The defensive end position has been one of the worst for Florida State football in recent years. The lack of a pass rush has severely hampered the FSU defense, making it more difficult to stop the run and get off the field on third downs.
FSU defensive ends coach Nick Williams has done a great job of building a board of quality targets, but one of them chose to commit to Texas after canceling his official visit for this weekend. Four-star Jabarrius Garror made the announcement on Friday morning:
BREAKING: Four-Star EDGE JaBarrius Garror has Committed to Texas, he tells me for @Rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 12, 2026
The 6’3 225 EDGE chose the Longhorns over Georgia, Auburn, and Florida State
“Hook ‘EM 🤘🏾😌”https://t.co/xAEkzZ1YCa pic.twitter.com/9m8TgScWpp
FSU missing on top blue-chip targets at key positions is the norm nowadays
It’s almost a catch-22 for the Florida State staff since Garror was from Alabama. Those players rarely leave that state to attend college, usually deciding to attend Alabama or Auburn. However, when they leave the state, that usually means they aren’t highly sought-after or they command a big price. Garror ranks as the No. 110 player and No. 12 defensive end nationally. It’s fair to say he fits into the latter category.
FSU spent a lot of time recruiting him, getting him on campus twice this spring and four times last year. The former Alabama commit seemed to have a genuine interest in the Noles. However, in the end, he probably got more money to commit to Texas, and they have a more stable program compared to FSU of late.
Nick Williams getting Garror on campus twice this spring and setting up an official visit speaks highly of the work he accomplished in a short amount of time and should bode well for his prospects as a recruiter in the future. FSU has one defensive end committed and has another three-star in Jaxon Holley taking an official visit this weekend. They have an elite target scheduled to visit next weekend in Abraham Sesay, but that’s a long shot with him trending towards Notre Dame lately.
FSU took several defensive ends in its 2026 high school recruiting class and will likely only take a smaller class of defensive ends in this recruiting cycle.
This recruitment is a prime example of where Florida State football is among the football powers, with Mike Norvell and the last two years of mediocrity. This 2026 season will either be the breaking point with Mike Norvell as the head coach or the rise of FSU football, and it’s not going to take long to figure out which, with the way the 2026 schedule unfolds.
The SMU and Alabama games in the second and third games of the season will tell us all we need to know. If Florida State somehow wins those two games and starts the season 3-0 like last year, it would give Mike Norvell a tad of breathing room, though he couldn’t afford to fall off a cliff like they did last year after starting 3-0 either. If they get run through and lose to Virginia again like last year? It’s probably a wrap for him, as the fan base would probably shut down for the remainder of the season. That’s the price of keeping Mike Norvell in 2026.
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