The news that five-star running back James Cook was taking a last-minute visit to Florida State this past weekend shocked many in college football recruiting circles.
To longtime South Florida recruiting expert Larry Blustein, it was nothing more than a sign of things to come for the Florida State football team.
Although Blustein doesn’t specifically cover the Seminoles, there are few people with better insight into what FSU is getting in new tight ends coach Telly Lockette. Blustein covered Lockette as a high school player and coach, and he has closely followed Lockette’s career as a college assistant -- from USF to Oregon State to now FSU.
“The Cook thing doesn’t surprise me,” Blustein said. “Telly is a guy that everybody gravitates to.”
While it’s true that Lockette had an inside connection with the Cook family, having coached older brother Dalvin Cook during his prep career, Blustein pointed out that the Seminoles’ new assistant has relationships like that throughout the Miami-Dade area.
Not only did Lockette grow up in Miami, but once he broke into coaching, he enjoyed one of the best runs a high school coach could have -- both as offensive coordinator at Miami Northwestern and later as head coach at Miami Central. During his years at Central, he posted an overall record of 60-10 and won two Class 6A state championships.
