FSU football: Thoughts on Jaylen Key’s recruitment

FSU football coaches hosted two important transfer portal targets over the weekend, UAB safety Jaylen Key and Michigan State wide receiver Keon Coleman.

Key provided an update on his recruitment when he spoke with the media after his visit concluded Sunday afternoon.

The safety position is probably the biggest need from the transfer portal for FSU going into the summer months.

The interview is below:

A couple of things I gathered from the interview. Key didn’t publically commit to FSU obviously, and didn’t cancel an official visit to Alabama that will take place this week.

Though, he said the visit helped him slim things down a bit. He said he liked how they used the safeties in a variety of roles that will prepare him to play in the NFL. Former All-ACC safety Jammie Robinson getting drafted a week ago should help the coaching staff paint the vision of what’s possible.

He’s familiar with the program since his dad played at FSU back in the day, and he attended Godby High. Key is on an official visit to Alabama Monday and Tuesday and mentioned a possible visit to Ohio State after that. However, he didn’t specify that it was an official visit, so, likely, that visit isn’t going to happen. It also seems like he eliminated Oregon from his top six he released after entering the portal.

He visited Ole Miss before FSU and unofficially visited Alabama. It seems like it’ll come down to an FSU football and Alabama battle. The fact he’s visiting Alabama twice is notable, but then again, if he can get a free official visit to Alabama, why not?

FSU will have a ranking similar to Alabama when the 2023 season begins, so it’s not like there’s a night and day difference between the programs, unlike a couple of years ago.

He’s saying all the right things about FSU, and we know FSU can compete NIL wise.

Mike Norvell and the coaching staff usually close with transfer portal guys they really want. Key expects to announce a decision in a week or two.