FSU Football: 5 blue chip players from 2016 class that need to shine

FSU football brought in very good recruiting class in 2016. It’s time for these five blue chip players to contribute in 2019.

I have discussed at length how the highly ranked FSU football recruiting classes of the old regime have failed to produce since 2015.

If you recall we did the leg work and found that from 2015-17, 53 percent of the blue chip players signed are no longer with the program or have not made any real contributions.

The 2016 class was considered the No. 3 overall class in the nation with 16 of 25 signees rated as four-star or better. However, two signees Shavar Manuel and Keion Joyner didn’t qualify academically. They both were sign and place projects who apparently never made the grades to get back to Division I football.

It was the type of class that was thought to solidify the Noles up front on the offensive line and provide the quarterback of the future in Malik Henry. Both those narratives have seemingly failed.

The class had seven players ranked in the top 100 with several players ranked in the top 10 at their respective positions.

Two of the 23 are no longer with the program, but the one gem in this class thus far has been Brian Burns who’ll get drafted in April.

There’s still a lot of talent from that class that has yet to contribute. Injuries wreaked havoc on a lot of the offensive lineman and a couple of other players.

Others have been slow to develop for whatever reason. Let’s take a look at five blue chip players from the 2016 class that need to shine in 2019.