About a week ago, we published an article that outlined the top FSU targets and the scenarios that might occur on National Signing Day. We postulated that in order to have a “successful” close, Florida State would need to fulfill at least one of the mentioned scenarios.
Well FSU didn’t do that. They fulfilled all of them.
At one point it seemed like anything more than four commitments from the list was a pipe dream. But as news kept coming out that FSU was confident heading into Wednesday, it became a serious possibility. Our followers (on Twitter at least) agreed.
To put it simply, this might have been the best recruiting class in the Jimbo Fisher era so far. It’s impossible to completely know until they step on the field, but they are off to a good start in terms of team rankings. Florida State is pretty much a guaranteed top-5 class, and top 3 according to most publications, including first in ESPN’s class rankings.
Fisher and his staff cannot be praised enough for how they closed out this year. After a lackluster 2015, it seems that they recognized what was needed to maintain momentum throughout the process.
Assistant Tim Brewster continued to prove why he is consistently ranked as one of the top recruiters in the country. Earlier in the year he had secured 4-star tight end Naseir Upshur on short notice, and on Wednesday, he pried away Houston linebacker Dontavious Jackson from the grasp of the Texas Longhorns — successfully filling a glaring need in the defense.
But perhaps the most surprising this year was Rick Trickett. In this year’s cycle, he was able to bring in four 4-star and two 3-star linemen. From the No. 1 center to the No. 4 tackle, Trickett has now all but guaranteed that FSU has its line of the future. It isn’t unreasonable to say that it may have been the best offensive line class in the nation.
The numbers are clear: winning championships requires great recruiting classes. Florida State took the next step in the rebuilding process that started at the end of 2014, and the constant influx of talent into Tallahassee will almost assuredly pay dividends in the future. FSU’s placement atop in-state rivals Miami and Florida in the rankings continues to exemplify just how strong of a base it has. Whether it is securing talent within its own area, or going out and obtaining talent from other states (California, Texas, etc.) Florida State proved this year that it has staying power.
National Signing Day 2016 was an enormous success, and there’s no other way to describe it.
Perrone Ford/FSU athletics
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