‘More on the way’ … Which dominoes could fall next for Florida State after Bolden commitment?
Florida State has put the college football world on notice with the commitment of five-star safety KJ Bolden, one week after landing five-star cornerback Charles Lester.
Now the question is what effect this might have on the rest of the recruiting trail for the Seminoles.
“Now that I’m committed, I finally get to recruit other players. It’s a great feeling man,” Bolden said after announcing his commitment Saturday night. “There’s a lot of guys still on the market left, so you know I’m [going to] do my best recruit pitch to get them boys over here.”
The one player the nation’s No. 1 safety mentioned by name was his teammate at Buford, 2025 four-star linebacker and Georgia commit Jadon Perlotte.
Perlotte is rated the fourth-best linebacker in the country and the 38th-best prospect overall, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.
The four-star recently told Dawgs HQ that Bolden’s decision would have a major impact on his own college choice.
“I’m still locked in [with Georgia], but we’ll see where KJ goes,” Perlotte stated. “Where KJ goes, I’ll be there.”
Perlotte was last on the Florida State campus for Elite Camp in June and has shown up on campus multiple times since the spring. Now that his friend and teammate is officially on board, it could cause a severe shift in his recruitment.
“I mean I love everything about this whole thing,” Perlotte stated after his FSU visit in June. “What they do, how they treat each other, it’s just building that relationship with coaches.”
The linebacker specifically raved about position coach Randy Shannon.
“Coach Shannon and I talk all the time. He really knows what he’s talking about,” Perlotte said. “Every day we go to their meetings, it’s always fun. It’s never a boring meeting. … He knows what he’s talking about. He’s coached in the NFL many years, and I just want somebody like that important to me.”
With that as a backdrop and other intel we have gathered, Michael Langston and I have both put in RPM picks in for the Seminoles to flip Perlotte from the Bulldogs.
Another recruit to watch now is five-star wide receiver and Ohio State commit Jeremiah Smith.
Smith is ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the country, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, and visited Florida State last weekend for the Seminole Showcase.
During that visit, Smith seemed to really connect with Florida State’s coaches, particularly head coach Mike Norvell. The blue-chip wide receiver even called the fourth-year Seminoles head coach the best coach in college football. He has since reiterated that statement in interviews with other media outlets.
And other Florida State commits, including Lester and four-star WR Elijah Moore, have said they are working on recruiting the top wide receiver.
And FSU safety commit CJ Heard, who attended Bolden’s commitment ceremony on Saturday, made it clear that the Seminoles still have major targets in their sights.
“Trust the Climb. We went from a negative season to now everyone’s watching, everyone’s scared …,” Heard said. “More on the way. It ain’t done.”
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