FSU football: Importance of Booker Pickett Jr. unofficial visit

FSU football recruiting doesn’t have any 2024 defensive end commits, and one of their targets, Dylan Stephenson, committed to Stanford earlier this month.

I wrote about the coaching staff expanding their defensive end recruiting board yesterday but got some good news when another blue-chip defensive end target announced he planned to unofficially visit FSU Wednesday.

Booker Pickett Jr. accompanied his younger brother to FSU’s camp Wednesday.

The elder brother ranks as the No. 129 player and the No. 9 defensive end nationally. He’s the No. 20 player in the Sunshine State.

Pickett Jr. lists at 6’3″ and 200 pounds, and will likely have to hit the strength and conditioning program hard wherever he enrolls. However, he has incredible production, racking up 56 tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, and 30 sacks in his junior season.

He has 60 career sacks through three years in high school. He has an elite first step, his father played defensive end at Miami in the 90s, and an uncle played at Ohio State. The staff has gotten him on campus several times, including elite camps, and offered in January 2022. He attended the Clemson game last season and visited FSU in April this year.

FSU needs to land some quality defensive ends, as they’ll lose Jared Verse after the 2023 season. Patrick Payton and Gilber Edmonds will be eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft after this season. I’m not saying the latter two will take that option, but it’s possible, and there’s no proven depth behind those three players. It’s one reason why FSU plucked Edmonds from the transfer portal.

That’s likely another option for next year, but there’s a need for the position from the high school ranks. Pickett Jr. would be the top uncommitted option on the recruiting board.

Hopefully, he plans to speak with the media after his time on campus. He plans to use all his official visits during the season, and FSU will likely get one of those five visits.