Florida State missing out on 5-star in-state target feels like an NIL loss

Allegedly everything is bigger in Texas, especially those NIL budgets, and that probably explains why five-star running back Derrek Cooper committed to Texas hat over the weekend.

By many accounts, if NIL wasn't an issue, Cooper might have been an FSU-Miami recruiting battle. Both teams received official visits from the top offensive player in the state and were jocking for position to be tops on his list of favorites.

Now I'm not going to sit here and say that Cooper, a blue-chip prospect from Hollywood, Florida, was guaranteed to be a Seminole. FSU's recruiting under Mike Norvell has netted one five-star signee in five years (Hakeem Williams), so landing elite talent is hardly a given.

But if there was ever a situation where a few more dollars might have made the difference, it was with this recruitment. This isn't a knock on Cooper. He's very talented and should jump at the opportunity to get what he can in a sport that can be hazardous to your health. 

CFB Insider suggests that purpose means as much as pay

​For additional clarity, I reached out to my good friend Manny Navarro, who covers ACC football and recruiting for The Athletic. And Navarro suggested that money is important, but purpose trumps all.

"I personally think the issue for Cooper, and I know he made a lot of money, but Texas is consistently in the championship race right now while FSU and Miami are not," Navarro said. "And for a prospect like that, who is going to get paid a lot wherever they go, he wants to compete for championships."

Oof, now that's a stomach punch.

It's easy to blame the lack of NIL funds for some of the issues and there's a lot to that. But Navarro makes a great point, it's still about consistently competing for championships and that's where the Seminoles fall short.

That's why this season is so big for FSU. It's not as much about Norvell being on the hot seat of the Seminoles falling behind Miami and Florida in recruiting and the won-loss column, it's about proving that this program can still win. Even going 7-5 or 8-4 shows a level of progress and that FSU can bounce back from a disastrous season better than most programs.