For six years, Florida State’s annual recruiting cycle has followed a familiar script.
In the summertime, commitments roll in, with the coaching staff appearing to turn a corner. Then in the fall, when games are played and real recruiters make their money, the top names in the Seminoles’ class defect to other programs, leaving Mike Norvell and his staff with a good — but not great — class.
In 2025, it was more of the same.
With a new coaching staff and momentum heading into the season, Florida State vaulted up the recruiting rankings, only to lose its top commit in the class, DB Jay Timmons, a legacy, as National Signing Day approached and another season fell apart on the field. The Seminoles signed 32 players and finished with Norvell’s second-highest-ranked class (No. 14 according to both 247Sports and On3) during his tenure in Tallahassee, but its 35.4% blue-chip percentage (per On3) sticks out stacked up with similar programs of FSU’s pedigree — Miami (No. 8, 66.67), Georgia (No. 4, 67.74%) and USC (No. 1, 62.86%) — who took 30 or more players. Out of all teams in the top 15 of On3’s rankings, Florida State’s percentage is the lowest.
With quantity in search of quality seemingly the theme of 2026’s signing class, this year’s group feels underwhelming, with the same problems from the last five years breaking through — including the fact that the Seminoles cannot find big wins in their backyard. According to 247Sports, the Seminoles did not land a single player in the top 15 in the state of Georgia and signed only one player from the top 20 in the state of Florida. Other schools with top 15 commitments in Georgia include North Carolina and Tennessee, while Nebraska and Missouri have the same number of top 20 commitments from the state of Florida as FSU.
The defensive staff badly wanted DB CJ Bronaugh, who was committed to Nebraska at the time Tony White joined Norvell’s staff, and FSU’s coordinators and coaches put on a full-court press for the Orlando native. He committed to Florida in June and signed with the Gators on Wednesday. While Bronaugh might be the most significant failure of the cycle, there were plenty more swings and misses from the Seminole staff, including not landing a defensive lineman ranked in the top 30 or an edge rusher ranked in the top 70 at their respective positions.
Typically, turmoil around the country would benefit those with stability, but none of it helped the Seminoles. While FSU executed two flips from SEC programs during the offseason — picking up receiver Devin Carter from Auburn and linebacker Izayia Williams from Ole Miss — their most notable in-season flip was running back Amari Thomas, who had decommitted from Florida State only to change his mind and rejoin the program. Miami, meanwhile, benefited down the stretch of the cycle as Mario Cristobal flipped 4-star EDGE DeAnthony Lafayette from LSU in early November. Even with the positive aspects of retaining a head coach, the Seminoles could not execute or market those effectively, leading to a class that lacks high-end talent at the top.
All of the signing day issues for Florida State that came up today are not new ones, which makes the FSU administration’s attempt to change the wallpaper rather than the foundation even more maddening. Last year, they said FSU struggled in recruiting because of the assistants. But then all the assistants changed, and it is still an uphill battle. The same goes for the state of Florida and the surrounding region. The player personnel department can change, but unless the head coach implements a new strategy, what does it matter? All the best players in the state are going to the programs’ two predominant rivals — and nobody has done much to change that yet.
While at face value the No. 14-ranked class and No. 2 in the ACC should produce smiles and nods, signaling progress, it instead has all the markings of another group featuring the same old problems — a cycle that keeps Florida State from raising the floor and gaining the ground it desperately needs.
2026 Florida State signing class