Former Florida State commit predicted to be a 1st-round pick will haunt fans

Florida State football's high school recruit efforts have been heavily criticized throughout the tenure of head coach Mike Norvell. This isn't a time when I am picking up my pitchfork, but it is worth discussing a matter that has hampered the Seminoles.

The fan base can turn to a time where five-star phenom Travis Hunter (who was committed to Florida State for multiple years) pulls out a stunner on Signing Day and chooses Deion Sanders and Jackson State. This made individuals skeptical about Coach Norvell's philosophy on recruits.

As we know, high school recruiting is a whirlwind. Heck, even the transfer portal landscape is nowadays (just ask Dabo Swinney with the tampering situation).

Florida State fans are upset that Auburn defensive end Keldric Faulk couldn't make a difference in Tallahassee

You win some, and you lose some in high school football recruiting. It is the nature of the beast. Florida State fans got reminded of that mindset just a year later after the Travis Hunter debacle in the 2022 cycle.

The Seminoles had the former Class of 2023 four-star defensive end Keldric Faulk from Highland Home, Alabama, committed since July 5, 2022. This was going to be a talented get for Mike Norvell and this coaching staff since Faulk was considered a top-100 prospect in the 247Sports Composite.

However, the defender held his Signing Day ceremony on December 21, 2022, in Highland Home, Alabama, and decided to flip and sign with the home-state Auburn Tigers. This was devastating for the Seminole fan base, who thought that they would be getting a dominant pass rusher.

To make it worse, NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah released his mock draft for the 2026 NFL Draft, and he projected Keldric Faulk to be selected by the Dallas Cowboys with the 20th overall pick.

This becomes yet another example of a player who could have been in Tallahassee but excelled somewhere else. All this does is have Florida State fans thinking "what if" Keldric Faulk decided to choose Florida State.