FSU football: Where will FSU turn after missing on 4-star DE Dylan Stephenson?
FSU football does not have a defensive end prospect committed to their 2024 recruiting class.
It becomes vitally important to obtain highly-touted high school prospects, given that redshirt juniors Jared Verse and Patrick Payton will likely declare for the 2024 NFL Draft after the conclusion of this season.
On Tuesday afternoon, the defensive end recruiting target board has dwindled as four-star Dylan Stephenson from Columbus High School in Miami, Florida, committed to Stanford.
BREAKING: Four-Star EDGE Dylan Stephenson has Committed to Stanford!
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 13, 2023
The 6’5 240 EDGE from Miami, FL chose the Cardinal over Florida State, Auburn, & others
“This is the place that the best come to work on and off the field. Let’s get back to smelling the roses.”… pic.twitter.com/n8Hdz2YFqn
At one point, the talented pass rusher’s recruitment was once seen to be a Miami-FSU battle. However, the South Florida native officially visited the Stanford Cardinals on June 2nd and absolutely loved the trip.
Stephenson received a crystal ball prediction to the Seminoles a few weeks ago, but the recruitment shifted heavily in favor of Stanford. He was set to officially visit Tallahassee for their recruiting weekend on June 23rd, but that trip will no longer happen.
FSU has to now turn its attention to its other remaining targets on its board. The problem is that the selection is relatively slim.
Notable defensive end prospects that the coaching staff is pursuing include four-star DD Homes, four-star Booker Pickett Jr., four-star Dominic Nichols, and four-star LJ McCray.
Unfortunately, the Seminoles are not solely in the lead for any of the prospects right now. Four-star defensive lineman LJ McCray from Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida, is likely the best chance FSU has with any defensive lineman prospects.
McCray has four official visits scheduled in the summer for Florida (June 2-4), Miami (June 9-11), Auburn (June 12-14), and Georgia (June 16-18). Luckily for the Seminoles, he has their official visit scheduled for October 7th when Florida State takes on Virginia Tech.
It certainly helps that McCray decided to officially visit during a contest that FSU should win by multiple scores. Plus, there should be confidence, given that the Seminoles were given an opportunity to impress during the season (well after he utilizes some of his other official visits).
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