FSU football: 4 huge reasons FSU poised to stay among top national programs

Best Combination of High School/Transfer Portal Recruiting

Many pundits continue to live in the Stone Age when it comes to acquiring talent. Several suggest(mostly subscription sites that depend on high school recruiting to pay the bills) that schools can only build through high school recruiting. However, the FSU coaching staff has proven that to be false over several recruiting classes. FSU is way ahead of the game, taking smaller high school classes and filling needs with transfer portal players instead of taking large high school classes full of players that will take 2-3 years to develop and get on the field. FSU has found the perfect blend between the two. The defensive end position is a prime example.

FSU has taken two defensive ends via the transfer portal and developed them into first-round NFL Draft picks. They have developed defensive end Patrick Payton from the high school ranks, and he has a great shot of becoming a high NFL Draft pick with a strong 2024 season. FSU has done the same at defensive tackle and other key positions. The blend allowed FSU to close the gap quicker on the field with teams who had more overall talent while also improving the overall talent on the roster. If FSU had not taken this approach, Mike Norvell probably wouldn't be the head coach at FSU right now. This is an approach they will continue to utilize. The portal success helped the product on the field, which helped high school recruiting. However, the results from portal players at FSU has made FSU a destination for top portal players.