FSU football: Decision coming soon for 4-star CB Cai Bates?

FSU football has caught the attention of many highly-touted prospects across the country. The Seminoles are considered as the third-best recruiting class, according to the 2024 247Sports Composite rankings.

The program currently has twenty two prospects committed to the fold. As a result, that means that spots are limited in terms of taking in other pledges.

One position group that Florida State has recruited well this cycle is defensive back as the Seminoles have four committed in five-star safety KJ Bolden, five-star cornerback Charles Lester III, four-star cornerback Jamari Howard, and four-star cornerback Ricky Knight III.

First-year defensive backs coach Patrick Surtain Sr. has remained focused on acquiring more talented defensive backs this cycle. The Seminoles will have redshirt seniors such as Renardo Green, Jarrian Jones, and Akeem Dent exceed their eligibilities after this season so it is important to replace them with viable pieces.

One prospect to closely monitor is four-star cornerback Cai Bates from Edgewater High School in Orlando, Florida. The talented defender was previously committed to the LSU Tigers, but recently decommitted from the program.

The Seminoles are firmly in the mix for his recruitment. While Bates has already officially visited Tallahassee back in the month of June, he took an unofficial visit when Florida State took on their arch-rival Miami Hurricanes on November 11th (two days later he decommitted from the Tigers).

He has two crystal ball predictions in favor of Florida State from 247Sports Director of Football Recruiting Steve Wiltfong and Noles247 Contributor Zach Blostein.

Interestingly enough, there was a report that surfaced from On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons that a decision is expected “very soon” from the four-star Orlando (FL) native.

Simmons also expressed that Florida State and Tennessee were two notable teams that were battling for his services after he backed off his LSU pledge.

For reference, the Early Signing Period begins on December 20th. Does this mean that Florida State will be potentially getting good news from Bates soon?