FSU football is trying to get things right on the field and in recruiting. The latter took a hit when its highest commit is no longer committed.
FSU football showed some promising signs in a loss to No. 5 Notre Dame Saturday night. The Noles offense showed signs of life, but its defense has a ton of work to do.
One of the positions the Noles are the weakest is at linebacker, where they play slow and lack physicality.
It’s one reason FSU fans were so happy four-star legacy linebacker Branden Jennings was committed for the 2021 class.
However, Jennings announced he was de-committing from the Noles Monday morning via his Twitter account:
No love lost...✌🏽 pic.twitter.com/VubCbRIs54
— Branden Jennings (@Brand3nJ44) October 12, 2020
Fan Reaction
Hope to see you back, best of luck on your decision and go freaking Noles!!
— TC (@Noleee04) October 12, 2020
No worries big man. We’re all noleblooded but either you wanna be “the turnaround” or go somewhere else and just be a piece of the puzzle. Best of luck, hope to see you back
— DMel (@Mellor683) October 12, 2020
Hopefully your heart leads you back to the NOLES! Good luck regardless of your decision 👍🏼
— John Wiggins (@PapaWig) October 12, 2020
Understood young man! FSU Twitter will undoubtedly show some ugly, but this is your life and you need to get it right! I’m confident you’ll come home. It’s always Go Noles! 🍢 Good luck!
— 🇺🇸🍢RuskiN🏈le🍢🇺🇸 (@theCrawfish83) October 12, 2020
Best wishes. That’s good. Make the right decision for you and your family!
— Jeanie — PCBeachLaw (@pcbeachlaw) October 12, 2020
Jennings is considered the No. 81 player overall, No. 6 outside linebacker, and the No. 13 player in Florida. He holds 40 offers from all of the major Power Five schools and had committed to the new FSU coaching staff on February 7.
Jennings is physically ready to play college football right now, checking in at 6’3″ and 225 pounds. He could play on FSUs’ defense right now, and he’s still in high school, which tells you just how important he is as a recruit.
However, it’s understandable he’d want to make sure he’s making the best decision for him. The Noles were ranked No. 18 before the de-commitment, and have fallen to No. 25 with 16 commitments in the class.
Thoughts
It sounds like FSU football is still in the picture, but it’ll be interesting to see how this all unfolds. FSU needs to be able to sign quality players, and more importantly, quality legacy players, which they have missed on a few over the years.
I wrote the rest of the season would be important for recruiting after the opening game loss against Georgia Tech. If the Noles can continue to show progress on the field, hopefully, they’ll be able to get Jennings back along with meeting the other remaining needs in the recruiting class.