![Vanguard Head Football Coach Edwin Farmer, left, talks with Florida State Defensive Back Coach Patrick Surtain, right, Wednesday. The Vanguard Knights held a Spring football practice at Booster Stadium Wednesday afternoon, May 24, 2023 in Ocala, FL. The Knights played Manatee High School in their Spring football matchup. [Doug Engle/Ocala Star Banner]2023](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_1526,h_858/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/270/01jyxvngxdrd6zk2vzk3.jpg "Vanguard Head Football Coach Edwin Farmer, left, talks with Florida State Defensive Back Coach Patrick Surtain, right, Wednesday. The Vanguard Knights held a Spring football practice at Booster Stadium Wednesday afternoon, May 24, 2023 in Ocala, FL. The Knights played Manatee High School in their Spring football matchup. [Doug Engle/Ocala Star Banner]2023")
MAJOR TARGET ANNOUNCES COMMITMENT TIME
Florida State football has had a phenomenal summer thus far, ranking as the ninth-best recruiting class in the 2026 cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite. This is something that the fan base did not expect after the program finished with a 2-10 record last season.
However, the new coaching staff has been able to generate momentum for a class that needed a sense of energy. Florida State finished the 2025 cycle with a bang as they landed several highly-touted prospects.
Fast-forwarding to the 2026 class, they need to continue to do the same in what could be a vital season for head football coach Mike Norvell and the Seminoles.
One target that they have to land is Class of 2026 five-star cornerback target Chauncey Kennon from Booker High School in Sarasota, Florida. Kennon announced on his Instagram account that he will be making his commitment on July 6th at 3:00 PM EST between Florida State, Florida, Georgia, Miami, LSU, and Oregon.
THOUGHTS ON KENNON
This needs to be a slam-dunk recruitment to close out its defensive back class in the 2026 cycle. Assistant coach Patrick Surtain Sr. has been one of the best recruiters on the coaching staff for the Seminoles with landing four-star Jay Timmons, four-star Darryl Bell III, four-star Tedarius Hughes, and three-star Sean Johnson.
Kennon's recruitment reminds me of Charles Lester III's (ironically, both of them are from Sarasota). There are several teams involved in the situation, but the defensive back's top choice looks to be Florida State.
The talented defensive back has several crystal ball predictions in favor of the Seminoles, and there were some individuals who thought he could potentially announce earlier than July 6th. However, he has elected to keep it on the same date.
Overall, this recruitment is what the Seminoles have to finish on and get the five-star defender in their recruiting class so that he can recruit other highly-touted prospects into Florida State's class.