FSU football: Impact of 2020 signee Manny Rogers going to JUCO

FSU football took a hit in the trenches as the lone defensive tackle signee from 2020 will not be enrolling at FSU. We look at the impact of the news.

Multiple FSU football outlets are reporting 2020 defensive tackle signee Manny Rogers will not be enrolling at FSU and will be going the JUCO route after not being able to qualify academically.

The four-star player committed to the Noles in July 2019 over offers from Auburn, Florida, LSU, Miami, Oregon, Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Virginia, and others.

He signed with the Noles during the early signing period in December after Mike Norvell was hired and got him to visit campus.

It’s the second recruiting class in a row the Noles have had a player to not make it into the class. Maurice Goolsby failed to qualify in 2019, which meant the Noles failed to sign a wide receiver in the class.

The Rogers news means the Noles have failed to sign a high school prep defensive tackle in the 2020 class.

Defensive tackle recruiting was a concern long before Manny Rogers committed, and a source told me it was going to be tough for him to qualify well before Mike Norvell was hired. I suppose Norvell wanted to honor the commitment as it was a position of need, and Rogers was a good player in hopes that he could do enough to make it into the class.

Noles247 is reporting FSU will try to “sign and place” Rogers at a JUCO in hopes of him getting enough credits to become eligible and joining the team at a later date. It’s a practice that isn’t seen much anymore, but we’ll see how it shakes out in a year or so.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at the impact of Rogers going to a JUCO has on the Noles.