Florida State football had some momentum after last week’s official visits concluded. The Noles secured three new commitments and tried to get another commit to shut down his recruitment.
It looked like the coaching staff might have been successful, but three-star linebacker Gregory Batson Jr. announced his recruitment was still open on Monday after taking his official visit to Florida State. He didn't put anything about Florida State in that post:
Recruitment Is Still Open!!! pic.twitter.com/VHJZL83H0d
— Gregory Batson Jr. (@GregoryBatsonJ1) June 9, 2026
That announcement might as well have been a decommitment on the spot, and he made it official by decommitting from Florida State on Wednesday.
First and foremost, I want to thank God for blessing me with this opportunity. I also want to thank the coaches, staff, and fans for believing in me throughout my recruiting process. After careful consideration with my family, I have decided to decommit from the Florida State…
— Gregory Batson Jr. (@GregoryBatsonJ1) June 10, 2026
Gregory Batson Jr. drops Florida State after official visit to reopen his recruitment
Batson committed to Florida State in early November 2025, but several schools have been in heavy pursuit on the recruiting trail. Mississippi State, Auburn, and others have been in the mix. The coaching staff had gotten him on campus several times, including twice this spring before his official visit. It looked like the visit went well, as he called Florida State “home” in a social media post.
However, it wasn’t home enough for him to shut down his recruitment, and either he decided to decommit, or it was a mutual decision with the coaching staff. It’s not a great look when a player is “committed” but openly saying his recruiting is wide open.
The decommitment puts Florida State at nine commits in its 2027 recruiting class and No. 51 nationally.
It’s not the end of the world, as Florida State flipped Jernard Albright from South Carolina, and he’s much higher ranked than Batson Jr. FSU has other linebacker targets who are of similar build and could easily replace Batson in the class if they choose to go that route.
Olrick Johnson III took his official visit last week, and CJ Ohuabunwa will take his official visit next week. They could potentially fill that spot with one of those guys or bring a new target into the fold. This situation shows growth from Mike Norvell and the staff. In years past, they would have allowed a player to carry on and spend resources trying to get a guy who probably wasn’t going to come. It’s best they cut ties with Batson and let him go elsewhere, since that seems to be where his heart (or money) is.
Batson is a solid player, but Mississippi State and others may value him and are willing to pay him more than Florida State. That’s where we are in college football with players getting paid.
Florida State needs to make sure they regain some momentum after this setback, with its recruiting targets taking official visits over the next two weeks. It’s an opportunity to jump about 25 spots in the recruiting rankings if they can secure four or five players over that time span. A top 20 class isn't the standard at Florida State, but it's much better than where they are right now.
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