In late September, Florida State Seminoles offensive line recruit Richy Klepal was forced to give up football due to serious complications from concussions.
Florida State football recruiting: with three recruits lost in a month, is it time to panic?
Florida State football recruiting seems to be in a state of flux. Two decommitments in as many days, and a four-star offensive line recruit is forced to give up football has some Florida State fans panicking. Should it?
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Wednesday night, elite receiver recruit Tony Stevens decommitted from Florida State, saying that other schools were showing him more love and offering more. The decommitment came as a surprise, given that Florida State discovered Stevens before he was a top recruit, offered him early, and also holds a commitment from his teammate Ro’Derrick Hoskins.
Thursday morning, tight end Christian Morgan decommitted from Florida State because the school was just too far from his home in Plano, Texas.
It hasn’t been a great month of recruiting for Florida State.
But it’s not time to panic.
Tony Stevens is a big loss because he is an excellent player. But Florida State is loaded at receiver, in good position for top receiver Stacy Coley, and might not want to (and certainly does not need to) take that many receivers anyway. Plus, there is some chance FSU will get Stevens back in the fold.
Morgan is also a good prospect, and fits what Florida State is looking for from the tight end position in this cycle quite well. But he won’t make or break the recruiting class.
Florida State will likely pursue Auburn tight end recruit Ashard Jackson, though he is more of a receiving tight end, where Morgan is more of a blocker. Atlanta tight end Greg Taboada, a three-star, is also a strong possibility.
Ultimately, Florida State’s recruiting class sits at 16 commitments, about half of which are rated as four-stars.
Florida State plans to take a full class (at least 25 signees), and is squarely in the picture for many top recruits who are not going to commit until after they finish their senior seasons, including Booker T. Washington five-star linebacker Matthew Thomas.
The Noles are also strongly in the hunt for top running back Alex Collins, currently a Miami commitment, offensive tackle Denver Kirkland, defensive end Za’Darius Smith, will receive a visit from Florida defensive tackle Caleb Brantley, and is likely laying in the weeds on some other committed recruits as well.
It would be a surprise if the Seminoles, currently ranked No. 3 nationally in the polls, don’t close out this recruiting class with a flurry and finish in the top ten, perhaps the top five. That’s particularly true if the team keeps playing well on the field and stays in the national spotlight.
