FSU Football: Top 5 reasons Justin Fields should commit to FSU

FSU football is in the mix for five-star dual threat quarterback Justin Fields. We look at five reasons why he should commit to the ‘Noles.

FSU football is in the midst of one of the most important recruiting battles in recent memory regarding five-star quarterback Justin Fields.

He’s the No.

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1 rated quarterback in the country for the 2018 recruiting class and is important to FSU for a number of reasons.

FSU needs Fields simply because he’s an elite talent that’s interested in FSU football first and foremost. Secondly, they need him to stay on par with what ACC divisional rival Clemson is doing with their steady diet of five-star quarterback recruits, including the No.

1

2 overall recruit Trevor Lawrence.

Finally, landing Fields would be a game-changer on the recruiting trail as he would help attract other top recruits to the FSU football recruiting class.

Jimbo Fisher has put the ‘Noles in a favorable position against the competition. I don’t have any insider information, but here’s what I think thus far.

I think Penn State is out of it totally with Florida fading like a Jackie Mason slice in Caddyshack II. It looks like it’s a FSU, UGA and maybe Auburn battle at the moment.

Let’s look at five reasons why Justin Fields should commit to the ‘Noles over the competition.

[EDIT: 247Sports updated their rankings after this was published]

Head-To-Head With Trevor Lawrence

I could be reaching on this one but hear me out. Whenever Justin Fields when to the Elite 11 competition he said he only focus was to prove that he was the best quarterback there.

Florida State Seminoles Football

He just so happened to win the MVP award over Trevor Lawrence and the other best quarterbacks in the nation.

If you’re new to recruiting, Trevor Lawrence is the No.

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2 rated quarterback and No.

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2 overall player in the 2018 recruiting class. Fields is the No.

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1 quarterback and the No.

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1 overall player.

It’s a natural rivalry already because they are both from the state of Georgia and in the same recruiting class.

Lawrence is a Clemson commit, and guess who Clemson has to play every year?

FSU.

The winner of the FSU/Clemson game has gone on to win the ACC every year since 2011. If Fields committed to FSU football, he’d have at least two opportunities to face Lawrence in arguably one of the biggest games of the year as that’s what that game has become since 2012.

He wouldn’t have that opportunity with the other schools.

Compete For Championships

If Justin Fields commits to FSU football he’d be in position to compete for conference and national championships. The ‘Noles have been in the mix almost every year Jimbo Fisher has been head coach since 2012.

What comes with championships? Tons of exposure and the opportunity to play in huge primetime games like FSU vs. Clemson or FSU vs. Miami.

UGA and Auburn can’t get out of their own way and Florida hasn’t beaten FSU since 2012. So it doesn’t matter that they’ve won the SEC East twice under Jim McElwain.

FSU is the real SEC East champs!

Big time recruits want to play in big time games. That’s what FSU does every year. They open up against a big time opponent each year and play in two or three primetime games each year while always playing in a big time bowl game.

What has UGA, Florida or Auburn done lately in that regard?

Depth Chart

I think Justin Fields would like the opportunity to start as a true freshman but is open to redshirting as well. Actually, the latter is probably what will happen wherever he decides to commit and ultimately is the best thing for him to do so he can get familiar with the offense.

I think the FSU depth chart is more attractive than the colleges in the mix. FSU quarterback Deondre Francios will be eligible for the 2018 NFL Draft after the 2017 season.

Francois Draft Status

If Francois has a good year, I think it’s highly likely he enters the draft and here’s my reasoning. I liken Deondre Francios to Travis Rudolph.

Francois isn’t going to get much, if any taller, he isn’t going to get faster and he’ll likely never complete 70 percent of his passes.

Francois needs to improve his accuracy a bit, get rid of the ball quicker and not get rag-dolled, he might sneak into the second or third round possibly.

If he gets the intel that he’ll be a third round pick at worst, I think it’s in his best interest to enter the draft.

If Francois doesn’t enter the draft, Fields can redshirt which would be Francois’s junior year. Should Francois enter the draft, he’d compete with Bailey Hockman and James Blackman for the starting job as a true freshman.

Both scenarios would be more favorable for him than the other schools. Florida has a crowded depth chart and UGA has two five-star quarterbacks already.

I could be wrong but I think Fields is smart enough to realize he needs to play in a pro-style system, something Auburn doesn’t offer which leads to my next point.

Pro-Style Offense

It’s evident Justin Fields wants to be a quarterback in the NFL. There’s no secret the quickest path to make that happen is playing in a pro-style college offense.

Enter FSU football.

There’s a reason why Jimbo Fisher has had such success in putting quarterbacks in the league. Some may argue most of them haven’t been successful in the NFL, but that’s not on Jimbo Fisher since he’s not coaching them once they leave FSU football.

Josh Newberg commented on Justin Fields FSU visit when he threw for Jimbo Fisher. He said Fields asked Jimbo if he wanted him to go from the shotgun or from under center.

At first Fisher said “it didn’t matter”, but thought about it briefly and told Fields to “go from under center since that’s where he’s going to make his money”[in the NFL].

If you want to compare the offenses from last year it’s not even close according to S&P stats:

• FSU (No. 2 overall and No. 12 passing)
• Auburn (No. 31 overall and No. 43 passing)
• Florida (No. 88 overall and No. 53 passing)
• UGA (No. 93 overall and No. 91 passing)

Did I mention FSU accomplished this feat with a redshirt freshman quarterback who went up against EIGHT defenses ranked No. 22 or better in 2016?

Jimbo Fisher

There ‘s a reason Jimbo Fisher is known as he “QB Whisperer” or “QB Guru” you know? That’s because he’s the best in college football as developing talent.

Check it:

None of the other schools come close to matching what Jimbo Fisher brings to the table when it comes to evaluating and identifying talent while also developing them into great NFL prospects.

A small concern I have is would Fields be able to take the verbal lashings Fisher dishes out at times? Fields seems like a mentally tough kid, so that’s why it’s only a “small” concern.

Final Thoughts

The five reasons listed are logical reasons why Justin Fields should commit to FSU.  Unfortunately college football recruiting doesn’t always follow logic and rationale because we’re dealing with teenagers.

Will FSU football land Justin Fields? Nobody knows with certainty, but FSU has positioned themselves although they got in on his recruitment late.

That’s a testament to Fisher’s prowess with quarterbacks and the FSU’s brand.

The most important thing is getting him back on campus along with his parents or at least his mother. He already has visits set for Auburn and Georgia later this week, so the ‘Noles have work to do there.

Fields has said he wanted to make a decision prior to his senior season starting, but that could be delayed according to his latest interviews.

Next: Can FSU Win A National Title With Deondre Francois At QB?

The later the better since Florida and Georgia are both in the mix for recent USC decommit, five-star quarterback Matt Corral.

Buckle up FSU football fans, it’s going to get wild in the next few weeks.