Dekalb (Miss.) Kemper County RB Damarius Yates made his first trip to Tallahassee since June 2024. Plenty has changed since then, for Yates and Florida State.

The four-star was committed to Mississippi State last fall before decommitting. And FSU welcomed in new assistant coaches, including offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. The Seminoles also picked up a running back commitment from Amari Thomas in January.

Why did he visit FSU after such a long absence?

"Basically if things were still the same," Yates said.

And, yes, Yates confirmed. He's still interested in the Seminoles.

"I feel great about FSU," Yates said.

While he doesn't have a leader, Yates acknowledged Ole Miss is up there among his top schools. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Yates hasn't set up any official visits yet but mentioned Florida State, Alabama and Tennessee and could make a return trip to Tallahassee this summer.

He also has an inside viewpoint of FSU from offensive tackle Mario Nash, who enrolled early and has been going through spring practice. The message Yates relayed from Nash: "You’re going to have to work. If you don’t want to work, don’t come."

Yates got a first look at FSU's practice on Tuesday. And even though coach Mike Norvell called the practice "up and down," Yates said he liked what he saw from FSU's running backs.

"The brotherhood that they have," Yates said. "The explosiveness. Their effort on the field. You can tell when somebody put in the effort on the field. It shows."

Yates remained tight-lipped about his conversation with Norvell, but the coach's energy resonated.

"The yelling and screaming," Yates said. "When he says, ‘Oh, yeah.’ I love it."

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