If you're reading this, it's not excuses for Mike Norvell's recruiting, but the simple reality as an FSU fan. Fans love to harken back to the days of Jimbo Fisher stacking top 10 recruiting classes on top of one another(though most of that talent got wasted in the later years).
Because Jimbo Fisher did it 12-15 years ago, and Bobby Bowden used to swoop in at the last minute and flip elite players 30+ years ago, fans extrapolate that those things should continue happening because it's Florida State.
The reality? The recruiting game is light-years different than peak Bowden, and night and day different than peak Jimbo Fisher.
I'm not sure most FSU fans realize why Fisher recruited at such a high level early on. Sure, he worked hard and hired a bunch of young guys who slept and ate recruiting. However, he had A LOT of factors in his favor that are not the same nowadays.
- Miami was on probation and not serious about football when Jimbo Fisher took over at FSU.
- Urban Meyer retired after Jimbo's first year at FSU, and they became unserious about football for a long time.
- Dabo Swinney at Clemson wasn't what Clemson became yet.
- Nick Saban hadn't established Alabama as Alabama yet
- Georgia was good, but they were not what they became under Kirby Smart.
- Teams like Ohio State and others were not raiding the Sunshine State like they do now.
- The SEC love fest wasn't full-blown yet, and the ACC still had some inkling of respectability.
- There was no transfer portal.
All of those factors contributed to Jimbo Fisher's recruiting success at FSU. He was a new head coach who had won a national title as an OC with Nick Saban.
FSU was behind the times under Bowden, and Fisher updated many things to make FSU different. It was almost like a guy who was incredibly out of shape, who started working out and eating right for the first time in his life and seeing results quickly.
However, as time went on, those recruiting classes under Fisher became less and less dynamic and full of filler players to boost rankings(quantity over quality). He missed on quarterbacks, and the offensive line was awful. He failed to develop players and allowed Dabo Swinney to pass him by in the ACC.
At the same time, the dynamics shifted with teams outside of Florida coming south to raid the Sunshine State of its top talent. Saban took Alabama to new heights and Kirby Smart got hired at Georgia doing the same. Those are two programs FSU directly competes with for talent, along with Florida, Miami, Auburn, LSU, and Clemson.
The perception of the ACC changed over time as FSU fell off, and Clemson was the only elite team in the conference. The SEC love fest began, making it harder for teams in other leagues to secure top talent because they all wanted to go to the SEC. Clemson has had one top-10 class since 2022.
I don't have to go into the impact of the transfer portal on recruiting.
Miami emerged in recruiting under Mario Cristobal, but as I've pointed out several times on social media, those classes are more like the later classes under Jimbo Fisher at FSU. All of their impact players were from the transfer portal last year despite the high-ranking recruiting classes.
Florida has had high-ranking classes, but they have the allure of the SEC behind them and lots of resources.
If I'm trying to sell you a Corvette (ACC) and you're in the market looking for a Lambo(SEC), you're probably not going to give much thought to the Corvette.
FSU has resources, but there are lots of factors contributing to the difficulty of attracting elite talent now that wasn't there under Fisher. It's not an excuse, and it's up to Mike Norvell to figure it out, winning on the field in 2025, coupled with knowing FSU will leave the ACC in short order, should change things drastically.
Just because a car was the fastest in 2012 doesn't mean it'll stay that way because things change. The car gets older, technology evolves, and the competition adapts.
The standard is the standard, but understand it's not the same world for FSU now as it was 10-15 years ago and you have to adapt or get left behind. FSU is adapting with looking to leave the ACC, building a stand alone football facility, and renovating Doak Campbell Stadium.
Now Mike Norvell has to figure out how to bridge that gap on the field and in recruiting until FSU finds a new conference home.