Florida State’s new in-state TE commit will fuel a Mike Norvell narrative that’s missing the mark

Florida State landed two unexpected commitments on Tuesday. The first came from 2027 kicker Vance Fones, which will go largely under the radar. The second came from 2028 in-state tight end Troy Silberzahn. 

For a program that has just 14 commits in 2027, one of which is now a kicker, the Silberzahn becoming the second commitment of the 2028 class in a recruiting win for the Seminoles over offers from Florida, Miami, and a bevy of other big-time programs should be met with fanfare. 

Though he caught just 14 passes for Cocoa High School as a sophomore in 2025, he projects as a mismatch nightmare working from the slot, too fast and smooth for linebackers to stay with, but too big and physical for defensive backs to handle. He should also have a better chance to show it at Eau Gallie High School, where he transferred for his junior year. 

However, because the 6-foot-4, 215-pound playmaker has ‘three-star’ next to his name, it’ll fuel the “three-star Mike” narrative that Norvell cannot escape. 

FSU’s Troy Silberzahn commitment says more about GM John Garrett than Mike Norvell

It’s a convenient retort from a fanbase with national title expectations that grew accustomed to attracting five-star talent during the Jimbo Fisher days, and in a lot of ways, it’s true. Norvell has never been an especially motivated recruiter, especially within the state of Florida. He grew overly reliant on the transfer portal, and as he spun the transfer roulette wheel each offseason, the roster atrophied without a baseline of high school talent to sustain the up-and-downs of the portal market. 

However, that’s exactly why this commitment isn’t about Mike Norvell; because, frankly, he probably won’t be around for the 2027 early signing period, let alone 2028. Even a recruit like Silberzahn, who praised the current coaching staff in his conversation with Kolby Crawford for Noles247, citing his relationships with tight ends coach Chris Thomsen and assistant wide receivers coach Brady White, has to know that the coaching staff will almost certainly be in flux if not this offseason, then the next one. 

A 2028 commitment, which FSU now has two of, Silberzahn and three-star athlete Chayse Brown, is a reflection of Garrett’s long-term plan to rebuild this roster. The newly hired general manager of the Seminoles should be expected to outlast Norvell’s tenure, so you can bet any 2028 recruit that FSU has pushed for an early commitment from is somebody Garrett is a big fan of. 

That’s not to say that “three-star John” is replacing “three-star Mike.” It’s to say that there’s finally a recruiting plan that seems to be resonating with in-state recruits, which Silberzahn and Brown both are, and that getting any player to commit to the uncertainty of what the FSU program is going to be in 2028 is worthy of praise. 

Florida State has largely punted on the 2027 class. Garrett has chosen his battles wisely, including the one over four-star Ta’Shawn Poole, who could become the class's only top-100 commit when he makes his announcement on Friday. But largely, the class has been a wash because of Norvell’s hot seat situation. 

The 2028 class will become an important one, presumably for the Seminoles’ next head coach, but undoubtedly for Garrett, no matter who is roaming the sidelines. He’ll eventually need to cast a wide net, but for now, he seems to be targeting high-upside in-state talent and selling them on his vision. 

A new head coach and a revitalized donor base, which likely go hand-in-hand, are the only path to solving Florida State’s blue-chip problems. For now, Garrett needs to prove his worth as an evaluator with recruits like Silberzahn in both the 2027 and 2028 classes and cement his place as a part of the long-term Florida State plan. That he’s getting anyone to sign up for that is a point in his favor.

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