FSU football transfer safety target Jalen Key commits to Alabama

FSU football coaches don’t miss major targets in the transfer portal much, but that’s what happened Friday afternoon when UAB safety Jalen Key committed to Alabama.

It wasn’t a surprise, considering Key visited Alabama twice after entering the transfer portal. He visited Alabama unofficially before officially visiting FSU and then officially visited Alabama the following couple of days.

They always say to follow the visits, and that was the case here. It’s hard to argue against Alabama, even though Key was familiar with FSU football and played his high school football at nearby Godby.

FSU just had All-ACC safety Jammie Robinson drafted in the fifth round by the Carolina Panthers.

FSU football will likely start the season ranked somewhere inside the top ten. FSU needed depth at safety, but Akeem Dent and Shyheim Brown will likely be the starters when the season begins.

Alabama has to replace both starting safeties and has a long track record of getting guys to the NFL. Key only has one year of eligibility left and has dreams and aspirations to play in the NFL.

It’s a gamble either way, but he’s picking the option with the best recent track record to accomplish his goal. I can’t be mad at him for that despite FSU desperately needing depth at the position. The good news is, FSU has JUCO safety Ashlynd  Barker officially visiting this weekend. He doesn’t have a ton of experience after redshirting last season. Barker has four years to play four but is physically ready to play at 6’3″ and 200 pounds.

There’s another safety that recently entered the transfer portal, who FSU would take a flyer on, Kam Pedescleaux. Pedescleaux played at Louisiana and had 72 tackles with six passes defended and one interception. He also forced two fumbles.

He’s small at 5’8″ and 196 pounds but has proven production. We’ll have to see if Barker pulls the trigger to commit while on campus this weekend and go from there.