Thoughts From the Morning After: FSU 24 UF 19

Dalvin Cook doing a ‘Gator Chomp’ at a recruiting camp a couple of years ago. Cook signed with FSU. [PhotoCredit-247 Sports]For Those Who Downplay the Importance of Recruiting

For all intents and purposes Jimbo Fisher won yesterday’s game against UF a full year ago on the recruiting trail. Dalvin Cook was originally supposed to be a Florida Gator. It’s not hard to google Cook’s name and see him sporting orange and blue and doing a Gator chomp.

Late in the recruiting process FSU was able to flip Cook from UF.

That paid dividends yesterday as Cook carried the Florida State offense, running for 144 yards on 24 carries.

“The trump card today was Dalvin Cook and the offensive line,” said Jimbo Fisher. “[Jameis Winston] didn’t have his A-game. But we keep emerging and finding different guys. Dalvin ran for 144 yards– a true freshman against [UF’s] top-ranked defense. That defense is extremely good, and our offensive line did a very good job with the football, blocking [for the] run.”

But Cook was the X-factor. The offensive line has been reborn ever since Cam Erving moved inside and Rod Johnson started playing at left tackle, but there were a number of runs yesterday from Cook that were all about his vision, balance and shiftiness. David Visser has a great piece on just how gifted Cook is going to be— suffice it to say the kid is special.

But one of the other takeaways from this is that Jimbo Fisher — who picked up another state title yesterday — is winning a lot of these games on the recruiting trail during the off-season. Jimbo Fisher doesn’t lose to rivals. He’s undefeated in five tries against Miami, 4-1 against UF. You cannot quantify how much of that stems from FSU’s recent recruiting advantages in the state of Florida.

It’s not just about getting good players at FSU. In a lot of those cases, it’s also about snagging a good one away from Florida or Miami. As more and more of FSU’s freshmen emerge — and this whole team is actually very young — each week it seems like another highly sought-after recruit is re-affirming why Fisher’s efforts around the country are so vastly important.

As Dalvin Cook sliced up the Gator run defense for nearly 150 yards yesterday, UF fans could only sit and try not to think about the fact that he was very nearly lining up in the Gator backfield.

And that works both ways, Dante Fowler — who is also one hell of a player — still haunts some FSU fans after he flipped on the ‘Noles a few years ago.

But right now, more of those kids are winding up at FSU. It’s other fan-bases left wondering what could have been.

And it’s making all the difference on the field.

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