Charles Lester III knew all along that he would end up at Florida State. But he did want to enjoy the recruiting process and take visits to other schools.
“I took my recruiting process and decided to enjoy it a little bit,” Lester said on Thursday. “I always knew where I wanted to go — Florida State — as a kid. This was always the school. I never looked away. Throughout the whole recruiting process, I knew I was going to Florida State. But when it came down to recruiting and just having fun at the high school level, I wanted to enjoy that process.”
Lester visited Alabama and Colorado but in the end stuck with FSU. Among the reasons? Coach Mike Norvell.
“At the end of the day, Mike Norvell is my guy,” Lester said.
Lester showed he was one of the top cornerbacks in the class of 2024, both early in his career at Sarasota Riverview and in his senior season at Venice. Last fall, he had 50 tackles, seven pass break-ups and three interceptions as he helped Venice reach the state championship game. Venice lost, but Lester threw a pretty downfield pass for a big gain early in the night.
His December was as busy as any for a high school football player. Just weeks after he and Venice took a state runner-up finish in the Class 4S title game, Lester signed with FSU and then joined the Seminoles for bowl practices in Fort Lauderdale.
“It gave me 5-7 days to see how practices ran, how fast college is and how the other kids go about their day when it comes to handling business,” Lester said. “… Being able to run around in practice and being able to see the different types of drills and whereabouts I would be, that was a blessing. Next time I go on the practice field I will know and be prepared for what’s going to come at me at practice.”
Lester is already preparing for the spring. He has been absorbing the playbook while going through workouts in the sand pits and on the field with veteran defensive back Greedy Vance. And Lester said he feels good about strength and conditioning coach Josh Storms’ plan for him, while adding, “We do a lot of squats. I can tell you that. He’s going to get your legs strong.”
Tour of Duty workouts have been challenging for Lester, although he feels it’s more of a mental test.
“It’s some of the simplest drills but they make it to the point where you feel like you want to break, you want to give up,” Lester said. “But as long as you stay true to yourself and true to the person that you were that got you here to the university, you are going to make it through. It’s going to test who you are and what capabilities you can attain to fight back in a game experience. It’s all about adversity when it comes to Tour of Duty.”
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