Florida State, Mike Norvell working to steal a QB commit away from Mike Elko

Four-star quarterback Jayce Johnson says he locked in with Texas A&M, but Mike Norvell is trying to change that and get recruiting back on track for the 2027 cycle.

Johnson tells Zach Blostein of 247Sports that Florida State is among the programs that are trying to test the level of his commitment to the Aggies. The Seminoles are in desperate need of getting an arm for the 2027 class and are trying to gain some headway on elite prospects like Johnson. The Valdosta, Georgia native has been committed to Texas A&M since August, but he took an unofficial visit to Tallahassee in mid-November to watch the Seminoles beat Virginia Tech.

Mike Norvell wants to give Aggies QB commit something to think about

There is a lot of work FSU has to do to get in major contention for a player like Johnson. For starters, competing with A&M's finances is going to be challenging. We all know about the big bucks that Aggie boosters are willing to spend and with Mike Elko taking them to the playoffs in 2025, he can go back to the major donors and ask for more. 

And then there's Norvell's major issue with failing to develop the quarterback prospects he's recruited in the past. Over the past two years, FSU has relied on transfers (D.J. Uiagalelei and Tommy Castellanos) and failed to get much out of prospects like A.J. Duffy, Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek over Norvell's tenure. Currently, it looks like another transfer, Ashton Daniels, has the inside track on starting in 2026, but in-house recruit Kevin Sperry might have a shot.

Johnson told Blostein that the changes on the FSU offensive staff, with Gus Malzahn leaving, Tim Harris Jr. getting promoted to offensive coordinator and Norvell taking over play calling again, don't have much of an impact on him and that's probably true because Johnson's style of play is one that could fit either Malzahn or Norvell's offensive style.

But Johnson is not just an important recruit because he's a quarterback, it's also important that FSU get more players out of south Georgia and in Florida. Before Norvell arrived, South Georgia was a huge feeder of players to the Seminoles that goes back 40–50 years. Norvell allowed former staffer David Johnson to waste time and resources chasing top players in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana only to miss out and sign mostly marginal prospects. Landing a big fish like Johnson in FSU's old recruiting backyard would be a positive sign.