FSU football: Blue-chip safety target Avery Stuart chooses Kentucky

FSU football hoped to go back-to-back days for blue-chip additions in their 2023 recruiting class. They received a huge commitment from top-100 player Keldric Faulk Tuesday and hoped to gain a commitment from top 200 player Avery Stuart Wednesday afternoon.

However, the latter choose to commit to Kentucky over the Noles. It was a weird recruitment that saw the Noles leading after Stuart’s official visit on June 24.

It was part of a huge recruiting weekend for the Noles and the same weekend that Keldric Faulk took his official visit. However, a few days ago, some crystal ball predictions in favor of the Noles began to swing in the direction of Kentucky.

Avery posted on social media that crystal balls don’t mean anything, but it was a foreshadowing of his decision.

Impact

Stuart is a target FSU would have accepted his commitment, so it’s a miss on the recruiting trail. However, if I had my choice between getting a commitment from Faulk or Stuart, I’d choose Faulk every time.

Stuart is a talented player, but FSU already has one safety committed in Quindarrius Jones. It’s not a good look to lose a recruiting battle to a school like Kentucky, especially for a defensive back.

However, FSU is in a position where they have to use their resources wisely, and I think that’s why you’ve seen them concentrating on some key positions in the trenches with quality players.

It’s not like safety is a huge need this recruiting cycle, especially with one already committed.

I do have some question marks about where they are recruiting-wise when it comes to defensive backs overall. However, it’s not like the Noles didn’t bring in two top 100 defensive backs in the last recruiting cycle.

One was Sam McCall, who’ll likely play safety down the road. I know FSU fans will whine and complain, and getting Stuart would have provided some needed perception of momentum. However, there are some other quality blue chips that could join Tribe23 soon that will change that narrative.