Early Sunday morning, we wrote about the potential for Florida State defensive back commit Dayon Cooper to decommit from the Noles after taking an official visit to the in-state Tennessee Volunteers.
That decommitment came to fruition a few hours later, as Cooper made the announcement on his social media network:
After much thought and prayers with my family I have decided to decommit from @FSUFootball Thank you to the staff & coaches for recruiting me & making me feel welcomed the past 4 months during my 3 visits to campus. #ThePitt @SPHSPIRATES @SPCoachStone @StephenHargis pic.twitter.com/555ofjk1LU
— Dayon“DAYDAY”Cooper⭐️ (@DayonCooper2027) June 14, 2026
Tennessee is trending for Dayon Cooper after FSU de-commitment
It doesn’t come as a surprise, obviously, since we wrote the article earlier this morning. Some Florida State fans will take it as negative news, but that’s not necessarily the case, since he wanted to play a position that FSU(and most programs) didn’t think was the best use of his abilities(wide receiver).
Florida State took several wide receivers in last year’s recruiting class and will likely be very selective with who they take in this recruiting cycle when it comes to the receiver position. Tennessee must have convinced him that they would give him a legitimate shot to play more on offense, and it’s much closer to home than Tallahassee.
This recruitment was fairly black and white, as Cooper expressed his desire to play on offense, and Florida State was straight up with their plan for him.
After much thought and prayers with my family I have decided to decommit from @FSUFootball Thank you to the staff & coaches for recruiting me & making me feel welcomed the past 4 months during my 3 visits to campus. #ThePitt @SPHSPIRATES @SPCoachStone @StephenHargis pic.twitter.com/555ofjk1LU
— Dayon“DAYDAY”Cooper⭐️ (@DayonCooper2027) June 14, 2026
Cooper wants to play on offense and FSU viewed him more as a defensive back
I mentioned in the earlier piece that it’s difficult for high school receivers to transition to college and make an impact in year one. It’s much easier to get on the field as a defensive back in the right scheme. It would probably be at least a year or two before Cooper would get on the field if he came to FSU as a defensive back. Florida State also has some talented defensive backs taking official visits next week, and they can look to fill Cooper’s spot with one of those guys, if not other targets.
The defensive back room isn’t one I worry too much about, because defensive backs are easy to find in Florida State’s backyard. It’s the trenches on defense that dictate things, and Florida State looks to make a concerted effort to get more talent on its defensive front. The lack of a pass rush over the past two years has made the secondary look worse than it is, so that should be the priority.
FSU is trending with some of its top defensive linemen targets in Sam LeJeune and Jason Lewis. They already have a couple of solid commits on the defensive line. Florida State got its first wide receiver commit within the last week and will likely only take a couple more in this 2027 recruiting cycle.
I know Florida State fans are tired of the negative vibes with players decommitting, but I think this situation with Cooper is a good old-fashioned recruitment. He was respectful in his decommitment and handled everything the right way without all the games we’ve seen from some other players in this recruiting cycle.
Florida State has nine commits and ranks No. 55 overall, but that could change if some of the top targets they are trending with decide to announce their commitments. Stay tuned to Chopchat for more recruiting news and analysis, as Mike Norvell and Florida State try to raise this recruiting class to respectability.
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