FSU Football recruiting class takes hit with Putnam going to Clemson

FSU football had plenty of ups and downs with the #Tribe19 class, but one of the low points was when Will Putnam went to an ACC rival instead of Tally.

After the first losing season for the program since the first year of his life, FSU football head coach Willie Taggart made it his mission to sign a group of players for the future who he could build the program in his image – and also keep the fan base happy as they sit at home watching other teams playing in bowl games.

For much of the early signing period, Taggart has been able to keep people happy by bringing in several four star recruits, players at needed positions like offensive line and flipping players from several schools – including the rival Miami Hurricanes.

At the same time, a trio of disappointment has taken place with three players everything thought were going to join FSU football going somewhere else – with the final one being the worst one in Will Putnam choosing ACC Atlantic Division foe Clemson over the Seminoles.

Now, the critics of Taggart are going to have a field day with this one and will only look at the three failures as opposed to the entire group. When it comes to Derrick Hunter going to Texas A&M and Sam Howell to UNC, those stink cause they were committed to the Noles but they also had been wavering in recent weeks so it wasn’t a total shock.

As for the Tampa native Putnam, this one is disappointing because he was more than likely going to be coming to the Seminoles up until the end – and then shocked the college football world by heading somewhere else.

It hurts because this is the most important position of need for the FSU football team even after bringing in four star recruits like Jay Williams and Dontae Lucas – I don’t know if you heard, but the offensive line for the Seminoles was beyond horrible last season.

It also hurts because the Noles are not going to see Putnam for the next three seasons when they face the Tigers – as opposed to Hunter, who they will likely never play, and Howell who the Seminoles are only scheduled to see one time in 2021 and wouldn’t see otherwise unless the teams played in the ACC title game.

FSU football fans shouldn’t jump off the ledge because of this decision – and shouldn’t come after Taggart considering the positives in this class – but it means the room for concern is there heading into the next signing day.