FSU football coaches have prioritized certain segment groups in their 2023 recruiting class, but it appears the defensive back unit isn’t one of them.
Well, I should say they are not willing to allocate heavy resources to that group. For the second time in this recruiting cycle, the Noles could allow a defensive back to choose Kentucky over the Noles.
You may remember me writing about four-star safety Avery Stuart, who was an FSU lean before trending towards Kentucky at the last minute about a month or so ago? It appears the same thing is happening with three-star safety Kenton Kirkland. Kirkland has been to FSU several times, including last weekend, after unofficially visiting Kentucky a few days before.
FSU accepted a commitment from three-star defensive back Jabril Rawls, who also attended the FSU showcase last weekend. Rawls worked out, and Kirkland didn’t. Maybe that was a factor with the coaching staff seeing Rawls up close?
Maybe Kentucky is willing to pour a little more resources into Kirkland like they did Stuart? As I mentioned with Stuart, FSU has to be smart, and if there’s not a significant difference between two players, it’s smart to save those resources for players that can be difference-makers at positions that impact the games.
For instance, someone like five-star WR Hykeem Williams, who was in attendance at FSU’s camp over the weekend. Rawls and Kirkland have similar attributes and nearly the same size, and good top-end speed.
Two crystal ball predictions favoring Kentucky came on Thursday morning. Kirkland expects to announce his commitment relatively soon.
The Noles already have a commit from Quindarrius Jones, who can play safety too. At the end of the day, it comes down to a numbers game, and it looks like they may already have all the safeties they need in this class.