Spring camp is now completed and the Florida State coaching staff is back out on the recruiting trail.
During the month of February, The Osceola went position by position and organized each position group with prospects that Florida State was actively recruiting or could circle back on in the spring. Now that spring camp is over, it's time to reorganize the boards with the new intel and visits that we've seen taken place over the last two months.
Note: The board is fluid, just like recruiting itself. A target that is now lower on the board or off it completely does not mean that Florida State may not circle back on him. Likewise, there are prospects that are not on the board that may sign with Florida State come December.
Synopsis
In the previous edition of the series, we projected that Florida State would be looking to add one high school quarterback with the possibility of a transfer portal quarterback in the upcoming class.
Since then, the Seminoles have moved on from redshirt freshman QB Trever Jackson and have brought in another quarterback in the spring window. East Tennessee State QB Jaylen King has signed with Florida State with two years of eligibility remaining.
Florida State is still searching for a high school quarterback. But as for the portal, they may decide not to dip into the portal again for a signal caller come December with the addition of King.
Exiting spring camp, Florida State has five quarterbacks on scholarship: Tommy Castellanos (Sr.), Brock Glenn (R-So.), Michael Grant (R.-So.), true freshman Kevin Sperry and redshirt sophomore Jaylen King joins the team in May.
The Board
Mustang (Okla.) High School QB Jaden O'Neal was not a prospect that we originally considered to be a real factor on Florida State's board prior to the spring. O'Neal had previously only been on campus once for a camp last summer and that visit was shortly followed by a commitment to the Sooners. O'Neal even moved from California to Mustang, Okla. — just a short drive away from Norman.
But since the start of the new year, Oklahoma has been very public in its pursuit of a second quarterback, namely four-star Bowe Bentley. That has led to a round of spring visits to Auburn, Georgia and Florida State. O'Neal spent multiple days on FSU's campus, meeting with the coaching staff and asking "tough questions."
O'Neal has since set an official visit to Florida State for June 15 and could set more with the impending QB dominoes. While he still remains committed to the Sooners, he may as well be considered Florida State's most attainable option at quarterback right now.
Duckworth was previously the prospect that we felt Florida State had the best chance at landing heading into the spring. A prior relationship with Gus Malzahn — who may have even led at one point for Duckworth at UCF following his decommitment from South Carolina — made us feel bullish on the Seminoles' ability to gain some momentum in his recruitment.
While Florida State has been able to lock in an official visit with Duckworth for June 13, they have not been able to gain any momentum in this recruitment. They have failed to get him on campus this spring for an unofficial visit, meaning his official visit will be his first ever visit to campus. Ole Miss appears to be in the driver's seat for Duckworth, who has been on campus in Oxford multiple times. The Rebels have multiple FutureCasts in their favor for Duckworth.
While what happens with QB dominoes around the country will play a role in this recruitment (as it will many others), it's hard to feel good about Florida State's chances with Duckworth heading into official visits. Duckworth is also scheduled to see Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina and Ole Miss.
Longshots
Florida State was able to get Bentley on campus for the Legacy Weekend in March but the Seminoles were unable to make a good enough impression on him during that visit in order to stay in the immediate running. Bentley is now focusing on his top three of Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma — with the latter seeing the most mutual interest.
Florida State may not have a chance in this recruitment but we do not want to fully take Bentley off the board just yet. More than ever, quarterback recruiting is wild and anything can happen with limited spots. See Kevin Sperry flipping to FSU out of nowhere last fall.
Besides Duckworth and O'Neal, the only other quarterback to have an official visit set to Florida State is West Palm Beach (Fla.) Cardinal Newman quarterback Jyron Hughley.
Hughley is penciled in to officially visit on June 6 but a recent commitment to West Virginia may put that visit into question. When we set the board prior to the spring, we did not perceive Hughley to be high on Florida State's board (and we weren't even sure that they viewed him as solely a quarterback). No visits to campus and no chatter about Hughley suggests to us that not much has changed in that assessment. If Florida State coaches finds themselves in a position to where they need to circle back later in the cycle, it'll be a little more difficult now that Hughley is pledged to the Mountaineers.
Burgess was the only other quarterback besides O'Neal and Bentley that was brought on campus this spring and that's why he's included here despite not being offered currently by the Seminoles.
If Florida State was truly interested in Burgess, then it's very likely they have missed their window to get involved. North Carolina and more pertinently Auburn are the two teams out front. But quarterbacks coach Tony Tokarz may have opted to wait to see Burgess throw in person at Loganville (Ga.) Grayson, which isn't an eternity away from campus. If Burgess finds himself with an offer soon, maybe the Seminoles can get into the mix. But as of right now, the interest in Burgess seems to have been just an inquiry.
Other Notes:
- Despite making an in-home visit with five-star Jared Curtis, there wasn't any returned interest in the Seminoles. He chooses between Oregon and Georgia in a recruitment that should set off a chain reaction of quarterback commitments over the next few months.
- Keisean Henderson received one of the first few offers to be handed out by FSU after the decommitment of Brady Smigiel, but there has been no traction with the five-star. That's not a Florida State issue either as no program has been able to jostle Henderson off of Houston despite a lot of pushing from elite programs.