FSU football's coaching staff cannot stop pursuing these recruits in the 2026 cycle

Florida State needs to grab these high school prospects.
FSU football players walk into the first spring practice of the spring season on Wednesday, March 19, 2025
FSU football players walk into the first spring practice of the spring season on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 | Liam Rooney/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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FOUR-STAR IOL DONEL ROBINSON

Florida State has only secured the commitments of three-star offensive tackle Xavier Payne (who is currently on campus for an official visit) and three-star interior offensive lineman Michael Ionata.

I like both prospects, but I expected offensive line coach Herb Hand's recruiting board to be littered with highly-touted prospects, especially since Coach Hand has coaching experience with teams such as Auburn, Texas, Penn State, Vanderbilt, and UCF.

However, Coach Hand's targets, such as four-star Canon Pickett (Miami commit), four-star Zykie Helton (Georgia commit), four-star Tyler Chukuyem (Florida commit), four-star Johnnie Jones (UCLA commit), four-star Samuel Rosenborough (Texas A&M commit), and three-star JJ Sparks (Miami commit) have pledged elsewhere.

There is time for Coach Hand to get his recruiting class, but it is harder to do so when targets are committed to other institutions. I am always hesitant when recruiting Mississippi prospects due to them liking to stay home at Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

However, the Seminoles are hosting four-star interior offensive lineman Donel Robinson from Lexington, Mississippi, where he has only taken an official visit to Baylor. It looks like Florida State could get heavily involved here. like