My wish for Mike Norvell to focus more on recruiting in-state and in Georgia has come to fruition over the past couple of years. FSU saw 763 percent of its 2023 high school recruiting class consist of players from Georgia and Florida.
The percentage was 78 percent in 2024, and it was 77.2 percent in 2025. FSU coaches have increased that percentage in the 2026 cycle with 22 commits.
The Noles have 18 players from Georgia or Florida in this recruiting cycle (81.8 percent), and nearly all but one of their top targets remaining are from those two states. That's most of the fertile recruiting area Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher used to win a national title.
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Mike Norvell and staff didn't have many recruiting ties to the southeast when he took the job in December 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic paused the opportunity to build inroads within the area.
However, Mike Norvell has members on his coaching staff with ties to these important areas and it's paying off.
How Does FSU Improve?
The next step is getting a higher-caliber player overall from these two states. FSU has no problem getting blue-chip talent, boasting blue-chip ratios well north of 60 percent over the past few recruiting cycles.
FSU has one top 100 player in its 2026 recruiting class and two more inside the top 150. They have a few in the 200-250 range and the rest from 250-350 range.
Let's take a program like Notre Dame that has 21 blue-chip players. They don't have any five-star players but have five players inside the top 100. They have another seven blue-chip players ranked between No. 101 and 200.
That's the difference between the No. 11 and the No. 4 recruiting class nationally(Notre Dame also has three more commits overall).
FSU could flip some blue-chip players if they exceed expectations this year, but this recruiting class is nearly complete. The 2027 recruiting class is where they will need to see these improvements.