I’ve been on record for a long time in that I believe FSU will always be able to sign blue-chip defensive backs annually. That hasn’t been the issue lately, although development has, and Patrick Surtain Sr. lost his job because of it. When you sign four 4-star defensive backs in one class and none of them are playing meaningful reps yet, it’s damning on either evaluation or development.
Tribe 2026 has a star in Chauncey Kennon. He’s a high 4-star talent, top-50 player nationally, and has NFL potential. He’s a candidate for early playing time. Jordan Crutchfield was a nice flip late from the Kentucky Wildcats, as he possess a great frame and should push for reps in the safety rotation in the next two years. FSU hung on to Tre Bell, who has strong leadership qualities along with a blue-chip skill level. And as mentioned earlier, Daylen Green could also factor into the rotation at safety.
We also have to talk about who FSU lost, in 5-star legacy Jay Timmons. It continued a nasty annual tradition of losing top talent under Mike Norvell and hurt twice as much when the legacy component is taken into account. I realize that he chose Ohio State, but FSU should never lose a recruitment with so many built-in advantages if it has hopes of being relevant. The Seminoles also lost commitments from Tedarius Hughes (I love his game, but not his attitude) and Sean Johnson (I don’t care). FSU was unable to gain any traction with Kaiden Hall (extremely disappointing), CJ Bronaugh (big slice of humble pie for safeties coach Evan Cooper on that one), Samari Matthews and J’Zavian Currence (bag-chasers), Traeviss Stevenson, legacy Brody Jennings, Lasiah Jackson, and Xavier Lherisse.
Rough cycle overall for this unit, despite landing Kennon. I expect FSU to do better at this position, and more capable recruiters would likely have netted Hall, Bronaugh, and at least one of Stevenson/Jackson/Lherisse. For that reason, I can’t give anything higher than a low B (and that’s only because of Kennon).
Grade: B-