Florida State football has not been able to show prospects the improvement on the field. As a result, high school recruits are looking elsewhere, and the Seminoles are having to overpay for transfers in the portal.
This is a difficult pill to swallow for the fan base because it seems that every year, Florida State has a brand-new roster with newcomers. This isn't to say that transfers are a bad thing, because they can fill necessary holes with proven depth.
However, high school recruiting should be the foundation of a team's success. As much as Florida State fans want to hate on Miami, head coach Mario Cristobal and his team have built through the trenches, which has resulted in the Hurricanes being relevant for the first time in twenty years.
Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes could be backing away from four-star Florida State commit Mekhi Williams
Miami is rolling right now during the offseason because they are able to sell the fact that they made it to the College Football Playoff against the Indiana Hoosiers. This is something that many individuals didn't expect, but individuals knew that if Miami could ever piece it together, they could be dangerous.
The worrisome part in all of the Seminoles' minds is that the Hurricanes were actively pushing to flip the services of Florida State's four-star defensive back commit Mekhi Wiliams from Ruskin, Florida. This would be a huge victory for head coach Mike Norvell if he is able to keep them in the fold.
Cristobal and his coaching staff made several visits to see Williams in person, and the defensive back was even seen flashing "the U" hand gesture. Florida State fans have seen this story before, where those committed prospects flip to another school (the PTSD of Travis Hunter).
However, the talented defender has still stayed firm in his commitment to Florida State. Miami has now received a prediction from Rivals' Chad Simmons and Miami insider EJ Holland for four-star safety KJ Caldwell.
Rivals’ @ChadSimmons_ and Miami insider @EJHollandOn3 have logged expert predictions for the Hurricanes to land 4-star safety KJ Caldwell🙌
— Rivals (@Rivals) March 2, 2026
Read: https://t.co/5IPUFEg9mY pic.twitter.com/oKhTuv0J5K
The Hurricanes already have one safety committed to their class in four-star Jaylyn Jones, so Caldwell would be their second one. Miami is still going to be heavily involved in Williams's recruitment, with getting a June 19th official visit scheduled in Coral Gables.
It would be devastating for the Seminoles to lose Williams to Miami.