FSU football: Impact of Tate Rodemaker commitment

FSU football got its quarterback for the 2020 recruiting class with Tate Rodemaker. I discuss the impact he will have on the ‘Noles program.

FSU football is trying to finish strong with its 2020 recruiting class with new coaching staff in place less than a week from the early signing period deadline.

Mike Norvell came on board last week and quickly got to work to see current commits while extending offers to new targets.

One of the first targets to receive an offer was three-star QB Tate Rodemaker. It was timely as FSU coach Mike Norvell met with the lone QB commitment Jeff Sims (at the time) and there was a parting of the ways.

FSU football fans instantly began to worry if the Noles would suffer the same fate of the two previous years of not signing a high school QB.

However, less than two days later Rodemaker announced he would be committing and signing with the Noles on December 18th during the early signing period.

The commitment was huge for Mike Norvell as it seemed to light even more of a fire under the FSU fan base who was already hyped from his press conference.

The way Sims decommitted after meeting with Norvell and Rodemaker committed shortly after seemed to support the idea of him having a plan in place. Let’s get into how Rodemaker’s commitment will impact the Noles.

Momentum

Norvell’s press conference made FSU football fans even more interested to see what he would do on the recruiting trails. It was even more important with the early signing period coming up and Norvell needed to establish momentum quickly.

Getting a commitment would be a start and one from an offensive linemen(as much as it’s needed) wouldn’t be as sexy as a quarterback since FSU football hasn’t signed won since 2017.

Of course Rodemaker has to sign still, but the probability of him not signing is pretty small at this point. When he committed was perfect timing as it allowed the news to get out prior to FSU’s final weekend push to get commits and targets on campus to visit.

Almost all the commits and several uncommitted players at positions of need showed up on campus and it sounds like it went well.

Maybe Coach Edwards was indicating there was a silent commitment of sorts? Either way, getting former commits Morven Joseph and Josh Griffis back on campus was big as well as uncommitted four-star defensive back Kendall Dennis.

Position of Need

James Blackman and Jordan Travis will be the only scholarship quarterbacks on the roster going into the Sun Bowl later this month.

However, there’s no guarantee either player will avoid hitting the transfer portal which means the Noles will likely sign two quarterbacks for the 2020 recruiting class.

It’s possible they could also look towards the graduate transfer market for a player who could play next year and give Rodemaker and others a chance to redshirt and get acclimated to college life.

The other scenario is possibly playing a true freshman in 2020. It’s being reported Rodemaker will be an early enrollee which would allow him to go through spring ball and gain valuable experience while learning the offense.

We saw how former FSU commit Sam Howell performed as a true freshman who early enrolled at UNC this past season.

While that’s rare, it’s important to get prep quarterbacks signed and enrolled early to gain as much experience as possible.

Final Thoughts

It was big time to see Mike Norvell operate on the recruiting trails his first week on the job. Rodemaker isn’t rated as highly as former commit Jeff Sims, but his stats are superior and it’s possible he’s a better athlete.

He’s certainly the better passer which seems to be what Norvell prefers in his quarterbacks first and foremost.

Rodemaker completed 67 percent of his passes for 42 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. He averaged over 15 yards per pass and had over 300 pass attempts the past two seasons.

Rodemaker is considered a pro-style QB but has a documented 40 time of 4.63, shuttle time of 4.40 and a vertical of 35 inches.

All of those stats are from The Opening Regional from earlier this year. They are all superior to Jeff Sim’s numbers from last year.

So looking at the tape and the documented numbers I see no reason to doubt why Mike Norvell offered and accepted his commitment although his number of stars don’t satisfy some folks.