FSU football hopes to close strong with its 2020 recruiting class in just a few weeks on National Signing Day. A couple of things that could impact those rankings.
FSU football currently sits with the No. 21 ranked recruiting class in the nation with 17 signees and one commit who remains unsigned in four-star wide receiver Malachi Wideman.
There are nine blue chip players in the class(including Wideman), eight three-star players and a punter who’s rated as a two-star recruit.
That breaks down to a 50 percent blue chip ratio which is down a bit considering what FSU football has typically enrolled when they were competing for championships.
The good news is it’s the largest number of players FSU has ever signed during the early signing period which allows the staff to concentrate on a select number of players to sign to finish out the class while working on 2021 and beyond.
The bad news? As of right now, Clemson has signed 52 players between 2019-20 with 30 of them (58 percent) considered blue chip prospects. What’s worse is seven of those 30 are five-star players.
The Noles haven’t signed any five-star players since the 2017 cycle, but the good news is three of those players plan to be on the 2020 roster.
I know Mike Norvell came in and did very well during those 10 days in December prior to the Early Signing Period. However, I want to caution some fans who think it’s possible to jump near the top 10 when it’s all said and done.
It doesn’t mean it won’t be a good transitional class(class with a coaching change), it just means it likely won’t show up in the final rankings.
Early Signing Period
One of the biggest problems with having a transitional class is there isn’t a lot of time for the new coach to have much of an impact.
In fact, I’d argue Mike Norvell did about as well as one could hope for considering he got two quarterbacks to sign while flipping one of them from Louisville at the last second.
One of the biggest things that’s different now compared to when Willie Taggart took over in December 2017 is when players are signing.
December 2017 was the first year of the early signing period and there was not as many players signing early at that time.
Nowadays, there’s only about 39 four-star recruits left who haven’t signed with anyone. Some of them are committed to schools (i.e. Malachi Wideman), and it’s possible to flip some players at the last minute. It’s possible that FSU’s ranking would drop should Wideman sign elsewhere too.
The chances of adding a ton of four-star players to increase the final ranking isn’t likely. The fact of the matter is FSU football only has about eight spots left in this class anyways.
I think the majority of those spots will go to the following type of players.
Who Will FSU Target Most
I think the biggest needs on this team are along the offensive line, defensive end and running back positions.
FSU is scouring the graduate transfer market and JUCO ranks for players who can come in and play right away.
They have already signed one player for each of those positions. They absolutely need another running back and defensive end. That leaves a few spots for some offensive tackles they sorely need.
The Noles are in the mix for a one or two prep offensive linemen who are considered four-star recruits. So it’s possible they could add to that blue chip total, but I wouldn’t bet the house on it.
The thing about players from the transfer portal and JUCO players is they do not get counted towards the final total in the composite rankings.
So if FSU football goes heavy in that market, it’s possible they could meet some needs but not rise in the final recruiting rankings much at all.
As we know, rankings are important but not the be-all end-all to having success. It’s the development of the talent brought in that usually is the difference maker.
Final Thoughts
The Noles finished No. 19 in the final 2019 recruiting rankings and probably won’t be too far from that ranking in 2020.
I wouldn’t let that be an indictment on if Mike Norvell and his staff can recruit or not. I know some will mention Willie Taggart bringing FSU from the mid-60’s ranking to finishing No. 11 in the final 2018 recruiting rankings.
However, it’s a different ballgame now with so many players signing early. There just isn’t enough players left over who are real possibilities to sign to improve FSU’s overall ranking.
The biggest thing is meeting needs, and that’s getting players that can come in and play immediately on the offensive line.
It could be possible they’ll look towards the graduate transfer market for a quarterback too.
I know they are talking to at least one JUCO running back in Ladamian Webb who’s slated to visit FSU later this month.
If I would to place emphasis on the recruiting prowess of Mike Norvell and company, it would be on the 2021 class.
If the Noles can show progression on the field, they should be able to make some noise moving forward provided the FSU administration is all-in.
It just so seems they might be too.