Five Takes: Can Mike Norvell and his staff recruit at a high level?
Florida State finished the 2021 recruiting cycle with a No. 28 recruiting class ranking, according to Rivals.com. No matter how you look at the 17 signees, there’s no escaping the fact that this is probably the lowest-ranked FSU class in the last 30-plus years. Technically, Rivals.com started ranking classes in 2002, so at the very least it’s the lowest-ranked group since then.
However, this is definitely a case where the raw number doesn’t tell the real story.
That No. 28 ranking isn’t indicative of Mike Norvell’s recruiting prowess nor his staff's. Even before the mid-December early signing period kicked in, the writing was on the wall that this wasn't going to be the typical top-10 FSU class. As a result, Seminole fans were asking if their new head coach has the recruiting chops to compete with the big boys.
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I’m here to say that he does, and that every relevant factor (outside of that pesky recruiting ranking) backs up that notion.
1. Low number of signees artificially deflates FSU class ranking
Size matters when it comes to recruiting rankings. I’m not going to attempt to explain how Rivals calculates its rankings, but the more players you sign or have committed the better. Basically, Rivals adds up points for 20 prospects in the class, and beyond that 20, the lowest-ranked recruits aren’t counted. So, a team has a huge advantage in the rankings if it has 25 members compared to another team that might have just 18.
Florida State finished this year’s class with just 17 total signees, eight under the typical 25-player limit. It’s not that FSU couldn’t have signed more high school players, it’s that the team was better served this year meeting immediate needs through the transfer market (see No. 2).
Even if FSU had loaded up the rest of the class with all three-star prospects, it would have been ranked significantly higher. For instance, Nebraska has a lower star average (3.15), but the Huskers come in with a No. 19 ranking.
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