Osceola Recruiting Analyst Charles Fishbein and Pat Burnham offer their takes on where Florida State stands with some of its top defensive targets for the Seminoles' 2025 recruiting class.
The guys offer their thoughts on defensive ends Zion Grady, Jared Smith and Jalen Wiggins as well as defensive tackles Jarquez Carter, Myron Charles, Kevin Wynn and Floyd Boucard. They then discuss linebackers Tavion Wallace, Duke Johnson, Riley Pettijohn and Ty Jackson and defensive backs Jordan Young, Dallas Golden, Max Redmon, Jett White, Greg Thomas and Chris Ewald.
Defensive End
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Zion Gray
Jalen Wiggins
Stock down
Jared Smith
Fish: Javion Hilson is committed to FSU. Landing Grady to go along with him would be icing on the cake. He recently visited FSU. Miami is also pursuing Grady. Will the Tide be able to keep him home? This is a recruitment that will go well into the summer if not this fall. Wiggins, while committed to UF, has been on campus at FSU this spring.
Pat: I agree with Fish on Wiggins — he has been somewhat of a regular on the FSU campus. He has been on-campus at least three times since December and will likely be back on-campus this weekend. Wiggins has official visits locked in with Florida State, Florida and Stanford. FSU seems to be gaining ground with the hometown prospect.
FSU is definitely in it with Grady but there is still some work to do, and I think the Seminoles are holding steady as opposed to trending upward. He is scheduled to take official visits to Miami, Florida State, Auburn, Tennessee and Georgia (in that order) starting in late May. He plans to announce his commitment on July 4 and has also said there could be more official visits in his future. The one thing FSU has going for it is its success at defensive end (Jermaine Johnson, Jared Verse) since Mike Norvell took over the program. He mentioned it on his last visit.
Smith was high on FSU early in his recruiting process. He visited campus three times last year but hasn't been back on-campus since last fall. He also hasn't scheduled an official visit with FSU yet but has dates set with South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and USC.
Defensive Tackle
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Kevin Wynn
Myron Charles
Jarquez Carter
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Floyd Boucard
Fish: FSU has a need at DT and there are some nice targets they lead for. Myron Charles has FSU as his top school. Carter is a lean and could commit as well. Boucard needs to get on campus and has yet to find his way to Tallahassee, so he drops off the board.
Pat: I agree with Fish on Charles. They have been in a good spot with Charles for quite some time and his last visit, where he got to spend some time with Braden Fiske and Jared Verse, seems to have only helped FSU with Charles. He has official visits to Miami and Florida before his official visit to FSU in late June. I would be surprised if he doesn't end up in Tallahassee.
Ditto on Wynn. His interest in FSU is so strong that he brought his family with him on his latest visit in early June. According to Wynn FSU and Mike Norvell got the stamp of approval from his mother and the rest of the family. He currently has official visits set up with Georgia, South Carolina and Florida State (in that order).
Carter had a similar experience on the same visit (Legacy Weekend). Miami is making a big push for Carter, and he has spoken about them making the biggest push for him. He plans taking official visits to Miami, Florida, Penn State and UCF this summer and the take in-season visits to Ohio State and Florida State. I think FSU is holding steady with Carter as opposed to trending one way or the other.
Boucard got his offer from FSU very late in the process (March 6) and it looks like the Seminoles are having a hard time making up for lost time. As Fish says he hasn't been on-campus yet and has already scheduled official visits with Louisville, Miami and Oklahoma. He also has serious interest in Penn State and Oregon.
Linebacker
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Tavion Wallace
Ty Jackson
Riley Pettijohn
Stock Down
Duke Johnson
Fish: Wallace looks like a legit option for FSU. He has the Noles leading at this time. Jackson is under the radar but still a very good option at linebacker. Pettijohn would be the best linebacker FSU has landed in a decade. Turn on his film and there are not many better options at linebacker. Johnson committed to Bama but is still showing up on FSU's campus.
Pat: Wallace has been on-campus at least twice this year and five times over the last two years. Florida State is the leader for Wallace, and he said has much after his last visit on April 11. He is currently scheduled to take official visit Arkansas, Georgia, Florida State and South Carolina starting in late May.
I think FSU is holding steady at best with Pettijohn. He is scheduled to take an official visit to FSU on May 31. His brother attends FAMU which certainly doesn't hurt FSU's chances. He left his one and only visit to FSU very impressed with Norvell. He also has official visits set with Texas and Southern Cal. It is very likely that Ohio State will get one as well and possibly Texas A&M.
Jackson will take an official visit to FSU on June 14. It will be the first time he has been on-campus since last November. He will also take officials to Penn State, Georgia and Tennessee. He has taken unofficial visits to Georgia, Miami, Florida and Alabama this spring. So I will call it holding steady with Jackson as opposed to trending one way or the other.
Johnson committed to Alabama two weeks ago, so definitely a downward trend with FSU. However, Norvell and company were able to get him back on-campus for an official visit after his commitment. He will take a visit to FSU on June 14.
Safety
Stock Up
Jordan Young
Dallas Golden
Max Redmon
Fish: FSU needs safeties. Golden is the top target. Redmon is not highly ranked, but we feel he is one of the top defensive backs in South Florida. Young would be a major get from North Carolina.
Pat: Young was on-campus for an unofficial visit in February and has an official visit scheduled for June 14. Clemson may be hard to beat given the fact that he has been a regular on their campus.
Golden is one of my favorite players in this class. I would like to see FSU gain some traction with Golden, he could play about four or five positions in college. He was on-campus in March for an unofficial visit but as of a week ago had not set dates with any schools for official visits. I think FSU is fighting to stay in this battle. Locking in an official visit with Golden would be a sign that things are moving in the right direction.
Redmond had a great visit with FSU a month ago and has an official visit locked in for June 7. He will likely big up more offers this spring as he is somewhat underrated. Out of these three players, I think FSU has the best chance with Redmond.
Cornerback
Stock Up
Greg Thomas
Jett White
Stock Down
Chris Ewald
Fish: FSU signed a very good corner class last season. Thomas is leaning towards FSU but either they have not green lit him committing or he is checking out all of his options. We still feel FSU is in the lead for his services. Jett White has become a target for the Seminoles. Ewald has not been on campus much this spring as he is starting to slip on the board.
Pat: I agree with Fish, I believe that FSU is the clear leader for Thomas and the reason he hasn't committed already is because the Seminoles are still weighing their options. Thomas has probably been on as many unofficial visits to FSU as any one prospect I can remember and that is a quite a commitment given he is from south Florida.
I have a similar feeling about White. He has been on-campus multiple times since committing to Maryland and he has an official visit locked in with FSU. LSU has also gotten involved with White and he will take an official visit there as well as UNLV and Marshall. He told me last week that he plans to take his last official visit to Maryland. I think FSU is definitely trending in the right direction with White.
Ewald hasn't been on-campus since November and he plans to announce his commitment on June 27. He says he will take official visits to Penn State, Georgia, Miami, Louisville and Auburn. Right now, FSU doesn't look to have much of chance with Ewald.
The guys offer their thoughts on defensive ends Zion Grady, Jared Smith and Jalen Wiggins as well as defensive tackles Jarquez Carter, Myron Charles, Kevin Wynn and Floyd Boucard. They then discuss linebackers Tavion Wallace, Duke Johnson, Riley Pettijohn and Ty Jackson and defensive backs Jordan Young, Dallas Golden, Max Redmon, Jett White, Greg Thomas and Chris Ewald.
Defensive End
Stock up
Zion Gray
Jalen Wiggins
Stock down
Jared Smith
Fish: Javion Hilson is committed to FSU. Landing Grady to go along with him would be icing on the cake. He recently visited FSU. Miami is also pursuing Grady. Will the Tide be able to keep him home? This is a recruitment that will go well into the summer if not this fall. Wiggins, while committed to UF, has been on campus at FSU this spring.
Pat: I agree with Fish on Wiggins — he has been somewhat of a regular on the FSU campus. He has been on-campus at least three times since December and will likely be back on-campus this weekend. Wiggins has official visits locked in with Florida State, Florida and Stanford. FSU seems to be gaining ground with the hometown prospect.
FSU is definitely in it with Grady but there is still some work to do, and I think the Seminoles are holding steady as opposed to trending upward. He is scheduled to take official visits to Miami, Florida State, Auburn, Tennessee and Georgia (in that order) starting in late May. He plans to announce his commitment on July 4 and has also said there could be more official visits in his future. The one thing FSU has going for it is its success at defensive end (Jermaine Johnson, Jared Verse) since Mike Norvell took over the program. He mentioned it on his last visit.
Smith was high on FSU early in his recruiting process. He visited campus three times last year but hasn't been back on-campus since last fall. He also hasn't scheduled an official visit with FSU yet but has dates set with South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and USC.
Defensive Tackle
Stock up
Kevin Wynn
Myron Charles
Jarquez Carter
Stock down
Floyd Boucard
Fish: FSU has a need at DT and there are some nice targets they lead for. Myron Charles has FSU as his top school. Carter is a lean and could commit as well. Boucard needs to get on campus and has yet to find his way to Tallahassee, so he drops off the board.
Pat: I agree with Fish on Charles. They have been in a good spot with Charles for quite some time and his last visit, where he got to spend some time with Braden Fiske and Jared Verse, seems to have only helped FSU with Charles. He has official visits to Miami and Florida before his official visit to FSU in late June. I would be surprised if he doesn't end up in Tallahassee.
Ditto on Wynn. His interest in FSU is so strong that he brought his family with him on his latest visit in early June. According to Wynn FSU and Mike Norvell got the stamp of approval from his mother and the rest of the family. He currently has official visits set up with Georgia, South Carolina and Florida State (in that order).
Carter had a similar experience on the same visit (Legacy Weekend). Miami is making a big push for Carter, and he has spoken about them making the biggest push for him. He plans taking official visits to Miami, Florida, Penn State and UCF this summer and the take in-season visits to Ohio State and Florida State. I think FSU is holding steady with Carter as opposed to trending one way or the other.
Boucard got his offer from FSU very late in the process (March 6) and it looks like the Seminoles are having a hard time making up for lost time. As Fish says he hasn't been on-campus yet and has already scheduled official visits with Louisville, Miami and Oklahoma. He also has serious interest in Penn State and Oregon.
Linebacker
Stock Up
Tavion Wallace
Ty Jackson
Riley Pettijohn
Stock Down
Duke Johnson
Fish: Wallace looks like a legit option for FSU. He has the Noles leading at this time. Jackson is under the radar but still a very good option at linebacker. Pettijohn would be the best linebacker FSU has landed in a decade. Turn on his film and there are not many better options at linebacker. Johnson committed to Bama but is still showing up on FSU's campus.
Pat: Wallace has been on-campus at least twice this year and five times over the last two years. Florida State is the leader for Wallace, and he said has much after his last visit on April 11. He is currently scheduled to take official visit Arkansas, Georgia, Florida State and South Carolina starting in late May.
I think FSU is holding steady at best with Pettijohn. He is scheduled to take an official visit to FSU on May 31. His brother attends FAMU which certainly doesn't hurt FSU's chances. He left his one and only visit to FSU very impressed with Norvell. He also has official visits set with Texas and Southern Cal. It is very likely that Ohio State will get one as well and possibly Texas A&M.
Jackson will take an official visit to FSU on June 14. It will be the first time he has been on-campus since last November. He will also take officials to Penn State, Georgia and Tennessee. He has taken unofficial visits to Georgia, Miami, Florida and Alabama this spring. So I will call it holding steady with Jackson as opposed to trending one way or the other.
Johnson committed to Alabama two weeks ago, so definitely a downward trend with FSU. However, Norvell and company were able to get him back on-campus for an official visit after his commitment. He will take a visit to FSU on June 14.
Safety
Stock Up
Jordan Young
Dallas Golden
Max Redmon
Fish: FSU needs safeties. Golden is the top target. Redmon is not highly ranked, but we feel he is one of the top defensive backs in South Florida. Young would be a major get from North Carolina.
Pat: Young was on-campus for an unofficial visit in February and has an official visit scheduled for June 14. Clemson may be hard to beat given the fact that he has been a regular on their campus.
Golden is one of my favorite players in this class. I would like to see FSU gain some traction with Golden, he could play about four or five positions in college. He was on-campus in March for an unofficial visit but as of a week ago had not set dates with any schools for official visits. I think FSU is fighting to stay in this battle. Locking in an official visit with Golden would be a sign that things are moving in the right direction.
Redmond had a great visit with FSU a month ago and has an official visit locked in for June 7. He will likely big up more offers this spring as he is somewhat underrated. Out of these three players, I think FSU has the best chance with Redmond.
Cornerback
Stock Up
Greg Thomas
Jett White
Stock Down
Chris Ewald
Fish: FSU signed a very good corner class last season. Thomas is leaning towards FSU but either they have not green lit him committing or he is checking out all of his options. We still feel FSU is in the lead for his services. Jett White has become a target for the Seminoles. Ewald has not been on campus much this spring as he is starting to slip on the board.
Pat: I agree with Fish, I believe that FSU is the clear leader for Thomas and the reason he hasn't committed already is because the Seminoles are still weighing their options. Thomas has probably been on as many unofficial visits to FSU as any one prospect I can remember and that is a quite a commitment given he is from south Florida.
I have a similar feeling about White. He has been on-campus multiple times since committing to Maryland and he has an official visit locked in with FSU. LSU has also gotten involved with White and he will take an official visit there as well as UNLV and Marshall. He told me last week that he plans to take his last official visit to Maryland. I think FSU is definitely trending in the right direction with White.
Ewald hasn't been on-campus since November and he plans to announce his commitment on June 27. He says he will take official visits to Penn State, Georgia, Miami, Louisville and Auburn. Right now, FSU doesn't look to have much of chance with Ewald.
