TIME TO WORRY?
Florida State's 2026 recruiting class is ranked outside the top-20, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. This is not surprising since the Seminoles only have nine commitments in the class now.
This does not mean that you should shout like Chicken Little and state the following: "The sky is falling!" However, as official visitors make their way to Tallahassee this summer, the coaching staff needs to capitalize on the momentum.
SMIGIEL DE-COMMITMENT STINGS
One of the biggest complaints of the class has to come from the quarterback position. Former four-star commit Brady Smigiel backed off of his pledge with Florida State after they hired former UCF head football coach Gus Malzahn to be their offensive coordinator.
It makes perfect sense considering that Smigiel is a pro-style quarterback, and Coach Malzahn emphasizes the importance of running the football. The Seminoles had to pivot to other options, such as five-star Keisean Henderson, four-star Bowe Bentley, four-star Landon Duckworth, and four-star Jaden O'Neal.
Henderson is currently pledged to the Houston Cougars. Bentley decided to narrow his list of options to LSU and Oklahoma, which eliminated Florida State. O'Neal is currently committed to the Oklahoma Sooners, so it could be an uphill battle in his recruitment. Then, Duckworth had crystal ball predictions for the Ole Miss Rebels.
DUCKWORTH DEVELOPMENT
However, it has now changed in Duckworth's recruitment as the South Carolina Gamecocks (who he will be officially visiting this weekend) have moved into the top spot, as On3's Steve Wiltfong put in an expert prediction on Monday afternoon.
This makes me wonder if the Seminoles put more resources into getting him on campus this spring, would Duckworth potentially be leaning toward Florida State? This could mean that the Alabama native could commit to the Gamecocks before he even takes his official visit to the Seminoles.
THOUGHTS
In other words, the coaching staff will have to put all of their eggs into the Jaden O'Neal sweepstakes when he visits on June 15th (and Henderson when he visits on June 9th, if you want to count him). They have to figure out something as they have senior Thomas Castellanos, redshirt sophomore Brock Glenn, and true freshman Kevin Sperry on the roster.
It could be possible that the coaching staff expands the target board, but it becomes more difficult the later in the recruiting cycle that it goes for quarterback prospects.