FSU football: Importance of Marvin Jones Jr. visit to Tallahassee

FSU football coaches have gotten almost all of their top recruiting targets on campus in June, but arguably the top target finally made his way to meet the staff.

2022 four-star defensive end Marvin Jones Jr. got to campus for a two-day visit, and it seems like the coaching staff did everything they needed to solidify the ‘Noles position in his recruitment.

Jones Jr. spoke with Chris Nee from Noles247 at the end of his visit:

"“I thought it would be a regular old visit, getting back to Florida State, but it was amazing,” Jones Jr. said. “Seeing everybody in person, taking pictures, everything was amazing.“It just seems like it is turning around,” Jones Jr. added. “Everybody has energy.”"

The rest of the interview provides some more insight into how the visit went. The Noles will battle the likes of Alabama, Ohio State, and Oklahoma. Those are the only schools he has confirmed official visits with during the season. However, he has visited Miami and Florida, but I don’t see him signing at either of those places.

FSU will get the final official visit when they take on Miami in November. Marvin Jones Jr. knows all about FSU. He knows he will get a great education, and knows he can get to the NFL no matter where he decides to enroll.

I think meeting the staff in person has opened his eyes a bit since he had never met them face-to-face. One thing I’ll mention is how vocal his father was on Twitter in support of Mike Norvell during a tough 2020 season. However, I think the staff will have to show improvement on the field in 2021 to have a shot to land the legacy recruit.

The only thing the competition can sell that FSU can’t at the moment is a realistic shot at winning a national championship. FSU just had two defensive ends with little to no production drafted last year. If Jones Jr. calls FSU football home, it might be enough to keep him in Tallahassee as part of the class that will bring the Noles back to prominence.

The coaching staff getting Jones Jr. on campus and providing a great experience is the first start to signing arguably the most important uncommitted target on their board.