Regardless of what the future holds for head coach Mike Norvell, the Florida State Seminoles have to do everything in their power to keep their 2027 recruiting class alive.
Florida State isn't exactly in a pristine position at the moment. The head coach feels like a lame duck, the defensive coordinator is under fire almost every week, and the talking heads of the sport aren't doing much to encourage high schoolers to come to FSU. The recruiting class is a decent reflection of that point.
Despite having five 4-star commitments in the class of 2027, Florida State is currently slotted in at 43rd overall in the national rankings. That number has been dropping for some time as fewer players want to play for a team with so many question marks about its future, and some players have even decommitted (the most recent being tight end Connor Winn).
Florida State desperately needs to stem the bleeding, and that starts with keeping Za'Kari Johnson happy.
Johnson, a DB from Miami Carol City, has been committed to the Seminoles since July, but FSU fans know just how fickle those commitments can be. With Johnson coming up to Tallahassee this weekend for a visit, the Noles have even more pressure to do well in their matchup against Virginia. As if there already wasn't enough pressure on the team to perform.
The Seminoles have been in a do-or-die position for a while now, and winning against Virginia will do a lot of good for the program overall. On the other hand, a loss could be disastrous.
Florida State has to do everything in its power to keep commits like Johnson happy and excited to play in garnet and gold. Johnson is the type of player that could come in and contribute immediately, doing his own part to fix the struggling FSU secondary. There is an obvious path to seeing time on the field that could benefit both parties.
One way or another, Florida State has a lot riding on this weekend. There are a lot of questions about the state of the program, Mike Norvell, and some key pieces on the team and their future, and doing well under the circumstances would go a long way toward answering some of those questions.
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