FSU RECRUITING
Cue up the "Hello darkness, my old friend" because the Florida State Seminoles have been ice cold on the recruiting front. It should not be all bad news, as the Seminoles rank as the 15th-best recruiting class according to 247Sports Composite.
However, Florida State has received a negative development as Class of 2026 four-star offensive tackle Wilson Zierer from Rabun Gap, Georgia, has received crystal ball predictions in favor of the Auburn Tigers on Tuesday.
This isn't good, as the offensive tackle target was someone that they valued in the recruiting class. It is unfortunate that the Seminoles only have interior offensive linemen in the fold with Jakobe Green, Michael Ionata, and Luke Francis.
DO WE TRUST HERB HAND?
There have been a couple of instances where prospects have gone in a different direction as offensive line coach Herb Hand. However, does that mean that we lose hope in Coach Hand?
In my opinion, the answer is no. He has years of Power Four experience and has a proof of concept. I know that the Seminole fan base knows to see instant impact, but it will take some time to get the right players into the position group to make it an above-average unit.
While I don't want to point fingers at the previous regime of assistant coaches, there is a reason why Coach Hand elected to go to the transfer portal to get possibly four immediate starters. The offense will look entirely different as a whole, so I hope that recruits can witness that and express excitement that the Seminoles did have for recruits in 2024.
Overall, it is a bummer that Florida State could miss out on Zierer for Auburn after head football coach Mike Norvell has been putting Hugh Freeze in a locker this entire recruiting cycle, but I get the legacy connection that the offensive lineman prospect has with his brother playing there.