FSU football: Thoughts on Josh Petty's visit before commitment date

FSU football landed two monster high school offensive line targets in its 2025 recruiting class. Five-star Solomon Thomas and blue-chip Peyton Joesph, the Noles are set on one more in four-star Josh Petty. FSU has been among the leaders in his recruitment, but Georgia Tech has made a charge lately, getting him on campus for a visit this weekend. It was the same weekend FSU had several commits and other players on campus, and appeared Georgia Tech would get the last visit before he announced his decision on August 12th. However, Nole247 reported Petty would visit FSU on Sunday and he followed through with those plans. FSU getting Petty on campus after visiting Georgia Tech is a big deal. He spoke about the visit before leaving campus:

Thoughts

It appears FSU does what it always does with high-priority targets. Petty voiced he got the same vibes as when he officially visited, which is around the same time folks felt FSU led for his commitment. Petty's sister is enrolled at FSU, and that's something other schools can't offer. I'm sure other schools will offer competitive or even better NIL packages, but I don't think that'll be a deal-breaker unless some school goes way outside the norm. Georgia Tech is literally in his backyard and has great academics. However, they have a ways to go before they compete at an elite level in football if they can ever get there. The development of Darius Washington and Maurice Smith by FSU offensive line coach Alex Atkins can't be denied, and the FSU offense puts up great numbers every year. In past years, players visiting campus multiple times or when they visited was something we could point to as a tale-tell sign. It doesn't mean what it used to, but I think FSU getting Petty to visit was a chance to address any concerns Georgia Tech or others may have put in his ear since he was on campus last. If FSU landed Petty, it would likely complete offensive line recruiting from the high school ranks. It would give FSU three offensive linemen in the top 10 nationally. We'll find out if they did enough on August 12th.