A few days ago, I wrote about a new strategy that Mike Norvell and the recruiting staff needed to switch to in this new age of college football. That strategy consisted of concentrating resources on high school players at impact positions who are difficult to acquire in the transfer portal.
The defensive end/EDGE is one of those positions, and it’s great to see that Mike Norvell is putting effort into top players there. Norvell visited 2027 defensive end Frederick Ards III at Jones High School in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday morning.
FSU Head Coach in town to recruit our players. Pictured stand-out Edge Rusher Fred Ards. @FSUFootball @Coach_Norvell pic.twitter.com/thBbNUubWv
— Jones Tigers Football (@JonesHSFootball) January 28, 2026
Ards III released a top-five list that included Florida State a few hours after that:
#AGTG 🙏🏾 https://t.co/361w2o62Uk
— Frederick M Ards III (@behumblefredd) January 28, 2026
Ards III is the No. 96 player and No. 14 EDGE player nationally. He’s the No. 11 player in Florida, standing at 6’5” and 225 pounds.
FSU was the second school to offer him over a year ago. The early offer and visit from Mike Norvell have FSU in strong consideration at this time.
Will FSU sign Ards at the end of this year? Who knows, because how FSU does this season and how much money they are willing to allocate to players will be a big factor in determining the quality of player they can sign.
However, getting in this position early is a good sign. FSU needs to concentrate on that small batch of players at defensive end, defensive tackle, and offensive tackle. The trenches win games, and they can always find defensive backs in their backyard. They can find the rest of the players at different positions in the transfer portal.
We have a our doubts Mike Norvell will turn this ship around, but credit where it's due when he's doing some work.