FSU football: What’s next after Tawaski ‘TJ’ Abrams flip to Florida?

FSU football lost one of its 2024 receiver commits when four-star Tawaski “TJ” Abrams flipped his commitment to rival Florida Gators Tuesday night.

It was a move long anticipated by myself and many in the fan base. In short, I’m not worried about it. However, I want to shed some light on what could be next at the receiver position. FSU wide receiver coach Ron Dugans has done a great job getting quality players committed in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

FSU has four receiver commits, all of them composite blue-chip players. One of them, Lawayne McCoy, is a South Florida player that hasn’t been back to FSU since committing in April. I’d consider his commitment shaky at best, unless he returns to FSU before the season begins. If he visits, then that could firm up things, but if not, I probably wouldn’t count him sticking in the class.

If that happens, FSU would still have three receiver commits, while going big game hunting two five-star players committed elsewhere. Ohio State commit Jeremiah Smith, and Miami commit Joshisa Trader.

The latter would be the more realistic target because he committed to Miami without taking any official visits. I know had he committed to FSU without officially visiting, I’d still be nervous, and I’m sure Miami folks will feel that pressure as the season gets underway. I’d look for Trader to officially visit during the Miami game in Tallahassee, where FSU is a -16.5 betting favorite.

FSU could always turn the heat up on four-star James Madison II, who committed to Missouri early this month. He leaned FSU until Elijah Moore committed, who is a similar receiver. Would FSU take him now is the question.

FSU is in a good spot regardless of the flip to a rival. It hurts from a perception standpoint, and rival fans will talk, but the games have to get played just as they did last year when blue-chip offensive lineman Roderick Kearney flipped.

We know what happened on the field a few months after that!