FINALLY!
Florida State football recruiting has been red-hot lately in the 2026 cycle, where they grabbed four-star wide receiver Brandon Bennett, four-star defensive end James Carrington, four-star defensive tackle Tico Crittendon, three-star defensive tackle Wihtlley Cadeau, and three-star linebacker Noah LaVallee in June.
With that said, the missing piece of the puzzle was the quarterback position after the Seminoles had four-star signal-caller Brady Smigiel back off his pledge when offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was hired.
Florida State finally gets the good news as four-star quarterback Jaden O'Neal from Mustang, Oklahoma, committed to the program.
FSU GETS THEIR GUY!
I am going to admit that Florida State football's recruiting dominoes for the quarterback situation have been a mess. The Seminoles were attempting to grab five-star Keisean Henderson, four-star Bowe Bentley, and four-star Landon Duckworth and were unsuccessful.
It seemed to be writing on the wall when Bentley decided to commit to Oklahoma over the LSU Tigers. I originally thought that LSU was in the lead for the Texas native, but he chose to go to the Sooners.
Overall, I like Jaden O'Neal's skill set. He has a strong arm and can use his legs to extend plays. Some of the fan base feels like: "We struck out on targets, such as five-star Keisean Henderson, four-star Bowe Bentley, and four-star Landon Duckworth, before finally getting serious traction with O'Neal."
While I get the concern, O'Neal is the 14th-best quarterback prospect in the 2024 247Sports' Composite rankings. For reference, four-star Miami commit Dereon Coleman is listed as the 13th-best while four-star Florida commit Will Griffin is the 15th-best in those rankings, so it is comparable, according to their competition.
I am just glad that Florida State doesn't have to resort to the transfer portal because they missed on securing a quarterback prospect in the 2026 cycle. They could still go after a transfer in hindsight, but it won't be because they don't have capable young depth.