FSU football: What’s the blue-chip percentage of 2023 roster?

FSU football will go into the 2023 season as one of the higher-ranked teams in the nation after a 10-3 record and returning much of its production from 2022.

The Noles will add the No. 1 transfer portal class to the mix, with nearly all of them enrolling this spring. The conversations surrounding high school and transfer recruiting have run rampant over the past few months. Which is better?

Then Georgia demolishing TCU in the national title game stoked that fire again. Georgia likely has nearly a 70 percent blue-chip ratio on its roster. There are only a few up that high. The Ohio State and Alabama of the world come to mind.

I began to think about FSU’s 2023 roster and how it would stack up with top teams like that. Here’s what I did. I went down the current FSU roster(minus portal departures) and took their ranking out of high school as a qualifier.

However, I also took into consideration a player’s production and placed my ranking. For instance. Kalen DeLoach was a blue-chip player out of high school.

Tatum Bethune was a three-star out of high school and as a transfer, but his production is that of blue-chip so I count him as such.

Below is the current roster and the 2023 recruiting class(high school and transfers).

• Fabien Lovett: Blue-chip
• Ja’khi Douglas: Blue-chip
• Winston Wright Jr.: Blue-chip
• Kevin Knowles:
• Trey Benson: Blue-chip
• Kalen DeLoach: Blue-chip
• Mycah Pittman: Blue-chip
• Deuce Spann
• Jared Verse: Blue-chip
• Dennis Briggs Jr.: Blue-chip
• Jarrian Jones: Blue-chip
• Renardo Green: Blue-chip
• Derrick McLendon
• Lawrence Toafili: Blue-chip
• AJ Duffy: Blue-chip
• Joshua Burrell
• Omarion Cooper: Blue-chip
• Jordan Travis: Blue-chip
• Johnny Wilson: Blue-chip
• Tatum Bethune: Blue-chip
• Tate Rodemaker
• Travis Jay: Blue-chip
• Azarey’eh Thomas: Blue-chip
• Darion Williamson: Blue Chip(when healthy)
• Greedy Vance Jr.
• Caziah Holmes: Blue-chip
• Akeem Dent: Blue-chip
• Brendan Gant: Blue-chip
• Alex Mastramanno
• Rodney Hill
• Stephen Dix Jr.: Blue-chip
• Omar Graham Jr.
• Shyheim Brown
• Joshua Farmer
• DJ Lundy
• Jackson West
• Antavious Woody
• Robert Scott Jr.: Blue-chip
• Maurice Smith
• Byron Turner Jr.
• Ayobami Tifase
• Qae’shon Sapp: Blue-chip
• Patrick Payton-Blue-chip
• Zane Herring
• Aaron Hester
• Bless Harris
• Thomas Shrader
• Kanaya Charlton
• Julian Armella: Blue-chip
• Jaylen Early: Blue-chip
• Darius Washington
• Bryson Estes
• Daughtry Richardson: Blue-chip
• Markeston Douglas
• Brian Courtney
• Kentron Poitier
• Ryan Fitzgerald
• Jerrale Powers
• Bishop Thomas
• Daniel Lyons
• Dante Anderson: Blue-chip
• Malcolm Ray

2023 Recruiting Class

• Hykeem Williams: Blue-chip
• Lucas Simmons: Blue-chip
• Lamont Green Jr.: Blue-chip
• Vandrevius Jacobs: Blue-chip
• Brock Glenn
• Kenton Kirkland
• Jaden Jones
• Quindarrius Jones
• DeMarco Ward
• Blake Nichelson: Blue-chip
• Keith Sampson: Blue-chip
• Conrad Hussey: Blue-chip
• Samuel Singleton: Blue-chip
• Edwin Joseph
• Darren Lawrence
• Ja’Bril Rawls
• Andre Otto
• Gilber Edmond:Blue-chip
• Keiondre Jones
• Fentrell Cypress: Blue-chip
• Braden Fiske: Blue-chip
• Jeremiah Byers: Blue-chip
• Casey Roddick
• Kyle Morlock: Blue-chip
• Jaheim Bell: Blue-chip
• Darrell Jackson: Blue-chip

By my count, that’s 88 players overall and 44 blue chips, and FSU will have to get down to the 85 scholarship limit, which means there will be more attrition.

I can easily find five guys that will not contribute in 2023 and beyond. Those guys are not blue-chip players. There are a few guys that are not ranked as blue-chip that probably are, and vice versa.

I expect FSU to take 2-3 more guys, but if we remove three non-contributors to get to the 85 limit right now? That would roughly give FSU a 52 percent blue-chip ratio for the 2023 roster.