4-star target leaves Florida State off his final list despite planned official visit

Florida State recruiting has been at a standstill in the 2027 cycle. They only have five commits in the recruiting class and have not had a pledge since late January, when four-star defensive end Anthony Cavallaro pledged to the program.

This is understandable because Florida State football has had four losing seasons in six years, and head coach Mike Norvell has been on the hot seat. This puts a damper on what the Seminoles are preaching to young recruits who want stability.

It also doesn't help that arch-rival Miami went to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game last season, and Florida introduced the "new car smell" with head coach Jon Sumrall.

Florida State running backs coach Kam Martin saw his first miss on the recruiting trail

Florida State is doing everything in its power to get back to where it once was in 2022 and 2023, where it had a combined 23 wins. Even though it was only two years, it feels like a lifetime for the Seminoles.

Head coach Mike Norvell knew that he had to make a major change to the staff. Assistant coach David Johnson decided to head to Arkansas, and the Seminoles elected to hire former UCF running backs coach Kam Martin.

Martin was known for his production of multiple 1,000+ yard rushers and his solid recruiting efforts. The Seminoles are going into this year with current players on the roster such as Tre Wisner, Sam Singleton Jr., Ousmane Kromah, Gemari Sands, and Amari Thomas. They will have to figure out how to juggle the reps and avoid the musical chairs that they had last year.

Florida State needs to continue to work on acquiring talent in the high school recruiting front, regardless of who they have on the roster.

The Seminoles don't have a running back prospect in their 2027 recruiting class, but four-star Nigel Newkirk from Gainesville, Georgia, was someone that the staff valued. However, on Wednesday afternoon, Newkirk dropped his top-six schools list, and Florida State was not included.

This was surprising because Newkirk had an official visit scheduled with Florida State on June 12th. Plus, he came to the Seminoles' Junior Day visit in late January. The program will now have to shift its attention to four-star options Gary Walker, Ty Keys, and Brayden Tyson.