FSU Football: 10 recruits Willie Taggart can land for 2018 class

FSU football looks to be building some serious momentum on the recruiting trail.

FSU football suffered a de-commitment Monday night when three-star defensive end Stacy Kirby announced he news due to coaching changes.

If you read what I wrote about two days ago, I said I expected two current commits not to be in this class and he was one of those two. The ‘Noles now have 10 commits for the 2018 recruiting class a ton of room to sign some talent.

The ‘Noles are currently ranked No. 37 in the national composite rankings and No. 7 overall in the ACC.

FSU could legitimately sign 14 or so players in this class if they wanted too, but ultimately it’s always quality over quantity when it comes to scholarships.

That was a problem under the former coach, not maximizing the roster and allowing players that were never going to contribute to stay onboard and take up space.

New coach Willie Taggart has hit the ground running and gotten several key commits to re-affirm their commitments to the class. He’s also starting the process issuing his own scholarships to players he has evaluated.

The ‘Noles will have an epic close. Here are 10 players FSU football could sign in the 2018 recruiting class. They’re not any specific order, just as they came to mind.

Verdis Brown

Verdis Brown committed to the ‘Noles this summer on July 14th seemingly out of nowhere as most fans hadn’t heard of him.

A four-star offensive lineman who’s ranked No. 323 nationally who attends the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. However, he’s originally from Chicago, Illinois, and it seems like Illinois University could be in the lead for him.

However, other than being closer to home there’s nothing else they have over FSU. He already left there to attend high school in Florida, so how much could being closer to home be worth?

Oregon coach Raymond Woodie recently followed Brown and vice versa, yet Brown doesn’t hold a Oregon offer. Coach Woodie could join Taggart’s FSU staff once Oregon’s season is officially over and FSU gets through their bowl game.

Probability: Medium

Joshua Moore

Joshua Moore is a four-star receiver that’s ranked No. 85 nationally and the No. 17 wide receiver.

Well, it looks like it’s a two-team race for Joshua Moore at this point. It’s crazy to think he de-committed from Nebraska after the commitment video he did to commit there, but Moore likes attention as most blue chip players.

READ: Why Willie Taggart Will Dominate Recruiting In Florida

The ‘Noles were in the mix along with Nebraska and Texas A&M for his final three schools. His brother is a current A&M commit, and was committed there when Josh committed to Nebraska originally.

So it’s not a forgone conclusion he’ll go to A&M for that or because a former FSU coach is there now.

If you let FSU bell cow recruit Amari Gainer tell it, Moore’s going to be a Nole and he did like a Chop Chat tweet when I put #JM to indicate who I thought Gainer was talking about in the tweet.

Probability: Medium

James Foster II

Foster is a four-star recruit ranked No. 287 nationally and the No. 13 dual-threat quarterback.

James Foster seems to be in and out of love with the ‘Noles at times, but the hire of Taggart has definitely caught his eyes.

He originally had FSU in his final five schools, but removed the ‘Noles and placed Alabama in the mix after FSU lost its head coach.

However, Foster quickly re-established the ‘Noles as one of his top schools upon the hire of Willie Taggart.

LSU is thought to be the team to beat, but don’t be surprised to see the ‘Noles land him. I mean when has LSU actually had good quarterback play anyways?

Probability: Medium

Tre’Shaun Harrison

Tre’Shaun Harrison is a four-star athlete ranked No. 150 nationally and the No. 6 athlete overall.

The Willie Taggart effect ladies and gentlemen. Harrison is a former Oregon commit  who has now been offered by Taggart since he became FSU head coach.

The only thing is Harrison willing to leave his home state of Washington to follow Taggart on the opposite side of the country?

He the first scholarship Taggart extended after becoming FSU head coach, so that tells you he’s a priority. Of course all the western programs USC, UCLA and Washington are vying for his commitment.

Probability: Medium

Michael Penix

Penix is a three-star quarterback that’s ranked No. 533 nationally and No. 20 pro-style quarterback in the class.

He’s a current Tennessee commit that could potentially sign during the early signing period coming up. Taggart had previously offered Penix when he was head coach at Oregon.

It looks like Taggart has lined up an in-home visit with Penix which could be pivotal in determining where he ends up.

Taggart’s a proven head coach unlike new Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt who has a defensive background.

FSU is closer than Tennessee and a better program.

Probability: Medium to High

Malcolm Lamar

Malcolm Lamar is a four-star defensive end who’s ranked No. 268 nationally and the No. 10 strong side defensive end in the country.

Lamar is a current Oregon commit, and committed there while Taggart was head coach. However, he’s from the same high school as huge FSU wide receiver target Warren Thompson.

Will Lamar stick with his commitment to go across the country when he could come play for a program like FSU? Did I mention FSU needs defensive ends something serious this recruiting class too?

It looks like Florida has been making a huge run after Lamar as of late to keep him in state. However, if Taggart wants him in this class the ‘Noles should be good to go.

Probability: Medium to High

Mandatory Credit: Matthew Stockman

Marquez Ezzard

Ezzard is a four-star athlete that’s ranked No. 328 nationally and the No. 16 ranked athlete. FSU fans are familiar with him as he is a former FSU commit who de-committed on November 11 before all the coaching changes.

However, Ezzard has a relationship with coach Willie Taggart as they both follow one another on Twitter. He was able to get Ezzard to visit Oregon a week after de-committing from FSU.

Miami wide receiver coach Ron Dugans is going hard after Ezzard. However, the only catch is Dugans is believed to be a possible addition to Taggart’s staff as wide receiver coach as a FSU alum.

Ezzard recently visited Ole Miss, but that place is a dumpster fire with all the sanctions.

Probability: Medium to High

Isaiah Bolden

Bolden is a four-star defensive back recruit who’s ranked No. 232 nationally and No. 24 cornerback.

He originally committed to the ‘Noles in June 2016 and de-committed on April 29th this year. Bolden immediately committed to Oregon the exact same day.

It’s funny how things change as Bolden de-committed from Oregon December 5th, the same day Willie Taggart was hired at FSU.

As you can see, Taggart has already visited Bolden at home and it’s probably a wrap.

Probability: High

Jashaun Corbin

Jashaun Corbin is a four-star running back recruit who’s ranked No. 246 nationally and No. 6 all-purpose back.

He originally committed to the ‘Noles on May 22 and de-committed on December 3rd. However, Willie Taggart was able to get him to visit Oregon beforehand, so there’s already a relationship there.

Corbin has gotten a ton of attention since his de-commitment from the likes of TCU, USC, Virginia Tech and Nebraska.

It’s hard for me to see him leave the state of Florida and go out west and Virginia Tech came late to the party with an offer a few days ago.

Ultimately, it’s possible he comes back to his original commitment with Taggart in the fold.

Probability: Medium to High

Warren Thompson

Thompson is a four-star receiver who’s ranked No. 154 nationally and the No. 29 receiver in the country. He was thought to be the one that got away when he committed to Oregon and Willie Taggart after being a heavy FSU lean.

Now that Taggart is at FSU, the ‘Noles are the heavy favorites to land the commitment of Thompson who de-committed from his Oregon pledge December 9th.

Many think he’s the best wide receiver in the state of Florida and could be a big time player for the ‘Noles how need receivers in this recruiting class.

Probability: He’ll Be A Nole

Conclusion

The FSU football recruiting class has 10 commitments with a current player average of 91.01 (four-star average).

If they land these 10 commits only that would give the ‘Noles a composite top FIVE class as of right now.

That would give the ‘Noles 15 four-star recruits and five three-star recruits in the class with room for about 4-5 more recruits.

A class like that would give the ‘Noles a blue chip ratio of 75 percent which would be incredible. Then there’s always the other big fish out there the ‘Noles are going after like Justin Fields and Patrick Surtain Jr. among others.

There’s also a couple of other former commits that could come back in the fold like Antoine Green and John Huggins.

Next: 3 Ways Willie Taggart Has Already Impacted FSU Football

Stay tuned FSU football fans, it’s about to heat up on the recruiting trails and momentum could be huge going into the early signing period.