FSU is on No. 1 recruit Brysen Wright’s radar, but his father’s quote says otherwise

There’s a good chance that the No. 1 player in the country in the 2028 class is from Florida. There are a few in-state contenders for it, but right now, five-star wide receiver Brysen Wright from Mandarin High School holds the distinction. Unlike Jeremiah Smith, the last top overall recruit to hail from Florida, who left for Ohio State, it seems there’s a decent chance he stays home. 

Right now, of the five top contenders for Wright’s commitment, three are the familiar faces from the Sunshine State: Florida, Miami, and yes, even Florida State. They’re expected to slug it out with Ohio State and Texas. 

However, despite being included in the Rivals graphic and ostensibly having a chance, Wright’s father laid out what it will take to land his son, and their priority makes it seem impossible for the Seminoles to come out on top. 

“We’re looking for something he wants to be part of. Proof of concept is more important than the recruiting things people do,” Wright’s father told Steve Wiltfong of Rivals. 

Brysen Wright is looking for proof of concept and FSU has anything but

If you’re looking for proof of concept, you should look far away from Tallahassee. You’d be hard-pressed to find an athletic department that misread the NIL era worse than Florida State under the leadership of athletic director Michael Alford. 

Rather than beefing up his NIL operation to pay the talent, Alford spent big on a new football facility and stadium upgrades, the type of thing that used to attract players before they could be paid directly. Then, he doubled down, believing that the revenue-sharing cap created by the House v. NCAA settlement could be a hard cap, cutting out third-party NIL deals entirely. 

In 2023, Norvell struck oil in the Transfer Portal, loading up before the rest of the country understood how valuable a tool it was for reloading a roster in a single offseason. Then, as costs ballooned in the portal, often far beyond what it took to land high school recruits or retain homegrown talent, he spun the portal roulette wheel again and went bust. 

Since that 2023 undefeated season, Florida State has been flailing, and now it enters 2026 icing out its head coach on the recruiting trail and keeping its financial resources stockpiled to pay his massive buyout. 

To Alford’s credit, he helped spearhead a front office overhaul with new general manager John Garrett running things to provide some sense of long-term stability and vision for recruits to believe in, but that’s hardly a concept and not one with any proof. Especially not compared to Miami, Ohio State, and Texas, all of which have played in the College Football Playoff in at least one of the last two seasons. 

Florida State’s concept is likely to pay Norvell’s buyout after this season and wipe the slate clean, aside from the select few recruits who Garrett has added in a limited 2027 class. Then, hire a new head coach who can invigorate the donor base and finally dive into the modern era headfirst. It’s not a bad plan. It’s just not good enough to convince an elite recruit who could go anywhere in the country.

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