FSU football hasn’t signed a five-star quarterback since Jameis Winston in the 2012 recruiting class.
However, 2022 blue-chip FSU QB commit AJ Duffy might have something to say about that after a strong showing at the recent Elite 11 competition a few days ago.
AJ Duffy had his junior season wiped out in California last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and transferred to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior year.
He has been to several competitions this spring and has always been among the best quarterbacks participating.
AJ Duffy ranks as the composite No. 73 player overall and No. 7 pro-style QB in the 2022 recruiting class. 247 Sports ranks him as the No. 147 player overall and No. 11 QB, which hurts his composite score.
He’s better than the 247 Sports ranking, so I anticipate getting somewhat of a ranking bump when they update their ranking.
A lot of FSU football fans have asked me if he will earn his fifth star at some point? It doesn’t matter if he does or not, but I know the five-star ranking looks great for optics and team recruiting rankings.
FSU football already has two five-star commits, and a third would be the most the Noles have signed since 2017.
Let’s look at how the composite ranking works. There are 34 players considered five-star recruits by the composite ranking, with the lowest five-star recruit having a .9834 individual ranking.
AJ Duffy’s ranking is .9671, and he’d have to climb at least 39 spots to become a five-star.
How It Could Happen
The 2022 recruiting rankings have been all over the place because of last year. I mentioned Duffy didn’t have a junior season and players couldn’t go to camps to get exposure.
Duffy has already hit the competition circuit and played well in different 7on7 events. I think his stock has risen from that, but his senior year at IMG Academy will be the biggest thing that’ll help(or hurt) his ranking.
IMG Academy is one of the premier high school football programs that churn out DI prospects left and right every season.
If Duffy goes there and has another season like his sophomore season, he could see a substantial increase. As a sophomore, AJ Duffy completed 185 of 261 passes (70.9 percent) for 2,568 yards, 26 TDs, and 7 INTs while rushing 65 times for 501 yards and four TDs.
It was a few years ago, but former FSU quarterback Deondre Francois played at IMG Academy and ranked as the No. 66 player overall with a .9678 player average.
That’s barely above where AJ Duffy is right now, but Duffy’s sophomore numbers blow Francois’s senior numbers out of the water.
Francois completed 94 of 168 passes (56 percent) for 1,488 yards, 18 TD’s, and 4 INTs, while rushing 46 times for 286 yards and two TD’s.
However, one must consider the 2022 recruiting class as a whole and how many five-star spots will be available. The 2015 class had 37 five-star players.
Parting Thoughts
I think AJ Duffy will have a strong senior season at IMG Academy. He almost every tool one could want in a quarterback, especially the ability to anticipate and throw players open.
That’s something most college quarterbacks struggle to do consistently. Another attribute seems to be that he plays his best in actual game-like settings.
Duffy was inconsistent in some of the early drills at the Elite 11 competition but lit it up when the lights came on during the 7on7 competition.
Whether he earns the fifth star or not, it’s semantics. I know FSU football fans yearn for the glory years of 2010-2014.
However, whether Duffy gets the fifth star or not, he’ll be the highest-ranked quarterback to sign since Malik Henry in the 2016 recruiting class.
We know how Henry and Francois turned out, so here’s to hoping the Noles will get 2-3 great years from AJ Duffy before he goes on to become an NFL Draft pick.