Florida State Football Recruiting Updates 2012-13

The 5’10 Green runs a 4.42 40, speed that’s made him an elite prospect. He’s considered the No. 3 running back in the nation by both Rivals and ESPN, and is a consensus four-star recruit. When SB Nation recruiting analyst Bud Elliott wrote up the running back’s commitment for Seminoles blog Tomahawk Nation, he gushed about Green’s effortless talent:

As for his strength, Eliott wrote that it needs work, but also quoted another recruiting writer who heard a story about Green breaking a running back’s ribs while playing cornerback in practice.

Keith Bryant, a defensive tackle from Atlantic High School (FL), committed on National Signing Day to play for the Seminoles. Bryant came down to Florida State and Miami, but ultimately decided that FSU was the place to be. He had originally been a Hurricanes commitment before re-opening his recruitment in December.

Ratings: Bryant is considered a four-star prospect by 247Sports and Rivals.

As expected, the Florida State Seminoles landed five-star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, securing the longtime USC commitment over the Trojans and Florida Gators.

Ramsey had been a tenuous commitment to the Trojans -- at best -- for months, and was heavily considering the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles as well. Florida State’s coaching staff had been told that Ramsey will sign with the Seminoles.

A fine week for Bret Bielema so far, with RB Alex Collins also committing on Monday night.

That move by the Hurricanes created a bit of a stir, as Kirkland’s high school coach was extremely displeased with Miami for the way it handled the situation. But as State of The U wrote after the incident, Kirkland may simply have misjudged the whole thing:

The Ole Miss Rebels have pulled in another highly regarded recruit, this time signing offensive tackle Austin Golson. The consensus four-star recruit from Prattville (Ala.) High School went with the Rebels after a long commitment to Florida State, which he broke off on Jan. 28.

At 6’6”, 285 lbs, Golson is already a big kid, and he has the frame to add more weight and strength. However, despite his size, he has very good feet and is quick off the ball. He’ll need to add some more strength, but that shouldn’t be too much of an issue considering his physical potential.

Highly-regarded defensive end prospect DeMarcus Walker, from Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville, FL, switched his commitment from Alabama to Florida State in early January. Walker is considered a four-star prospect by Rivals and the third-best strongside defensive end in the 2013 class.

According to Rivals, Walker is 6’6 and weighs 280 pounds. He ran the 40 in 5.04 seconds and has a 31-inch vertical.

Levenberry has ideal size for an inside linebacker recruit at 6’3 and 227 pounds. Curiously, some services rate him as an outside linebacker. Regardless, every service rates him as one of the top 25 linebackers nationally.

I do feel that Levenberry is a bit overrated by some, however, because he has been a known commodity since his freshman season. There is a strong tendency to rate a kid highly when he has been a good player for a long time, and perhaps a tendency to disregard whether a player is not continuing to improve at a steady clip. That said, he is still a very good recruit.

As National Signing Day nears, the usual suspects in the ACC are poised to bring in the league’s best recruiting hauls. Florida State, which signed a top-10 class last year, is ranked in Rivals’ top 20 for 2013 (UPDATE: the Jalen Ramsey flip has FSU up to No. 13); Virginia Tech and Clemson are also in the top 20.

The Seminoles and Tigers continue to fight for control of the Atlantic Division, and their strong recruiting has put them on a tier above the other teams in the division. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, is trying to bounce back from a 7-6 season and re-establish its status as the Coastal’s best program.

Jalen Ramsey, a former USC commitment, is expected to sign with the Florida State Seminoles Wednesday on National Signing Day.

Ramsey has been a tenuous commitment to the Trojans -- at best -- for months, and was heavily considering the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles as well. Florida State’s coaching staff has been told that Ramsey will sign with the Seminoles, and the coaches for the Trojans and Gators have also been informed of such.

Update 9:20 p.m. -- Miami (Fla.) Booker T. High School head coach Tim “Ice” Harris is furious with the Hurricanes, and told his story to the Miami Herald.

Essentially, Harris is angry that Miami pulled Kirkland’s scholarship offer despite knowing that the lineman was planning to commit to them. He wanted to wait until Signing Day to announce on television, but according to Harris, Miami wouldn’t accept that and pulled the offer.

Austin Golson, a recruit who had been committed to the Florida State Seminoles for more than a year, has decommitted as of Monday evening, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.

Golson originally committed to Florida State in April of 2011. Out of Prattville (Ala.) High School, Golson is a consensus four-star recruit and one of the top offensive tackles in the country.

Recruit Laremy Tunsil’s top two is now three, and it does not include Florida State, he told Scout’s Chad Simmons Sunday ($).

Entering the weekend, Georgia and Alabama were considered to be the strong contenders, while Ole Miss and Florida State were thought to be on the outside looking in.

Jeremy Kerr, a jumbo tight end recruit from St. Petersburg (Fla.) High School, decommitted from the Miami Hurricanes and committed to the Florida State Seminoles Wednesday morning.

Kerr had originally committed to the Hurricanes on June 11. He is the second tight end recruit to decommit from Miami, joining Travis Johnson of Tampa (Fla.) Jesuit.

Florida State is set to host an impressive group of visitors in Tallahassee this weekend, headlined by star receiver Stacy Coley.

The Florida State Seminoles are expecting official visits from several top committed and uncommitted recruits. Here they are.

However, Fisher brought in Bob Pruitt to replace Stoops, and Pruitt is known throughout the country as a top recruiter. He also avoided the loss of offensive coordinator and ace recruiter James Coley, who was rumored to be in the running for the head job at Florida International.

All told, Florida State has secured 17 commitments for the 2013 class and had one early enrollee this month. There are a lot of spots still open for this class, and it could change dramatically over the next month if things break right for the Seminoles. Here’s a closer look at some of the bigger names that will likely be suiting up for the Noles in the near future:

The hire of new defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt is already paying off for the Florida State Seminoles. The former Alabama defensive back coach flipped one of Alabama’s prized recruits to the Seminoles Monday night, despite the Tide winning its third national title in four years.

The recruit? DeMarcus Walker, of Jacksonville (Fla.) Sandalwood High School. Walker is a consensus four-star recruit. At 6’3.5 and 280 pounds, Walker is powerfully built and should be able to fit in quite well with the 4-3 and 3-4 schemes that Florida State will be running under Pruitt. Walker will enroll Tuesday.

Adrian Baker, a cornerback recruit from South Florida, decommitted from Florida State Monday.

Out of Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna, Baker is a consensus three-star recruit.

Eddie Jackson, a talented cornerback recruit out of Lauderdale Lakes (Fla.) Boyd Anderson High School, committed to the Florida State Seminoles Wednesday. He is a three-star recruit with offers from Tennessee and SMU.

Jackson is a bit of a late bloomer, and was considerably off the recruiting radar entering the 2012 season. But a very strong senior year, plus an improving academic profile saw him gain interest from several SEC schools, including LSU:

Hollin originally played at Miami (Fla.) Southridge High School, and was a two-star recruit in 2011. He ended up at ASA College after originally committing to New Mexico.

Hollin is 6’4” and 260 pounds, and has good college-ready size. He also held offers from Kentucky and Purdue.

Florida State receiver recruit Jesus Wilson tweeted this photo tonight from his in-home visit with Florida State coach James Coley.

Delray Beach (Fla.) Atlantic High School defensive tackle Keith Bryant has decommitted from the University of Miami. His new leader is Florida State.

Bryant is a consensus four-star recruit and one of the better defensive tackles in the state for the class of 2013. Both Florida State and Miami have recruited Bryant for a while now, and despite defensive coordinator Mark Stoops leaving Florida State for Kentucky, Bryant believes Tallahassee is his best option.

In the midst of Auburn’s collapse, several members of the Tigers’ recruiting class are looking around.

One of those is Arshad Jackson, a talented tight end recruit. Out of Hampton, Ga.‘s Lovejoy High School, Jackson is a three- or four-star recruit, depending on the service. He originally committed to Auburn in late May, but with Auburn failing to win a single SEC game to this point, and head coach Gene Chizik on the hot seat, Jackson is justifiably concerned about his future at Auburn.

But now with Auburn’s future in doubt as rumors swirl around coach Gene Chizik and his staff, other schools are seeing an opportunity to potentially flip Lawson.

The two main suitors are ACC schools with a reputation for putting defensive linemen in the NFL and a major need at the position: Florida State and Clemson.

As had been expected by Miami insiders for quite some time, running back recruit Alex Collins decommitted this morning from the Hurricanes. The news was first reported by 247sports.

Collins stars for Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) South Plantation High School. At 5’11 and 208 pounds, Collins has the power to run over defenders, but also the athleticism to make them miss and eliminate angles. In a special year for running backs in Florida, some believe he is the best back in the state. Collins is a consensus four-star recruit and may soon be elevated to five stars by some services.