No Panic: FSU, Florida Schools Keeping Top Football Recruits At Home

One analyst recent comments about FSU and other schools getting raided by out of state programs isn’t exactly correct when you look at the numbers.

Once again, it was another year for recruiting in the Sunshine State. While FSU again was the top class in the state – coming in at sixth in 247 Sports’ composite rankings – their rivals from both Florida and Miami also finished strong and ended up with classes in the top 13 nationally. Right now, the 2018 class rankings have both the Seminoles and Hurricanes in the top five.

However, for some reason, one analyst for the network seems to think it’s time for the state’s big three to panic about losing recruits. Luke Stampini recently wrote a column for 247 Sports and CBSSports.com where he layed out what he says needs to be done to stop out of state schools from “raiding” talent in the Sunshine State:

"Ultimately, the ‘Big Three’ needs to improve upon early identification of the elite in-state players. Competing for national titles certainly would help as well. If neither of these happen, we’ll be writing the same story again this time next year."

Stampini, before that closing statement, went on to list multiple top recruits from the Sunshine State – names like Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley, for example – who have chosen not to attend either FSU, Florida or Miami. We’ll get to that point later, but first to address the ‘early identification theory’.

Right now, the Big Three schools have seven verbal commitments for the 2019 class – otherwise known as high school sophomores. All seven of those recruits, including four five star players rated by 247 Sports, are from the state of Florida. FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher, as well as Florida’s Jim McElwain and Miami’s Mark Richt, are doing just fine with ‘early identification’.

Florida State Seminoles Football

Now, back to the question of outside programs ‘raiding the state’. In the 2017 recruiting cycle, there were 43 players rated as either four or five stars by 247 Sports. The state’s big three programs landed 20 of them – an average of almost seven per school (eight to UF and six each to FSU and Miami).

The other 23 players on that list? Well, they were spread out among 11 DIFFERENT SCHOOLS! That’s an average of just over two per schools. Yes, in a perfect world, the Big Three programs would go 100 percent with landing the best talent (of course, FSU getting the most), but the state of Florida has the top talent of any state in the country – not all of them are going to end up at either FSU, UF or Miami.

Alabama was able to get seven players from the top 43 in Florida because they are – quick geography lesson – right next store to Florida and have won four of the last eight national titles. It’s not ‘raiding’, it’s players wanting to play for the hot school. Out of state programs would be stupid if they didn’t come into Florida and try to get top talent to join their program.

Stampini’s theory isn’t the worst thing in the world on the surface – the state of Florida’s big three programs should, on paper, be keeping every single recruit home. However, one look at the numbers shows their is no need for panic and the state’s big three are doing just fine.