FSU DEFENSIVE LINE RECRUITING
Florida State football's 2026 recruiting class has been on fire during the summer. The month of June has been memorable for the Seminoles as they look to capture as many highly-touted prospects as possible.
However, everything good must come to an end eventually. With that said, four-star defensive end target Jamarion Matthews from Gainesville, Georgia, has decided to lock down his recruitment with the Alabama Crimson Tide. This is not ideal since five-star linebacker target Xavier Griffin (who is also Matthews's teammate and is deciding today) has been crystal-balled to Alabama.
Assistant coach Terrance Knighton has had a nice recruiting haul with four-star James Carrington, four-star Tico Crittendon, and three-star Wihtlley Cadeau. Those are some talented prospects, but I would like to see the Seminoles grab more pass rushers.
THOUGHTS
Florida State doesn't have many uncommitted options at defensive end in the 2026 cycle with three-star Chris Addison, three-star Keysaun Eleazer, and three-star Katrell Webb. They let other targets commit to other schools, such as four-star Tristian Givens (Texas A&M), four-star Jamarion Matthews (Alabama), four-star Zavion Griffin-Haynes (North Carolina), four-star Cam Brooks (California), and three-star Kamron Wilson (Syracuse).
This has been something that has been worrisome along the offensive and defensive lines. The position coaches do not have backup plans available for when things go wrong in recruitments with top wants, so their target boards aren't as full.
Overall, I wish that they would have been more heavily into recruiting options such as four-star Zavion Griffin-Hayes and three-star Kamron Wilson because I believe that they would have been attainable gets with frames that they could grow into.
Overall, I hope that Coach Knighton grabs three-star Chris Addison and then resets the target board with talented options so that the Seminoles could have a chance with prospects if the product on the field is solid in 2025.