I can't believe we are already entering April. Wow, time flies and before you know it we will be at the Football Camps in June to watch who FSU can pull into their 2026 class. After that fall practices will start and we will all be making predictions for the upcoming season. Spring practice is over a week old and not much to report. There have been some injuries but nothing serious to report at this time. I have heard Tommy Castellanos has looked solid so far this spring. Reality is FSU needs him to look better then solid. They need TC to be THE GUY. The toughest thing about these controlled practices and scrimmages is that with an athletic QB it is very difficult to know what you have in your quarterback when the one trait that makes him good, you can't see (His athletic ability). Until games are actually played what is going on offensively really does not matter.
I woke up early to get ready for the Rivals Miami Camp being held at Betty T Ferguson Park. Excited to see who shows up and how well they perform. It is a bit of a down year in Florida for the class of 2026. Very few elite backs and receivers. Good thing is the OL/DL classes in Florida are not only deep but talented. Miami landed Fort Myers OT Joel Ervin. He was supposed to visit FSU but went to Miami instead. He is a very good get for the Hurricanes. It will be interesting to see if he shuts it down or takes his visit to FSU. He is the one true tackle they are recruiting this cycle.
QB Recruiting - Landon Duckworth and Bowe Bentley - These are the top two quarterbacks on the board. I will say this - The news right now regarding both is trending away from FSU. (Later on Sunday, Bentley announced FSU was not in the mix.) Until Duckworth takes his visit this is not important. Reality is Duckworth has all the leverage. Fact is FSU needs Duckworth more than Duckworth needs FSU. THEY MUST LAND HIM. FSU needs to land an elite or close to an elite prospect and Duckworth gives them their best opportunity. The other options right now are not good. I still feel like FSU can and will pull Duckworth once the dust settles. This can't be a money issues ... FSU must go all in.
RB Recruiting - FSU sits in a good spot with Amari Thomas. He committed to FSU and already has been back on campus. This is good news. Now they can pick and choose who they want. They don't need to take just anyone. Jae Lamar would be the most logical pick as he is from Colquitt County. Not officially their backyard but not too far away. FSU will have a battle for Lamar but he is a very viable option. Javian Mallory is not an option as he chose Miami. We heard at the UA camp that is the way he was leaning.
WR News - Brandon Bennett - American Heritage - FSU wants to add speed to their receiver room. Bennett is the fastest or one of the fastest receivers in Florida. He is not the most polished receiver but there is a saying - YOU CAN'T TEACH SPEED. Bennett is that guy and Patrick Surtain relationships with AH matter. FSU has a legit shot at pulling Bennett.
TE News - Corbyn Fordham (Ohio State commit) is still FSU top TE prospect on their board. As long as their conversations are going on, FSU has a shot. Still like where FSU sits with Julius Miles. They also are in it for Kai Wesley out of Utah. I never thought they could pull a kid from Nebraska last year and they did, maybe now they go to Utah and pull one of their top prospects.
OL News- FSU pulled in Xavier Payne (Orlando Jones) and Michael Ionata (Calvary Christian). Lamar Brown out of University Lab in Louisiana is one of their top targets. You have to hope LSU chokes this year on the football field. It is a tough pull from that state.
Dl News - Kamron Wilson now looks like he will end up at Syracuse. He has visited and FSU is at the top of his list. He is a project but one with upside. He is built like Gregory Rousseau. Now you have to hope the kid can add the necessary weight. Camron Brooks from Thomas County Central and Jake Kreul are two other options at DE. It seems like the Trenton Henderson train has left the building. This would be a big loss. FSU DL board is going to need to expand. It is still early.
LB News - Karon Maycock is a DB but is being projected at LB. He is a very good start here. Adam Balogoun Ali is still an option. Duyon Forkpa is another option. I expect Noah LaVallee to be in FSU class if they want him.
DB News - Chauncey Kennon - I still hear good news about Kennon and FSU. He is a big time CB prospect and one FSU should be able to close on before summer gets out. I expect Lasiah Jackson to be in FSU class. Land Kennon and Jackson and once again the DB class could be the jewel of a class for FSU. Kaiden Hall out of Milton is also leaning FSU.
College basketball
I had Duke, St John (Gone), Houston and Florida in my final four picks. Duke and Florida made it in. Houston just needs to win today and 3 out of 4 is not bad. I also liked Auburn but was worried about Bruce Pearl ability to actually win games that matter.
Cooper Flagg - I was trying to think who he reminded me of. You look at Anthony Davis, Carmello Anthony, Larry Johnson, Christian Laetner, and Shaq...The best college basketball players in recent memory - Who is better? Flagg is the best college basketball player I have watched in over a decade if not longer. Maybe 20 years. I watched his last two games and he is the closest thing to Lebron in college ball. He is super talented. Now Duke needs to win it all like Davis and Anthony. I think they can. He is great for the sport and will be very good in the NBA.
Women's college basketball - What a difference a year makes. Last year it was all about Caitlyn Clark. I have not heard anything other then USC best player tore her ACL. Clark was a once in a generational talent. It is tough to overcome that.
FIU and FAU - Went to FIU and I think they finally got it right with Willie Simmons. This is the first time I walked into their building thinking they hired the right guy. I do want Willie to do well as the guy is super nice and has had to grind to get to this level. He has a good staff as well. FAU may have landed one of the top QB's out of the portal. Not sure how good they will be this year but their offense should be able to put up 35 points a game. They have an NFL potential QB.
Final Thoughts
Once I get back from Rivals today, I will have some breakdowns. I look forward to seeing Nick as it has been awhile.
I woke up early to get ready for the Rivals Miami Camp being held at Betty T Ferguson Park. Excited to see who shows up and how well they perform. It is a bit of a down year in Florida for the class of 2026. Very few elite backs and receivers. Good thing is the OL/DL classes in Florida are not only deep but talented. Miami landed Fort Myers OT Joel Ervin. He was supposed to visit FSU but went to Miami instead. He is a very good get for the Hurricanes. It will be interesting to see if he shuts it down or takes his visit to FSU. He is the one true tackle they are recruiting this cycle.
QB Recruiting - Landon Duckworth and Bowe Bentley - These are the top two quarterbacks on the board. I will say this - The news right now regarding both is trending away from FSU. (Later on Sunday, Bentley announced FSU was not in the mix.) Until Duckworth takes his visit this is not important. Reality is Duckworth has all the leverage. Fact is FSU needs Duckworth more than Duckworth needs FSU. THEY MUST LAND HIM. FSU needs to land an elite or close to an elite prospect and Duckworth gives them their best opportunity. The other options right now are not good. I still feel like FSU can and will pull Duckworth once the dust settles. This can't be a money issues ... FSU must go all in.
RB Recruiting - FSU sits in a good spot with Amari Thomas. He committed to FSU and already has been back on campus. This is good news. Now they can pick and choose who they want. They don't need to take just anyone. Jae Lamar would be the most logical pick as he is from Colquitt County. Not officially their backyard but not too far away. FSU will have a battle for Lamar but he is a very viable option. Javian Mallory is not an option as he chose Miami. We heard at the UA camp that is the way he was leaning.
WR News - Brandon Bennett - American Heritage - FSU wants to add speed to their receiver room. Bennett is the fastest or one of the fastest receivers in Florida. He is not the most polished receiver but there is a saying - YOU CAN'T TEACH SPEED. Bennett is that guy and Patrick Surtain relationships with AH matter. FSU has a legit shot at pulling Bennett.
TE News - Corbyn Fordham (Ohio State commit) is still FSU top TE prospect on their board. As long as their conversations are going on, FSU has a shot. Still like where FSU sits with Julius Miles. They also are in it for Kai Wesley out of Utah. I never thought they could pull a kid from Nebraska last year and they did, maybe now they go to Utah and pull one of their top prospects.
OL News- FSU pulled in Xavier Payne (Orlando Jones) and Michael Ionata (Calvary Christian). Lamar Brown out of University Lab in Louisiana is one of their top targets. You have to hope LSU chokes this year on the football field. It is a tough pull from that state.
Dl News - Kamron Wilson now looks like he will end up at Syracuse. He has visited and FSU is at the top of his list. He is a project but one with upside. He is built like Gregory Rousseau. Now you have to hope the kid can add the necessary weight. Camron Brooks from Thomas County Central and Jake Kreul are two other options at DE. It seems like the Trenton Henderson train has left the building. This would be a big loss. FSU DL board is going to need to expand. It is still early.
LB News - Karon Maycock is a DB but is being projected at LB. He is a very good start here. Adam Balogoun Ali is still an option. Duyon Forkpa is another option. I expect Noah LaVallee to be in FSU class if they want him.
DB News - Chauncey Kennon - I still hear good news about Kennon and FSU. He is a big time CB prospect and one FSU should be able to close on before summer gets out. I expect Lasiah Jackson to be in FSU class. Land Kennon and Jackson and once again the DB class could be the jewel of a class for FSU. Kaiden Hall out of Milton is also leaning FSU.
College basketball
I had Duke, St John (Gone), Houston and Florida in my final four picks. Duke and Florida made it in. Houston just needs to win today and 3 out of 4 is not bad. I also liked Auburn but was worried about Bruce Pearl ability to actually win games that matter.
Cooper Flagg - I was trying to think who he reminded me of. You look at Anthony Davis, Carmello Anthony, Larry Johnson, Christian Laetner, and Shaq...The best college basketball players in recent memory - Who is better? Flagg is the best college basketball player I have watched in over a decade if not longer. Maybe 20 years. I watched his last two games and he is the closest thing to Lebron in college ball. He is super talented. Now Duke needs to win it all like Davis and Anthony. I think they can. He is great for the sport and will be very good in the NBA.
Women's college basketball - What a difference a year makes. Last year it was all about Caitlyn Clark. I have not heard anything other then USC best player tore her ACL. Clark was a once in a generational talent. It is tough to overcome that.
FIU and FAU - Went to FIU and I think they finally got it right with Willie Simmons. This is the first time I walked into their building thinking they hired the right guy. I do want Willie to do well as the guy is super nice and has had to grind to get to this level. He has a good staff as well. FAU may have landed one of the top QB's out of the portal. Not sure how good they will be this year but their offense should be able to put up 35 points a game. They have an NFL potential QB.
Final Thoughts
Once I get back from Rivals today, I will have some breakdowns. I look forward to seeing Nick as it has been awhile.
Last edited:
