The summer months are upon us, and that means official visit season has arrived. Recruiting strategy for high school prospects has shifted in the new age of NIL-funded recruiting. Major programs used to jockey for the final official visit slot to make a strong final impression, but now prep recruiting is being treated increasingly similar to transfer portal recruiting. Programs now want earlier cracks at their targets so they can present strong offers and try to shut down any future official visits. Prospects report feeling highly pressured to commit early, but some still honor taking all of their official visits (which are now unlimited).
The second weekend of official visitors is upon us, with the Seminoles hosting nine prospects on campus (the list has seen considerable attrition following a flurry of commitments last weekend, reinforcing the point in the first paragraph about pushing for early pledges). Three targets are rated as blue-chips, three are current FSU commits, and two-thirds are defensive prospects. Linebacker is the most heavily represented position with three, so Ernie Sims will be a busy man this weekend.
FSU recruiting: Visitors for the June 5th weekend