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).<\/p>\n
Following the final weekend in May, the first of the major visiting weekends for the 2026 cycle, FSU was able to land one commitment in defensive lineman Eric Vaulx Jr.<\/a> The Seminoles followed that up with a flurry of three blue-chip commitments after the June 5 weekend, with LB Jernard Albright<\/a>, RB Jayden Miles<\/a>, and WR Sean Green<\/a> joining #Tribe27. A not-unexpected decommitment from LB Greg Batson put a bit of damper on things, but FSU quickly rebounded by securing a commitment from linebacker Olrick Johnson III<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The third weekend of official visitors is now upon us, with the Seminoles hosting six prospects on campus (the list has seen considerable attrition following a flurry of commitments over the past two weeks, reinforcing the point in the first paragraph about pushing for early pledges). Three targets are rated as blue-chips and there are an equal number of offensive and defensive visitors.<\/p>\n 3-star WR Majay Thompson: FSU has prioritized the 6\u20190, 185-pound Thompson over the past two months and will look to make a strong final impression, as Tallahassee will be his final official visit before a scheduled decision date of June 19. Thompson totaled 53 receptions for 865 yards (16.3 YPC) and 13 receiving touchdowns last season. He plays for Crest High School in Shelby, NC, and is considered a 3-star by 247Sports Composite. He looks like a 4-star to me. FSU is battling Alabama, Georgia, and Wake Forest for Thompson. I\u2019m not sure where he sits on Georgia\u2019s priority list but Alabama definitely wants him and he is Wake Forest\u2019s top target.<\/p>\n 3-star TE Colton Johnson: FSU will host the 6\u20195, 245-pound tight end from Tennessee as part of his blitz through June, seeing seven or eight schools on visits. FSU has vacillated with Johnson and I think other programs are higher on his list, including the in-state Volunteers and reigning champs Indiana. He\u2019d be a very nice addition but FSU would likely have to pay more than they\u2019d like to secure his commitment. I\u2019d be surprised to see FSU land him.<\/p>\n 4-star OL DaJohn Yarborough: The highest-ranked offensive lineman currently on FSU\u2019s visit schedule this summer is Yarborough, who will finish his high school career in Arizona after spending the first half in Minnesota. The composite 4-star is 6\u20195, 340 pounds and has a wrestling background. He is a significant priority for Herb Hand, who will need to fend off fellow finalists Washington, Cal, and Mississippi State for Yarborough. He profiles best as a guard.<\/p>\n 3-star Edge Jaxon Holly: Likely the best bet for a commitment coming off the weekend, Holly has ascended quickly up the priority list for Nick Williams as numerous other edge targets have eliminated FSU. The 6\u20194, 235 pound Holly has previously visited Auburn and Virginia Tech and doesn\u2019t have any other OVs set following his time in Tallahassee. The Seminoles have a great opportunity to seal the deal this weekend and add Holly to Tribe27.<\/p>\n 4-star DL Sam LeJeune: FSU has spent a considerable amount of time and resources in LeJeune\u2019s recruitment, making him one of the most important targets this cycle regardless of position. While notoriously difficult to pull top Mississippi prospects away from the state, Florida State has built a strong relationship with LeJeune over the course of several years. LeJeune is an accomplished power lifter and plays both ways for his high school. He\u2019s previously visited Auburn, Cal, and Washington, with a significant development coming as he cancelled a visit to LSU scheduled after this weekend. That gives FSU a huge opportunity to close this thing out. LeJeune will not be a cheap acquisition, but he is a necessary one for Terrance Knighton. He\u2019s a blue-chip prospect and top 150 player nationally.<\/p>\n 4-star DB Ta\u2019Shawn Poole: There may not be a better fit for what FSU wants to do on defense than the 6\u20192, 185-pound Poole. The Seminoles face stiff competition from fellow finalists Clemson, Tennessee, and Miami, among others, but Poole has genuine love for the coaching staff and program in Tallahassee. Whether that affection translates into a commitment will depend largely on NIL offers and playing time opportunities, and Poole would be a fantastic fit at the rover position for Tony White. He is a blue-chip player ranked in the top 100 nationally, and he is productive regardless of where he plays on the field for his high school. Last season he totaled 33 rushes for 200 yards and four rushing touchdowns, 30 receptions for 454 yards and seven\u00a0receiving touchdowns, and a punt return touchdown. On defense, he recorded 37 tackles (two for loss), two interceptions, and a sack.<\/p>\n 2027 Florida State recruiting: Current commitments<\/p>\n 3-star quarterback\u00a0Logan Flaherty (FL)<\/p>\n 4-star running back\u00a0Jayden Miles (LA)<\/p>\n 3-star tight end\u00a0Connor Winn (FL)<\/p>\n 4-star wide receiver\u00a0Sean Green (GA)<\/p>\n 4-star edge\u00a0Anthony Cavallaro (FL)<\/p>\n 4-star linebacker\u00a0Jernard Albright (MD)<\/p>\n 3-star linebacker\u00a0Olrick Johnson III (GA)<\/p>\n 3-star defensive lineman\u00a0Eric Vaulx Jr. (MS)<\/p>\n 3-star defensive back\u00a0Jemari Foreman (FL)<\/p>\n 3-star defensive back\u00a0DaYon Cooper (TN)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The summer months are upon us, and that means official visit season has arrived. Recruiting strategy for high…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[127804,47,28,30,29,3731,3603,35381,127803,5079,47107,232,127802],"class_list":["post-305285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-colton-johnson","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-florida-state-seminoles","tag-fsu","tag-icon-sportswire","tag-majay-thompson","tag-miami-hurricanes","tag-official-visit","tag-tallahassee","tag-terrance-knighton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}