FSU football is looking to establish momentum with its 2021 recruiting class. Four-star defensive back Hunter Washington could do just that.
FSU football and Mike Norvell are working to make up ground on its 2021 recruiting class. The staff was behind other top tier programs due to salvaging the 2020 recruiting class after Willie Taggart was fired.
They made some progress early by getting a commitment from three-star defensive end Joshua Farmer.
That news was followed up a few days later with huge commitments from four-star quarterback Luke Altmyer and another commitment from four-star linebacker Branden Jennings a short while after that.
The Noles then went two months before securing their next commitment in three-star offensive lineman Jake Slaughter.
Now, the Noles have secured their sixth verbal commitment of the 2021 recruiting cycle nearly a month to the day since Slaughter committed with four-star defensive back Hunter Washington.
What’s the impact of his commitment to the Noles? Let’s talk about it.
Quality Player
One thing to think about is how FSU coaches are still working to establish relationships with high school coaches and players in the state of Florida.
Florida State Seminoles Football
Some of those in-state players may be hesitant to come on board, that’s why it’s important for the coaches to make use of the previous relationships they had.
That’s what happened in this case with Washington and FSU defensive backs coach Marcus Woodson.
Coach Woodson began working with Washington while at his previous school, and that’s why the commitment was allowed even though Washington hasn’t visited FSU yet.
Washington has a ton of offers from some big-time Power Five programs, so it’s great to see this relationship with Woodson pay dividends early.
I like Washington’s film. He’s not the tallest/longest cornerback, but neither was Lamarcus Joyner or Ronald Darby and they turned out just fine.
He has good hips and great quickness when changing directions which is ideal. His 40 time from last year I’m not worried about because that was last year and he still has another year in high school to be bigger and stronger.
One of the best things I like about Washington is his attitude. He seems to be a confident young man with a good head on his shoulders. Heck, he’s already talking about bringing FSU back in his commitment video.
He has a chance to play early, at least on special teams, or in spot duty as a nickel back or field cornerback most likely.
Perception/Momentum
FSU football has done well in the transfer portal with players that count towards the 2020 class, but they needed some momentum on the recruiting trails for 2021.
Teams like Tennessee and USC, and others have gotten some nice players over the past month, and FSU fans are like what in the world is going on?
Momentum in college football recruiting is a real thing, and we saw it for a short stint with FSU landing players from the transfer portal a little while ago.
This commitment from Washington could get the ball rolling for the Noles as they have started trending for at least three other blue-chip players.
It couldn’t come at a better time as things look like they might be opening up sooner than later regarding the coronavirus shutdown.
I feel like this staff can make some headway once they can start getting players on campus again.
Final Thoughts
I think we really have to take our hats off to Mike Norvell and this coaching staff thus far.
They are battling unprecedented times with everything being shut down and having to recruit without being able to get players on campus the past two months.
They’ve locked up one of their top targets at quarterback and one of the top linebackers in Branden Jennings.
By all accounts, they are operating a well-organized attack moving forward, having already offered 275 players in the 2021 class.
There’s a clear difference between how they approach things and how the former staff did things.
The Noles now have six commits for the 2021 recruiting cycle, with three of them being rated at blue-chip players.
One of the three-star commits has the potential to get bumped to a blue-chip, and we’ll see if one of the three-star commits is in the class at the end of the recruiting cycle.