Florida State Recruiting Update, 12.09.09

Lots of info today.  As always, we funnel coverage (except in the next couple of days) to the 2010 Big Board and the 2010 Recruiting Map.  If you have a question, and there isn't a post on the front page, ask it in the 2010 BB.  Remember to get out and watch these prospects play.  On to the coverage.

Current 2010 commits: (click the links to read more)

• DL Darious Cummings (note:  Cummings committed before FSUncensored took over the site.)
• S Chad Abrams (note:  we did an overview in a March WORT after Abrams committed.)
• DE Tavaris Barnes
• Holmes Onwukaife
• De'Joshua Johnson
• Tank Sessions
• Telvin Smith
• Jared Haggins
• Terrence Brooks    
• Cameron Erving
• Clint Trickett
• Nigel Terrell 

• Damien Jacobs

  Greg Dent

• Mike Harris

  Jeff Luc

Come inside for much more!

2011 commits:

• RB Eric Beverly, First Coast High School (FL)

• DBs Lamarcus Brutus and Keelin Smith, Treasure Coast High School (FL)

Coaches' Visits:

As it is December, FSU's coaches are out recruiting (Fisher, Coley, Haggins, Dawsey, Trickett).  From what I understand, newly-hired coach Eddie Gran will be on the road shortly.  Also, the fact that Haggins is out recruiting is a pretty clear indication that he is staying for the 2010 season.  Here is a rough list of the prospects that have been visited:

• CB Lamarcus Joyner
• Joyner's mentor's facebook status after the visit: Just had Jimbo Fisher head of FSU in my crib with coach Odell and Cooley. Had a great time. I think I see a tomahawk chop in my future...maybe
• WR Christian Green
• WR Kenny Shaw will receive a visit today from Fisher and Dawsey.
• LB Christian Jones
• The current commits (Dent, Luc, Cummings, Barnes, ect.)

Assorted notes:

• I would like to see FSU offer DL Eric Humphrey, out of Texas.  Kid is 6'4'' 280 and he has crazy athleticism.  The 'Noles have shown interest in him.
• Speaking of 2011 commits, Ridge ATH Karlos Williams could be the next commitment for that cycle.  Williams is the brother of current FSU LB Vince Williams, and Karlos is a very good player who projects to be a top 10 recruit in the State of Florida.
• Williams video: 
  
• FSU has a pretty good shot at Hialeah DE/OLB Corey Lemonier.  His teammate, Calvin Smith, just committed to Tennessee, but I don't think the Smith commitment will hurt FSU with Lemonier.
• Norcross DE/OLB Adrian Hubbard committed to Alabama.  Good luck to him. 
• Speaking of the newly hired Gran, he is a great recruiter.  Tennessee had him covering the Sunshine State.
• Thanks to 1newplayer, who linked this article from ESPN about Gran.
• Check out SWFLNole's excellent piece about the importance of December and February recruiting.
• Charlie Strong leaving Florida for Louisville only helps Florida State.  If he takes Billy Gonzalez with him, even better.
• WR Kenny Shaw is a very strong FSU lean. Gahnki informs us that Shaw could end it as early as this weekend. 
• With Strong leaving, I'd hope that FSU gains a little bit of ground for 2011 Lake City DT Timmy Jernigan.  I'm not confident though. 
• As for Sandy Creek (Tyrone, GA) RB Rajion Neal, I am not really impressed with him.    I wouldn't complain if FSU misses on him, but I wouldn't complain if the 'Noles took his commitment.  Either way, I think he sticks with his Mississippi commitment.
• JuCo DE Wayne Dorsey is an FSU-Ole Miss battle.  It's gonna come down to the wire with him.  He would be a great pickup.
• It remains to be seen on whether JuCo DL Charles Deas qualifies.  Another interesting note: Eddie Gran recruited Deas to Auburn.
• I am not very high on Treasure Coast LB Deon Rogers.  I have my doubts that he can put weight on, and I don't think he is FSU quality.

Front 7 Focus:

FSU will probably take somewhere 12-16 Front 7 (LB, DL) players.

Probably something like this:

DL Charles Deas (if he qualifies)
DL Anthony McCloud
DL Corey Lemonier
DL Wayne Dorsey
DL Jamaine Brooks (6'3'' 290; Miami Palmetto; possibility)
DL Tavaris Barnes
DL Darious Cummings
DL Cameron Erving
LB Jeff Luc
LB Christian Jones
LB Telvin Smith
LB Holmes Onwukaife
LB Shaydon Akuna (if he visits)
LB Nigel Terrell (if he sticks)

That is fourteen.  I would love that Front 7 class.  It is imperative that FSU signs that many bodies.  Many of those players have star potential.

Some tidbits from Luke:

Probably the two best players in SoFLA this regular season have been Joyner and Dent.

-I love Joyner with the ball in his hands (slot and returns), as a CB I still question his man-to-man coverage skills but think he would be a beast in a cover-2 where his main job would be to

come up and pop people who come in his zone.

-Dent I thought was a good WR, but at CB he could develop into an excellent player, especially since that's where colleges wanted him (Ole Miss, UGA, Miami). He plays mainly a cover-3 at GC so you don't get to see him much in man, but I thought he showed he could play man pretty good, vs. Ivan McCartney in the Dolphin 7-on-7 there where the rules forced you to play man across the board with one man free. That's pretty much the only time I've could have seen Dent play man for an extended period of time (he attended very few camps, WR if he did camp, GC plays 80% cover-3). He's always accelerated well out of his cuts on Slats as a WR and had great hands, but his Muck Bowl performance as a WR solidified my thoughts I had before on what position Dent should play. JUST GET HIM ON CAMPUS THEN FIGURE IT OUT!

Joyner has the hips, feet, and athleticism to play cornerback, so I do not think that is a concern.  He is a little raw, but with some teaching, there is no reason he cannot excel at CB.  I love that FSU is probably picking up the two best players in South Florida for this cycle.

Other interesting links:

2011 QB/RW Jarrard Randall (Chaminade High School, Hollywood, FL) should be a serious option.  He currently claims an FSU offer.  Video here:  http://recruiting.scout.com/2/920542.html

Here are some portions from an article the Miami Herald did on him:

Curtric Evans had heard the stories about just how hard and how far Jerrard Randall could throw a football. At times, they sounded like tall tales.

``People were telling me he could throw it the length of the field and that he threw the ball so hard he was breaking receiver's shoulder pads because they were afraid to use their hands,'' Evans said.

``I didn't believe it until I got to Chaminade. I've been playing football from the time I was 4 years old and I had never used gloves before I played catch with Jerrard. I do now. He can throw that ball hard.''

Randall, a 6-2 ½, 195-pound junior with a rocket right arm, can do more than just fling it. Just ask five-time Class 2B state champion Pahokee, which was victimized by Randall (who ran for 230 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries) in a 35-0 first-round playoff loss Friday.

As the leader of the undefeated Lions (11-0), Randall has proven to be as dangerous a dual-threat quarterback as there is in the country. And he's only part of the reason why Chaminade -- a program that went 2-8 a season ago when Randall was sitting on the bench at Miami Norland -- has suddenly become a serious state championship contender.

``Nobody expected us to beat Pahokee -- especially the way we did it,'' said Evans, who leads the Lions in receiving with 22 catches for 459 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Randall's physical gifts ``are off the charts.'' According to coach Tim Tyrell, Randall was timed running the 40-yard dash during spring football in 4.3 seconds. Tyrell said Randall benches 355 pounds and claims to have seen him complete a pass earlier this season to sophomore receiver Fred McRae ``72 yards down field in stride.''

For those that were worried about the retirement of Bowden hurting recruiting, here is an article that should ease your mind:

If it has any effect at all, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden's retirement could make the Seminoles more attractive to potential signees.

Since FSU hired Jimbo Fisher in 2007, recruits have not known whether he or Bowden would be in charge by the time they arrived in Tallahassee. With Bowden stepping down Tuesday, the future seems solid to high school prospects.

"It'll take all the questions out of everybody's mind about who's going to be the coach," said Treasure Coast linebacker Jeff Luc, one of the nation's elite recruits who is considering FSU. "It's not going to affect me because Jimbo Fisher is a cool dude. I've spent a lot of time with him, and I like him."

Two local wide receivers, Glades Central's Greg Dent and Pahokee's De'Joshua Johnson, committed to FSU this year and said the coaching change won't alter their plans.

Both players said Seminoles assistant coaches talked openly about the likelihood of Bowden leaving.

"They were telling me he wouldn't be there long, so I really based my decision on Jimbo Fisher," Johnson said. "They said I'd start with Bobby, but finish with Jimbo. I'm not really upset."

Several local prospects with FSU offers said Bowden was not involved in their recruitment anyway.

Dent has never spoken with Bowden, but said Fisher called him before Glades Central's playoff game against Plantation-American Heritage last week.

Interesting. 

On another positive note, FSU TE Coach (and likely future OC) James Coley has been doing absolute work on the recruiting trail.  He's been all over the country, from Florida, to California, to back to Florida.  In a three day span.  Beast mode.  Coley is probably FSU's best recruiter right now. 

Reaction to Bowden's retirement

Overall, the reception has been great.  Recruits are seemingly glad that Fisher is in charge now, as the rash of commitments since the retirement has been telling.  I will say this:  Jimbo Fisher made a brilliant public relations move with the orchestration of the commits.  To recruits, FSU has momentum - and the Jeff Luc commitment only helped.  A prospect with the perception of Luc committing is big to fans and recruits. Head Coach Jimbo Fisher (feels good saying that!) has done a great job of taking advantage of a loophole in the rules, which allows him to visit prospects.  He hasn't been introduced as the Noles' head coach yet.

Recently, FSU has done an outstanding job on the recruiting trail.  Let's hope they keep it up.

That's it for today.  As always, if you need something, I can be reached at fsusom@gmail.com.