BUILDING THE TRENCHES
Florida State's recruiting class was sitting outside the top 20 to enter Monday, but the Seminoles decided to secure a commitment from the Class of 2026 four-star defensive lineman James Carrington from Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine, California.
Carrington recorded 66 total tackles (36 for loss), 74 quarterback hurries, and 24 sacks in high school over the past two seasons. This was a pickup that I knew the defensive line coach, Terrance Knighton, needed to grab.
Coach Knighton was feeling the effects of the fan base on social media with their criticism of his recruiting prowess, but he has started to show that he is not to be taken lightly on the trail. Overall, he has grabbed four-star James Carrington and three-star Wihtlley Cadeau.
EXPANDED THOUGHTS
Nebraska and Arkansas were mainly the two teams the Seminoles were pursuing Carrington over in his recruitment. However, the productive defensive lineman officially visited Tallahassee this past weekend, and they were able to seal the deal.
Overall, the recruiting class needs more than two defensive linemen in it, but this is a good start to reloading the trenches. I think offensive and defensive linemen need to be prioritized in the class more than some of the skill positions (even though I want Florida State to score points).
There have been times when some of the previous defensive coaches have secured solid prospects to build around, but have not developed them properly, and then they end up transferring to other institutions.
I am wondering how Carrington could fit at Florida State, but I imagine that the Seminoles will try to work him at the defensive tackle position first to get him on the interior and outside of the defensive line for versatility purposes with his 6'2" and 257 pounds.