FSU football: Recruiting relationships going to pay dividends second time around?

FSU football coaches showed the ability to make top five lists of top players and get them on campus while building relationships, only to finish second-fiddle to high-ranked programs before the 2022 season. The players hadn't seen FSU prove they belonged among the top teams and chose to go with the proven track records. However, the last two seasons have given Mike Norvell and the coaching staff some built-in cache with their success on the field. FSU has gone 23-5, including a 19-game winning streak since the 2022 season. Top players who signed elsewhere are entering the transfer portal with FSU as an option. Those relationships already paid off once, with former five-star defensive end Marvin Jones Jr. committing to the Noles after entering the transfer portal.

His best friend from the same recruiting cycle, Earl Little Jr., plans to visit FSU after entering the portal this week. Jones Jr. ranked No. 24 nationally, and Earl Little ranked as the No. 106 player nationally in the 2022 recruiting cycle. FSU is in the mix for former blue-chip wide receiver Jalen Brown. Brown ranked as the No. 68 player in the 2023 recruiting class. There are two common denominators with these players. They all were top 100 players from Florida, whom FSU was in the mix for until the end as they signed with college programs out of high school. Jones Jr. met a huge need at defensive end.

Defensive back and wide receiver are not necessarily must-haves, especially the latter. However, FSU coaches continue to meet roster needs while improving the overall talent on the roster. Are their current players on the roster less talented than Little and Brown? Absolutely, and FSU must continue to stockpile top players with multiple years of eligibility. Hopefully, these relationships built over the past couple of recruiting cycles begin to cash on the recruiting trails. The players don't have long to decide, with spring classes beginning soon. If FSU can add these types guys, it would help offset some recruiting misses from the past couple of years. If FSU can add players like this, it could force some guys to enter the transfer portal, but that's the name of the game nowadays. It's all about talent acquisition to increase the ceiling and roster depth.