FSU football: 4-star DE Javion Hilson flips from Alabama to Florida State

FSU football has constructed a solid 2025 recruiting class thus far with five-star offensive lineman Solomon Thomas, four-star quarterback Tramell Jones Jr., and four-star linebacker Ethan Pritchard. However, the coaching staff is far from finished when it comes to acquiring other highly-touted prospects this cycle.

On Tuesday, Class of 2025 four-star defensive end target Javion Hilson flipped his commitment from Alabama to Florida State.

We discussed that the Crimson Tide are having to replace legendary head football coach Nick Saban, and the Seminoles are trying to take advantage of former Washington head football coach Kalen DeBoer to fill in the shoes of Saban.

Florida State has already acquired five transfer portal prospects from Alabama's roster with running back Roydell Williams, wide receiver Malik Benson, interior offensive lineman Terrence "TJ" Ferguson II, linebacker Shawn Murphy, and cornerback Earl Little Jr.

However, the Seminoles are also reaping the benefits via the recruiting trail where they are gaining momentum on a prospect like five-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench, who de-committed from the Crimson Tide lately. It will be interesting to see where Ffrench goes from there since his high school quarterback (Tramell Jones Jr.) is committed to Florida State.

This comes as a surprise with Hilson committed to the Seminoles. He had been pledged to Alabama since December 8, 2023. This was massive for Florida State to acquire such a dominant pass rusher. Hilson is considered as the fourth-best defensive end in the 247Sports rankings.

He holds over 31 offers from schools such as Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, and Ohio State. In the 2024 recruiting cycle, the Seminoles currently have only one defensive end prospect in four-star DD Holmes. Defensive ends coach John Papuchis certainly was able to land a monumental get for the 2025 cycle. Now, it comes down to keep him committed in the class.