FSU's biggest recruiting what-ifs of the Mike Norvell era that could have changed everything

It feels as though it’s just a matter of time before the Mike Norvell era at Florida State comes to an end. If he fails to turn things around in 2026 and save his job, one of the biggest things fans will point to as the reason it all fell apart is his lack of recruiting dominance. They may even point directly back to these three recruiting losses that could have changed everything if they went the other way. 

3. Keldric Faulk, 2023 4-star DL, No. 75 overall player

Keldric Faulk never quite reached five-star status in the 2023 class, but at 6-foot-6, 270 pounds, he was oozing with potential to be a game-wrecker on the defensive line. This spring, the Tennessee Titans bet big on that upside, selecting Faulk in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. 

Faulk was committed to Florida State from July 2022 through to a signing day flip to Auburn, which you’ll notice is a trend among these ‘what ifs.’ Faulk could have featured immediately on FSU’s dominant 2023 defensive line, spelling Jared Verse on the outside, or sliding inside for pass-rush reps next to Braden Fiske. By 2024, he would have been the focal point for the Seminoles in the trenches, making everyone’s life easier by drawing double teams and dominating as a run defender. 

2. K.J. Bolden, 2024 5-star S, No. 15 overall player

K.J. Bolden hasn’t necessarily established himself as a household name just yet, but he’s already a stalwart for Kirby Smart’s defense. Bolden played 596 snaps as a true sophomore last season, the second most on Georgia’s defense, and was second on the team with 76 tackles. A downhill run defender with decent coverage chops, Bolden is one of the surest tackles in the SEC. At FSU, he would have made a dominant pairing with Earl Little Jr. in 2025 and been a queen on the chessboard for Tony White. 

Bolden committed to Florida State in 2023, and even after the Seminoles rolled to a 13-0 record, Bolden flipped to Georgia on signing day. Norvell still managed to sign the No. 12 class in the country with four top-100 recruits, but none of Charles Lester III, Luke Kromenhoek, Cai Bates, or Kam Davis has come anywhere close to Bolden’s level of success. Only Lester is still in Tallahassee two years later. 

1. Travis Hunter, 2021 5-star ATH, No. 1 overall player

It was obvious from early in his high school career, and maybe even for those who watched him play before that, that Travis Hunter was simply different. Florida State recognized it early and got its next Deion Sanders to commit in March 2020, during Mike Norvell’s first offseason. He remained committed for 21 months, right up until early signing day, December 15, 2021, when he made the historic decision to join Deion Sanders at Jackson State. 

It feels a bit hyperbolic to say that if Hunter lands with Florida State, everything is different, but everything might be different because he lived up to every expectation, eventually winning the 2024 Heisman Trophy as a two-way star the likes of which the sport has never seen. Immediately, Mike Norvell would have cemented himself as an elite recruiter with a dominant class in his second recruiting cycle that would have been blossoming right about the time he fully tapped the power of the Transfer Portal to assemble the 10-win team in 2022 and the undefeated 13-0 team in 2023. 

Instead, Hunter, along with top-100 wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr., spurned the Seminoles to play for the program’s biggest legend. Norvell never planted his flag as a developer of elite talent, and Florida State became overly reliant on portal talent without a steady stream of high school recruits to provide a baseline for the roster. Though the greatest moments of it came afterwards and it’s not technically over yet, Hunter’s signing day flip was the fork in the road for Norvell’s tenure.

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