Florida State football finished the season with a 5-7 record after losing to arch-rival Florida Gators in blowout fashion on the road. The fan base is already frustrated because the squad hasn't won away from home in two years, but now Florida State isn't going to a bowl game after beating Alabama in the opener.
Head football coach Mike Norvell has been the center of frustration, as the Seminoles have had four losing seasons in six years of his tenure. That isn't the standard that Florida State has built, which is competing for conference and national championships.
One of the biggest downsides to Norvell's time at Florida State has been his high school recruiting, where he often resorts to the transfer portal when striking out on prospects. The 2025 recruiting class was something that the Seminoles could create a positive about.
However, even when Florida State was 10-3 and 13-1 on the field, they have not been able to secure a recruiting class that was in the top-ten. The Seminoles currently have the thirteenth-best recruiting class in the 2026 cycle, according to 247Sports Composite rankings.
The class as a whole is something that I believe that the Seminoles can build around, but the frustrations around the fan base suggests that Mike Norvell only obtains three-star prospects. The Seminoles have eight four-star prospects and twenty three-star prospects in their class (going by the 247Sports star ranking system).
That trend didn't get much better on Tuesday, as three-star interior offensive lineman Steven Pickard from IMG Academy committed to Florida State. The Seminoles now have four three-star offensive linemen pledged. The only four-star prospect that they did have de-committed (DaRon Parks).
THE FAN BASE IS CHIRPING
The comments started to come in from the fan base about taking the commitment of Pickard.
Three star U baby let’s get it!
— Frieza’s Burner (@King_Cold_Son) December 2, 2025
2000th ranked player in the country lmao, can't make this up
— Jimbo Fishers Burner (@Jameis838863) December 2, 2025
3-star Mike strikes again!
— Sam Fortney (@SamFortneyHDTF) December 2, 2025
While I am not suggesting that star rankings don't matter, they are a good barometer for how a prospect could be. Of course, there are always players that overperformed their rankings, such as defensive lineman Mandrell Desir this year for the Seminoles.
However, the fan base is used to former head football coach Jimbo Fisher grabbing whatever elite talent that he wants. The administration did mention that they would provide Norvell with the necessary resources to bring in talent. Nonetheless, I hope that Pickard is a great player in the future and thrives in the Garnet and Gold.