FSU Recruiting: Willie Taggart and staff looking to close strong

FSU recruiting continues to be a grind as Willie Taggart and coaches visit current commits and FSU targets.

FSU recruiting needs to close strong this recruiting cycle as Willie Taggart goes into his second year at the helm.

The 2018 class Taggart brought in while being on the job just 2 months proved to be fruitful as nearly half of those players saw significant minutes as true freshmen.

Of course the season didn’t go as planned with FSU football missing a bowl game for the first time in 36 years.

However, the flip side to 15 extra bowl practices is more time on the recruiting trail solidifying current commits and working to fill the remaining needs.

FSU recruiting looks to be in good shape with almost all of their 15 commitments. There are a couple of question marks, notably four-star QB Sam Howell whose decision to remain a commit will likely come down to who Willie Taggart hires as offensive coordinator.

Willie Taggart is met with Howell Wednesday for an in-home visit, so it’s a wait and see game at this point with Howell expected to early enrollee in January if he stays committed to FSU.

Coaching Staff On The Trails

Four-star linebacker recruit Kalen Deloach who’s vital to the 2019 class and could see immediate playing time as a true freshman. I expect him to sign with FSU even though other schools have been coming hard from him.

Four-star defensive end Curtis Fann shutdown his recruitment and will sign with FSU in a couple weeks.

Four-star athlete Raymond Woodie III with FSU defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett. Woodie is the son of FSU linebacker’s coach Raymond Woodie Jr. and most expect him to choose FSU.

Thoughts

FSU recruiting has a great nucleus thus far with about 8-10 more spots available in this class depending on some attrition. They absolutely need to hold on to Howell and Akeem Dent who’s one of the best cornerbacks in the nation.

FSU has one of the nastiest defensive backs recruiting class in the nation and will likely add a couple more quality players before it’s said and done.

One thing that’s caught my eye is FSU is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to offensive linemen. They are looking at JUCO players, graduate transfers, regular transfers while looking to add four-star offensive lineman Will Putnam to this class alongside four-star commit Dontae Lucas.

FSU can also turn up the heat on five-star defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux now that Brian Burns chose to declare for the NFL Draft.

The Noles are in the mix for a lot of quality players while also holding an 80 percent blue chip ratio with the current class. If they hire the right offensive coordinator it could give FSU recruiting huge momentum going into the early signing period.