Across the board, Florida State's 2024 signing class is a significant step in the right direction.

The class — the fifth that head coach Mike Norvell has signed at FSU — is far and away the best of Norvell's tenure, ranking 11th in the Rivals recruiting class rankings.

Of FSU's 21 non-special-teams signees, 14 of them are four-star prospects. The 66.7% blue-chip ratio is FSU's highest in a class since a 71.4% blue-chip ratio in the Seminoles' 2018 signing class.

This infusion of talent will be big for the program's future at a number of positions. But probably nowhere both in the immediate and long-term future than in the secondary.

Even if everyone else returns, FSU is losing three key pieces of its secondary this offseason in cornerbacks Renardo Green and Jarrian Jones and safety Akeem Dent. This trio combined for 66 starts over the last two seasons and 149 games played at FSU over the last five seasons.

Even after losing the commitment from five-star safety KJ Bolden on Wednesday, the Seminoles signed four defensive backs, each of whom are four-star prospects.

It's a major step up considering FSU signed five total blue-chip DBs over the previous four classes. FSU hasn't had more blue-chip defensive backs in a class since it signed five in its 2015 signing class.

"All those guys, when you look at their ball skills, when you look at the opportunity to make plays in space, the speed that they have, the length that they have, it was something we really wanted to address in our defensive backfield," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said Wednesday. "And I thought we hit a home run there at that position."

It's quite a haul for FSU defensive backs coach Pat Surtain in his first year as a collegiate position coach. Eleven months after he was hired at FSU, he signed one of the more impressive defensive back classes in recent FSU memory.

"We're going to try to recruit as many elite corners as we can. I think we really addressed that with one of the better DB classes that I've been around. I think if you put that DB class on what we did last year, put those two together, that's one of the things I'm so excited about," FSU defensive coordinator Adam Fuller said. "Last year, so many of those guys have helped us a little bit on special teams but they all have a future. And then you add this class in with it and that's how you build championship programs. You keep bringing in really good skill-sets with great work ethics, great people. I think we did that with this class for sure."

What exactly does Surtain looks for at the positions he recruits?

"As a defense, you win a bunch of games when you take the ball away. Guys who take the ball away is very high on my list," Surtain said. "Those four guys have shown throughout their high school career they are very capable of that."

What makes it more impressive is how late the class came together. Of the four signees, none were committed to FSU until West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman prospect Ricky Knight III, the No. 165 overall recruit and No. 21 cornerback in the class, announced his decision on July 1.

"Ricky Knight is a defensive back that I think has a huge upside. He's so very versatile. Can do a lot of different things," Norvell said. "Coming out of South Florida, one of the best playmakers there, I think, in the country of what he brings, a guy that can play nickel. He can play corner. He's got length. He's got ability. You'll really like the way he's grown throughout his career."

Added Surtain: "I think (his ceiling) is unlimited because that guy, he wants to be great...He has that dog mentality. He's a fighter, he's a winner."

Perhaps the single-biggest recruiting win of the cycle for the Seminoles was landing the commitment (and subsequently the signature) of four-star cornerback Charles Lester. The No. 49 recruit and No. 5 cornerback in the class, Lester officially visited Alabama and Colorado in addition to FSU. Georgia wanted him badly, as did a host of other top programs.

And yet, he wound up choosing his long-time favorite in the Seminoles, giving them a prototypical cornerback with his 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame and their highest-ranked cornerback signee since 2020.

"Obviously, there are some football things we're excited about, his ability. He just keeps getting longer, too. He's one of the longer DBs in the country already," Fuller said of Lester. "Obviously, he's going to need some work technically, and Pat will do a good job with him. But he's as rangy, as athletic. He never gets out of position from a standpoint of he's so flexible. I think he just brings a lot of skill."

Beyond the on-field ability, Lester blew the FSU staff away with his intelligence and character during the recruiting process.

"Charles definitely has personality. But he's got a pure soul. You think about him and he cares about people as much as anybody. As you recruit somebody you get to know him for three or four years, he's as pure-hearted as anybody I've ever been around. He wants to be around great people, whether it's coaches, whether it's mentors, his teammates," Norvell said. "And what people don't understand about Charles, he's one of the smartest football IQ players that I've probably been around in the high school process of recruiting. He is extremely smart and he understands what it takes."

After these two July additions, the rest of the defensive back class rounded into form late in the cycle with prospects flipped from other schools.

FSU was viewed as a leader for four-star DB Jamari Howard from pretty much the moment he decommitted from Michigan State in September. Two months later, they landed his commitment on Nov. 10.

"Jamari Howard, that was a guy that we identified early and said this guy can be a key to our class and obviously to our program," Norvell said. "I think one of the biggest upsides of anybody we've signed. He's a special player, a remarkable young man. So excited about the element of just play-making ability."

Howard played all over the secondary at Miami Norland High. He also ran track, finishing seventh at the 3A State Championship meet in the 400-meter back in May, earning himself a "Track Star" nickname.

Norvell indicated FSU will start the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Howard out at cornerback. However, it seems he could wind up at a number of spots in the secondary long-term.

"Just a long, physical, athletic DB. The nickname speaks for itself, Track Star. That's the kind of guy you want. He's a terrific fit for our defense because he likes to get up there and challenge guys, play press coverage and he has the speed and agility to run with guys and get in and out of his breaks. I'm excited to work with him..." Surtain said of Howard. "That's the kind of guy you want in your program. Guys who are willing to come in and learn, fight for what they want, get better every day and be a great asset to the DB room."

The final piece of the DB class puzzle was four-star cornerback Cai Bates out of Orlando Edgewater. Bates decommitted from FSU on Nov. 13, just after a visit to Tallahassee and committed to the Seminoles on Dec. 1.

Bates ranks No. 78 overall and No. 10 among cornerbacks in the 2024 class. It's the first time FSU has signed two defensive backs in the top 100 of a class since 2019.

"Cai was somebody that when I went to Edgewater to watch him practice in the spring, I was taken aback with how easy of a mover he was. Because he's so long and he was a wide receiver," Fuller said. "You could see his athleticism, his ability to change direction. He plays with great knee bend for a big, long kid and he has as good of ball skills as anybody in the country. When you throw the ball near him, it's a problem."

Surtain and Fuller aren't making any promises about early playing time to these players, three of whom are expected to enroll in January as mid-year early enrollees. After all, while FSU will lose some defensive backs off this year's team, there are plenty of returning players who will also be poised to take their starting spots.

That being said, it doesn't sound like they are totally ruling out the idea either. 2023 safety signee Conrad Hussey played the most snaps of any FSU true freshman this season and had a great deal of success while doing so. So maybe this class of defensive back additions could be in line for a similar rotational impact.

"They're smart players. They know what guys we have leaving so the opportunity is there for them. No matter what class you're in, if you're able to come in and learn the defense, show skills, playmaking ability on the field and do the right things off the field, you'll have an opportunity to play," Surtain said. "I don't shy away from playing guys. Some secondaries stick to their four or five guys, but we'll play over nine, 10 guys in the secondary throughout the year. I think guys see that and know they have the opportunity to come in and play early."

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