Seminole Showcase: Three Things To Watch during key recruiting weekend for Florida State
Along with today’s Spring Showcase, which will feature members of the 2023 Florida State football team squaring off in the annual spring scrimmage, this weekend also will be extremely important for the Seminoles’ recruiting efforts.
Mike Norvell and his staff will be hosting dozens of recruits, including several committed prospects and other top targets. (See list of expected visitors)
To help get you ready for the big day, here are Three Things To Watch this weekend.
*ALSO SEE: Live Updates on Saturday’s visitors
1. Commit watch for Florida State spring game
During our interview with Florida State QB commit Luke Kromenhoek on Friday night, he hinted that the Seminoles could be getting a couple of commitments this weekend. Here’s a look at some of the candidates I feel are ones to keep an eye on for the Seminoles to add onto what is already a solid class.
Four-star OL Jason Zandamela
This one should not come as a surprise to Seminole fans as things have been trending very strongly for Florida State here. The four-star interior prospect has consistently raved about his relationship with FSU offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Alex Atkins. He was on the verge of pulling the trigger for the Seminoles on the last visit he made this spring and has even indicated he would like to decide before July. So all that matches up to where he might decide to end it this weekend if everything clicks on the visit.
Zandamela is coveted at the center position, and that’s one of the more important positions for Florida State in this class. Zandamela also visited Miami, which is another team in the mix, but we like where FSU sits coming into this visit.
Four-star WR James Madison
The St. Thomas Aquinas standout has been quite the regular around Florida State, and I think the Seminoles sit in a good position with this recruitment coming into the visit. Madison made it clear how unique and special it is every time he’s on the FSU campus. He is extremely high on the Seminoles’ staff.
Madison does have other schools very much in the picture, including Georgia and Miami, but Florida State has really established itself as the team to watch in this recruitment. The four-star receiver has stated a few times that he would like to make a decision before his senior season if possible.
Four-star WR BJ Gibson
This is another one I will keep an eye on. Gibson has stated he would like to take some official visits before deciding before his high school season starts, but it wouldn’t shock me if he jumped on board with Florida State if this visit goes well. He has visited FSU more than any school, probably around eight or nine times, and he grew up a fan of the ‘Noles. Another plus is the tradition of Florida State Baseball; that is an attraction to Gibson even though this season has not been positive.
*Two more to keep an eye on*
Four-star DB Jamari Howard
While highly regarded national recruit Charles Lester has been the biggest name for Florida State at the defensive back position, Howard is another highly coveted target for the FSU staff. While it’s not expected coming into this visit that Howard flips from his verbal commitment from Michigan State, he’s one I’m still keeping an eye on. He has taken quite the liking to new Florida State defensive backs coach Patrick Surtain. With that said. there’s a lot of in-state competition with both Florida and Miami heavily involved, although I consider the Gators the biggest threat at this point. The fact that he’s coming back for another visit this spring and likely a multiple-day visit speaks to the interest level. He is already set to officially visit FSU this summer, so there’s a good amount of momentum in this one.
Three-star OL Tye Hylton
While he might only be a three-star prospect currently, this is a target that Florida State really seems to want, and based on the intel around the Hylton camp, the feeling is mutual on how he views the FSU program. I feel Florida State is the leader in this recruitment, and I think with a little push, he’s a guy that could decide earlier than expected.
2. Impact on other top targets
Even if Florida State doesn’t land several commitments, this still stands to be an important visit weekend for the Class of 2024 and beyond.
One of the intriguing prospects expected is four-star offensive tackle Manasse Itete, who to my knowledge is making his first trip to FSU. This kind of setting will be huge for the Seminoles to show something unique to Itete, who has already visited some big[time programs. One of the big threats for FSU is a familiar one in Miami, which Itete has seen before. Utah, FSU and Miami have been the teams mentioned the most in this recruitment, and all three will get official visits.
The Seminoles will also host one of the premier defensive ends in the country this weekend when four-star standout Dylan Stephenson makes yet another visit to FSU. This is like his sixth or seventh trip, and this is going to be a vital visit to show off the spring game setting. I feelthis trip is mostly about seeing how defensive ends coach John Papuchis works with his guys and how Stephenson would fit into this system at Florida State. This is still a close FSU-Miami battle, and the fact that the ‘Noles are getting him on campus the same weekend that Miami has its spring game certainly doesn’t hurt the ‘Noles’ chances.
Three more important targets this weekend are four-star TE Kylan Fox, four-star DB Ricardo Jones and 2025 four-star LB Jadon Perlotte. All three are highly coveted.
I will start with Fox, who I think is the most likely addition to the 2024 class among these prospects. FSU sits in a good spot with UCF also heavily in the mix. Still, FSU has plenty of ties in this recruitment with Fox originally being from Valdosta, Ga., and knowing Tate Rodemaker and new FSU tight end Jaheim Bell.
The four-star tight end is loving what Florida State is doing with big receivers and athletic tight ends, and that is one of the reasons FSU is at the top of the list currently, according to intel close to both sides. He’s one I was close to putting on commit watch, but since he’s pretty set on official visits, I decided to wait on that.
Ricardo Jones’ visit seems even more important now that four-star DB Jordan Pride decommitted from Florida State and looks likely heading to Florida. There’s a strong need at this position. Auburn has been considered the favorite in this recruitment, so this is the weekend where the ‘Noles really need to knock it out of the park. Anything less than a huge surge here feels like this one is going to be tough to pull off.
Lastly, there is Perlotte, one of the best linebackers in the 2025 class. In his last visit earlier this spring, the talented linebacker was blown away by what he saw on the visit and the personal connections he had to the Florida State staff. He’s also been high on FSU for a long time. While he’s committed to Georgia, it is very clear at this stage that FSU looks to be the biggest threat in that recruitment. FSU needs some big-time talent at the linebacker position, so a very positive weekend for this visit is essential.
3. Locking down the commits
As you likely saw late Friday or this morning, Luke Kromenhoek has shut things down and is locked in with the Seminoles.
That was going to be one of the big things I wanted to see this weekend from him and four-star running back Kam Davis. We knew they were both very comfortable in their pledges and there much concern from Florida State regarding their commitments. Still, to fully get this recruiting momentum to explode, the ‘Noles need their two top recruiters in this 2024 class to say they are locking things down.
Every recruit has to do what’s best for them, and no one cam blame Davis if he doesn’t, but it would be huge if he could make a similar statement to Kromenhoek.
One last thing I’m going to keep an eye on his how things go this weekend with new 2025 quarterback commitment Tramell Jones visiting at the same time as fellow 2025 four-star QB Carter Smith. We know FSU has coveted Jones the most, still, it’s something to watch as far as how they both feel about visiting at the same time.
*Here’s a look at the expected visitors for the FSU spring game*
Stay connected with Warchant all weekend for spring game recruiting coverage.
***Discuss this article with FSU fans on the Premium Recruiting Board.***
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