FSU football: Impact of AJ Duffy commitment on Noles program

FSU football got its second quarterback for the 2022 recruiting class, with four-star AJ Duffy committing Wednesday evening.

FSU football is still trying to make up ground by having two transitional recruiting classes in three seasons.

They had their long-time commitment Luke Altmyer to de-commit after committing months ago, and wanted two high school quarterbacks in the 2022 recruiting cycle, with transfer McKenzie Milton’s eligibility expiring after the 2021 season.

The FSU quarterback room hasn’t been this deep in nearly a decade, and it’s a great sign for FSU coaches and their recruiting prowess on the recruiting trails.

However, bringing in high-end quarterback talent could be the thing that turns the FSU program back into what it used to be. After all, it was poor quarterback play and a mediocre offensive line that began the downfall of the Noles the past few years.

Duffy is the eighth commit to join a class of players that’s ranked No. 10 in the country and No. 1 in the ACC. Let’s take a look at how Duffy’s commitment impacts the Noles.

Recruiting

Most times having a blue-chip quarterback committed to a program helps draw other talented players to the class. What could happen if you have two committed?

We’ve already seen the recruiting prowess of Nicco Marchiol combined with Travis Hunter on the trails.

Hunter took credit for helping gain Duffy’s commitment on Twitter. However, high-quality recruits are already taking notice of FSU having Duffy and Marchiol committed.

Kevin Coleman is a 2022 five-star wide receiver the Noles want in this class badly. Randy Pittman is a 2023 FSU commit, and Stacy Gage is a 2024 running back target that attends the same high school at Duffy.

Raymond Cottrell is a 2023 FSU wide receiver target who’s already ranked in the top 100 players nationally. Cedrick Hawkins is a 2023 target who’ll be among the top 150 players nationally.

Those are all skill players, but I’d like to think having blue-chip quarterbacks committed means that will attract some quality offensive linemen to ultimately join the quarterbacks in Tallahassee.

It’s funny the narrative used to be the Noles couldn’t get quarterbacks to Tallahassee. If Duffy and Marchiol stick with their commitment, it’ll be the first time FSU football signed two blue-chip QB’s in the same class since forever.

Duffy Can Be A Game Changer On The Field

FSU football has had sub-par QB play since Jameis Winston left after the 2014 season. Everett Golson was a non-factor after transferring from Notre Dame.

Deondre Francois had tools but lacked leadership and ultimately couldn’t keep it together. James Blackman had some tools but was never allowed to develop once Francois got hurt.

The good thing about this commitment is AJ Duffy is more talented than any of those guys. He completed nearly 70 percent of his passes as a sophomore and throws with anticipation, unlike Francois or others mentioned.

He processes information quickly and knows where to go with the ball, and still has a year of high school left and can already make all of the throws.

Duffy has a lot of other attributes too, but these are the two main reasons he was the coaching staff’s number one target along with the prototypical size and arm strength.

I’m not sure if AJ Duffy will enroll early or not, but if so, I’d expect him to challenge for the starting job relatively early once he enrolls at FSU.