Located in southern Georgia, Ashburn is a town of around 3,800 people. Or to frame it another way, the hamlet's population could be multiplied 20 times over and it still would not be enough to fill Doak Campbell Stadium.
Ashburn is where Florida State's coaching staff found a pair of three-star prospects in receiver Tamorrion Terry and defensive back Ontaria Wilson. The Turner County High duo hail from the sort of town other programs might overlook, whereas Jimbo Fisher and his staff have made a point to explore those locales.
FSU's run of eight consecutive Top 10 recruiting classes under Fisher has been achieved in a variety of ways. Fisher and his staff lure the big-ticket players like five-stars Cam Akers, Josh Kaindoh, Khalan Laborn and Marvin Wilson, as they did for the 2017 class.
They've also been successful at finding the occasional diamond in the rough. On Wednesday, Fisher said he believes Terry and Wilson could become the next Seminoles to come out of obscurity and rise to potential stardom.
"You get in those small towns as far as access," Fisher said. "[College coaches and recruiting coordinators] don't work sometimes. People get lazy."
When asked about identifying Wilson and Terry as prospects, Fisher pointed to the Seminoles' track record with unheralded recruits. He mentioned that Xavier Rhodes was a three-star receiver from Miami and Cameron Erving was a three-star defensive lineman from Moultrie, Ga., when FSU offered them.
Rhodes would later switch to cornerback and develop into a first-round draft pick who has become one of the NFL's best at his position. Erving was converted to center and helped FSU win a national title in 2013; he also would later transform into a first-round pick.
"How'd Cam Erving slip through the cracks? Had us and Georgia Southern." Fisher opined. "How'd Xavier Rhodes slip through the cracks?"
