5-star Kameron McGee's visit raises the stakes on Florida State's Week 1 matchup

SMU has seemingly positioned itself as a perennial ACC contender in its two years since joining the conference. Rhett Lashlee’s Mustangs have essentially replaced Florida State in the ACC hierarchy.

Week 1 will provide an opportunity for the Seminoles to reclaim that spot as they host SMU at Doak Campbell Stadium to kick off ACC play. The matchup begins a gauntlet of a conference slate for FSU, and a loss will crank up the heat on Mike Norvell’s already scorching hot seat. 

As if the game needed more stakes, five-star 2028 EDGE Kameron McGee, rated as the No. 1 overall recruit by 247Sports and No. 25 in the country by 247Sports Composite, has set a game-day visit for the Labor Day matchup in Tallahassee. 

McGee, the 6-foot-4, 245-pound product of Brother Rice High School in Chicago, will also take gameday visits to Texas, Oregon, and Georgia. 

Kameron McGee set to visit Florida State for Week 1 matchup vs. SMU

Florida State is in an interesting spot on the recruiting trail because, while there’s a good chance Mike Norvell is fired at some point this season, newly hired general manager John Garrett is likely to remain in place with his front office. 

So, coming off a historic fundraising year for the program and a bit of a penny-pinching offseason, not wanting to invest too heavily in the likely futile effort of reviving the Norvell era, FSU could be well-stocked to load up in the 2028 class even after paying Norvell’s $50 million buyout. If Norvell does turn things around and stays, then there’s even more money available to spend next offseason. 

McGee’s recruitment may not necessarily hinge on Norvell’s status or on his Week 1 visit; the outcomes are probably correlated. If FSU beats SMU in Week 1, there’s a much clearer path to Norvell saving his job, and the program will presumably have made a stronger impression on McGee. If FSU loses to SMU in Week 1, there’s a good chance it loses to Alabama a week later. With Virginia, Louisville, Miami, and Clemson all on the schedule through Halloween, there’s a good chance Norvell doesn’t last through October. 

In the latter scenario, Norvell’s replacement could pick things back up in McGee’s recruitment, but that’s an uphill battle. There are a myriad of other possible outcomes, and with the front office stability, McGee may not be considering the coaching staff as a major factor in his interest in the Seminoles. 

It’s too early to say on all of this, but it’s safe to assume his presence in Tallahassee will add to a sense of tension in the newly renovated Doak Campbell Stadium on September 7. It also prompts an interesting hypothetical question, though one most fans will probably be quick to answer: 

Assuming McGee keeps his place as, if not the No. 1 overall recruit, but at least as a bona fide five-star, would you rather Norvell save his job and land McGee, or lose his job and McGee winds up elsewhere? 

No one player is bigger than the program, so unless that turnaround to save his job is a resounding nine- or 10-win season with reason to believe his progress is sustainable, moving on is almost certainly in FSU’s best interest. But it complicates the calculus a bit.

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