FSU Football Signing Day: What we expect on the 4 big story lines

With National Signing Day looming just one day away, it's time to focus on the major story lines facing Florida State football recruiting.

The Seminoles have been making major moves already for their 2021 class, but they still have to tie up a few loose ends for the class of 2020. Here's a closer look at the big topics facing head coach Mike Norvell and his staff:

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It has been a wild recruiting ride for Rivals100 wide receiver Malachi Wideman. It appeared during the early signing period that the Venice (Fla.) High standout would sign with FSU since he had been committed for months, but he began to reconsider after the Seminoles made a coaching change late in the 2019 season.

New FSU coach Mike Norvell made it clear from the start that he wanted to keep Wideman in this class, and he immediately made an in-home visit to try to convince him to sign with the Seminoles in December. But that didn't happen -- even after Wideman and his family took their official visit to FSU on the final weekend before the early signing period. The receiver told the media after that visit that he would definitely be signing with the 'Noles, but he later changed his mind.

In recent weeks, Wideman has been visiting other programs. He took officials to Oregon, Tennessee and Ole Miss, and the Rebels and Volunteers appear to be the biggest threats to Florida State.

One interesting aspect of those trips, with the exception of Oregon, is that each school has been convinced that it had the best chance to land Wideman after he visited. First it was Tennessee that expected him to flip after he visited there on Jan. 24; Wideman instead declined to commit when the Volunteers made an in-home visit. Now it's Ole Miss that is exuding confidence.

So what does it all mean?

Well, it's tough to say for sure. It certainly seems like the momentum is with Ole Miss, but most people thought that with FSU and Tennessee before. Everything about Wideman's recruitment has been a mystery, so it's hard to make a definitive prediction.

As of now, we're not hearing a lot of confidence from the Tennessee side. There hasn't been much buzz about Oregon, either, although the Ducks would definitely make sense since he wants to play football and basketball in college, and they have strong programs in both. Head football coach Mario Cristobal obviously also has strong ties in the state of Florida.

Right now, I don't have confidence that the pick will be FSU. If he was still serious about the Seminoles but had lingering questions, it seems like he would have visited Tallahassee again in recent weeks. I think Norvell and company have handled this about as well as they can -- they have been patient and given Wideman space while also making sure he knows how much they want him in this class.

We'll know which way it goes soon enough.

With 23 commitments in place, Florida State won't be in the market for a bunch of new pledges on National Signing Day.

One to definitely keep an eye on is Georgia defensive end TJ Davis, who visited this past weekend. FSU had been in frequent communication with Davis in recent weeks and offered him a scholarship during a trip to his hometown of Metter, Ga. Davis then rewarded the offer by taking his final official visit to Tallahassee.

From what we're hearing, Davis connected very well with Florida State's players, and he loved the academic presentation. Davis said his decision will come down to FSU and Georgia Tech, although he might have given a hint about his plans when he mentioned that he wasn't sure what he wanted to major in before the trip. As he was leaving campus, he said he wanted to major in business. (FSU just so happens to have a very strong business program.) We also heard from other sources that Davis really seemed at-home during the visit.

Davis already was friends with FSU defensive end Curtis Fann and others, and the Seminoles have a big need at the defensive end position. All things considered, I like the 'Noles to edge the Yellow Jackets and land Davis.

Florida State's new staff had a lot of ground to make up with Georgia linebacker DJ Lundy, and the Seminoles have definitely put in the work.

Defensive line coach Odell Haggins made the first contact to let Lundy know the Seminoles were very interested, then linebackers coach Chris Marve started working on building a personal bond. Once that got going, the Seminoles offered him a scholarship and then convinced him to come in for a visit this past weekend.

There was a scheduling hiccup because Lundy had to finish a state wrestling meet on Saturday, so he didn't make his way to Tallahassee until that afternoon. But FSU's coaches let him know just how excited they were to see him by having the entire staff outside of the Moore Athletics Center as a welcoming party. That brought a huge smile to Lundy's face and set the tone for the visit.

As we reported before the visit, Lundy grew up liking the 'Noles. And from what we've heard, his parents prefer FSU over other finalists Georgia and Virginia Tech. Florida State clearly needs help at linebacker, which is appealing, and we were told the Seminoles delivered a very impressive presentation about combining academics and athletics. Sources say this was Lundy's favorite visit.

Virginia Tech was the leader coming in, but the 'Noles might have worked their magic and flipped the script. My feeling is that FSU will win out here when Lundy makes his public decision on National Signing Day at 9:30 a.m.

The drama continues to build for Rivals250 DB Donovan Kaufman, who is now finished with all of his in-home visits. FSU came in first early last week, then Vanderbilt stopped by the next day, and finally Ole Miss later this past weekend. There are several moving parts to this one.

The first thing to note is that FSU has several previous bonds with Kaufman; he has known Norvell, defensive coordinator Adam Fuller and even some of the strength and conditioning coaches for quite some time. He also knows exactly how he would be utilized in Fuller's defense because of that relationship. FSU likes him at a variety of different defensive back positions.

On the flip side, Ole Miss strictly wants him at its "Star" safety position, which Kaufman seemed to like. He also liked the presentation he got from Ole Miss on its academic plan, and the Rebels got the final visit. The only drawback here is he didn't seem to speak as much about Ole Miss' coaching staff as he did FSU's.

Then there is Vanderbilt, the school he's currently committed to. Kaufman obviously has relationships there with that staff, but you can't ignore the fact that he opened back up his recruitment. (Technically, you could throw Baylor into the mix, but we don't consider them a threat in this one since he never visited there.)

Based on what we're hearing, this one should be a toss-up between FSU and Ole Miss. It's worth noting, however, that FSU did not extend an offer to Alabama DB Sidney Williams this past weekend during his visit. One would think that means the Seminoles have some confidence about Kaufman.

At the same time, Vanderbilt can't be dismissed. Our FSU sources believe there's a chance he could still stick with the Commodores.

As of right now, the day before Signing Day, I don't have a final call here because I haven't heard anything definitive. I continue to hear it's a coin flip between FSU and Ole Miss.

Then there is the wild recruitment for Williams. Coming into the FSU official visit, I thought if the 'Noles offered, he would basically commit on the spot. I even put in a Forecast for FSU because of that. When that offer didn't happen on Friday or Saturday of the official visit, Williams decided to take an official visit to Indiana, which has been quite involved in his recruitment.

The way I understand it from the Williams camp is that he wanted to give himself options, regardless of whether the 'Noles pull the trigger on the offer. At the same time, I still believe he will sign with FSU if that offer comes.

With FSU only looking to take one more safety, it will be very interesting to see how it shakes out with Kaufman and Williams.

As of right now, I'm not expecting any big surprises for this class. There could be some solid preferred walk-ons added, but that probably is about it. Having said that, you never know for sure with a new coaching staff on board. It's possible they have some prospect(s) waiting in the wings in case things don't work out with someone they currently are expecting to sign.

As for evaluating this first transitional class under Norvell, I think it's important to look both at the early signees and the total class, as well as the Seminoles' stated needs.

At his first Signing Day press conference, Norvell said the biggest positions of needs for FSU were RB, DE and OT. Well, the 'Noles added a grad transfer OT in Devontay Taylor. Then in the later signing period, they added a very talented HS prospect in OT Robert Scott. FSU still needs one more grad transfer OT in my view, and possibly one more JUCO, and those could still come this summer. If that happens, they have nailed this first class at that position.

Then there is the RB position. FSU signed Lawrance Toafili early and got a transfer from Texas A&M's Jashaun Corbin, and then got Corey Wren and Ladamian Webb in the later signing period. Can't do much better than that.

Lastly, we move to the defensive end position. If FSU gets TJ Davis like we expect, then the 'Noles land a speed rusher. And they already landed Jarrett Jackson, a transfer from Louisville, and former IMG standout Josh Griffis during the early period. I also think FSU could add a JUCO end or a grad transfer if the numbers work out.

So overall from my perspective, Norvell and his staff did a very good job. No, it's not going to be a top-10 class. But this class was about filling needs on short notice, and from my perspective, FSU did a nice job of that.

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