michael Hastie has been slowed down. FSU is still recruiting Ty Jackson and Zaydarius Rainey-Sale. Those two are options for the Seminoles. Gavin Nix takes a visit but he has been leaning to UM. This visit is huge as Gavin has not been back to FSU since early this year.
DB - FSU DB recruiting has been very good the past couple of years. They need safeties. Gregory Thomas is taking a visit this weekend and has a commitment date. It is down to FSU and Clemson. You never know when it comes to Clemson. FSU has not done well in these head-to-head recruitments with the Tigers. FSU should have one major advantage and that is Pat Surtain.
Shamar Arnoux - The Georgia DB is another kid we really like. Big, long and athletic. He has all the physical tools to being recruited by FSU. You don't see to many 5-9, 5-10 players in this group. They have to be elite at that size for FSU to recruit them.
Ben Hanks has visited. I expect him to choose between Miami and UF.
FSU has put themselves in the Bryce Fitzgerald and Ladarian Clardy sweepstakes. I would like to see Clardy in their class as I feel he has major upside. Bryce is one of the top safeties in the Southeast.
Final thoughts: FSU sits in a good spot right now in recruiting. You would like for them to bring in a QB this year. I think you need to bring in quarterbacks in every class. A name that I would like for them to take a look at and get on campus is Ryan Killmer out of Tocoi Creek. He can sling the rock. While not a finished product the kid can push the ball down the field. He has very good hand talent, which is important to coaches. He was great at the FIU camp. I think someone can land the kid and develop him into a quality QB. With many options off the table this kid is not going to scare any younger guys away from FSU.
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