FSU football: 3 major differences between 2022 and 2019 recruiting
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU football recruiting hasn’t been this hot since early in the 2019 recruiting cycle when Willie Taggart has the No. 1 spot for a brief period.
It was April 2019 at the spring game and Willie Taggart secured commitments from blue-chip players Sam Howell( a few days earlier), Dontae Lucas, and Jaleel McRae.
The atmosphere for the spring game was unmatched, and FSU football fans felt like they were on the precipice of greatness once again.
It’s a familiar feeling to FSU fans now, although it’s much later in the recruiting cycle. I know and understand how some fans are cautiously optimistic about what Mike Norvell is going in the recruiting landscape for the 2022 class.
It’s recruiting, and things are fluid, just ask Miami fans who thought they were going to land two commitments Sunday only to see them go elsewhere.
However, this 2022 recruiting class is different for a lot of reasons. The program was in a different space back then, with Taggart communicating it was a reload and not a rebuild.
The approach he took was to target the top players for them to be a part of getting FSU football back to elite status. After all, they were the No. 3 team in the country going into the 2017 season.
However, the opening game against Virginia Tech and subsequent games were signs it was much more than reloading. That interest from the top targets in that class begin to fade, and the staff lost commitments from Sam Howell and Nick Cross to finish No. 18.
The 2019 recruiting class was finalized, with no quarterback or skill positions players. Here’s why the 2022 recruiting class will likely be much different.