Mike Norvell entered 2026 with a lot to prove, and after starting 1-1 with a sloppy loss to SMU in Week 1, saving his job and holding together Florida State’s 2027 recruiting class is looking even less likely. Though there haven’t been any decommitments yet, you can already see it coming apart at the seams in 4-star safety Za’Kari Johnson’s troubling comments after his Thursday night visit to Miami.
“I’d love to be a Cane, man,” the Opa Locka, Florida native said after Miami’s 77-7 drubbing of Florida A&M at Hard Rock Stadium. That quote came just days after he called Miami his “dream school” ahead of the visit.
This summer, the Seminoles landed his commitment in July, soon after he reclassified from the 2028 class. Now it seems he’s slipping away. And if Norvell’s tenure continues to barrel towards its long-awaited conclusion, he won’t be the only member of the 17-player No. 34-ranked class to look elsewhere.
If Miami wants Za’Kari Johnson, it seems the Canes can have him
Johnson’s visit to Hard Rock Stadium came days after a gameday trip to Tallahassee for the Seminoles’ ACC opener. That visit couldn’t have gone worse for Norvell and his staff, holding on for a close loss that could have been significantly more lopsided after a lengthy power outage delay.
Texas A&M and Auburn are also seemingly in the race to flip Johnson from FSU, but it’s unlikely he calls either of those programs his “dream school,” so despite currently being committed to the Noles, it’s hard to say the Canes aren’t the favorite to land him on signing day in December.
Miami’s class is stacked, ranked No. 2 in the country and led by a similar two-way athlete in A’mir Sears. Sears appears locked in with Mario Cristobal’s program, so it wouldn’t be likely that Johnson is a backup plan. As the No. 344 player in the country by 247Sports, it’s hard to imagine Miami doesn’t have room for him in the class, so it's frankly a surprise a flip hasn’t come already. It makes you wonder if the delay is on the Miami side, or if Johnson is working to drive up his price in negotiations.
If Florida State wants to keep him, it will likely have to pay a premium because, considering the state of the program, there isn’t a player in the country interested in taking a discount to come to Tallahassee. That may change once a seemingly inevitable coaching change is made, which is another reason that FSU may just want to rip the band-aid off if Norvell falls to 1-2 in Week 3 with a loss to Alabama.
If a current commit openly professing his love for your biggest conference rival isn’t enough to catalyze change, maybe a drubbing in Tuscaloosa will be.
Florida State’s revolving door at DB may continue to swing
Currently, defensive back is still the strength of FSU’s 2027 class, which is a good thing considering the current state of Tony White’s pass defense. However, it’s been a long and winding road to get there, as Mekhi Williams flipped to Wisconsin and Dayon Cooper flipped to Tennessee, where he’ll play wide receiver.
Johnson’s arrival helped to offset those losses, and Ta’Shawn Poole’s arrival nullified them. However, if Johnson flips, FSU will need to hold on to Poole, its top-ranked commit and the No. 6 safety in the country, for dear life while searching for a flip target to replace Johnson, which will not be easy, regardless of who the head coach is in Tallahassee come early signing day.
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