After a thorough review of Florida State's 2010 recruiting class, we decided to move ahead to the next year and evaluate the 2011 class.
After scrambling to put together a remarkable class in his first year as head coach, Jimbo Fisher and his staff turned it up a in notch and reeled in the nation's No. 2 class in 2011. Just as important as signing a large number of blue-chip prospects, this group perfectly complemented the prior class, laying the foundation for FSU's national championship in 2013 and amazing run of 29 straight wins.
In this recruiting retrospective, we explore which signees from the 2011 class met, exceeded or fell short of expectations. We also dig deep into how their careers played out both at FSU and into the pros.
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Florida State's 2011 Football Recruiting Class
Class Ranking: No. 2 (Rivals) / Number of signees: 29
Four-year win-loss record: 48-7 / ACC Championships: 3 (2012, 2013, 2014)
First-Team All-Americans*: 4 (Timmy Jernigan, Nick O'Leary, Tre' Jackson, Kelvin Benjamin)
* Includes first-team All-Americans listed by major outlets (ESPN, AP, Camp, SI, CBS, FWAA, AFCA)
Jimbo Fisher got off to a promising start as Florida State's new head coach in 2010. The Seminoles were finally able to defeat both Florida and Miami in the same season, something they hadn't done since 1999, and took home an impressive victory over South Carolina in the Chick-fil-A bowl. When the dust settled, FSU finished with a 10-4 record, which was the school's the first 10-win season since 2003.
The coaching staff also did an excellent job of building on the success of 2010 by continuing to recruit at an elite level. The Seminoles' success, combined with drop-offs taking place at Miami and Florida, let to dominant in-state recruiting.
According to Rivals.com, FSU in 2011 reeled in the No. 2-ranked class, which included six Rivals100 members, as well as the nation's No. 1 and No. 4 junior college prospects (Tank Carradine, Jacob Fahrenkrug).
Coupled with the excellent class from the year before, the group of 29 in 2011 laid the groundwork for Florida State's 2013 national championship as well as the program's amazing run of 29 straight wins between 2012-14.
