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Florida State's 2014 recruiting class arriving on campus: Gallery, facts and outlook on each

By Bud Elliott
  • Protect the QB QB J.J. Cosentino (left) and OT Brock Ruble (right). The Northeastern pair will be rooming together. Both are expected to redshirt.
  • JUCO OT Chad Mavety With FSU OL coach Rick Trickett. Mavety is expected to provide instant depth on the offensive line and has an outside shot to earn a starting job in 2014.
  • Center Alec Eberle From Virginia, Eberle profiles as a center or guard, and is expected to redshirt and pack on muscle. He'll be rooming with defensive end Rick Leonard, of nearby Maryland.
  • DE Rick Leonard, with mom Leonard tweeted that he is now 268 pounds. He is rooming with Alec Eberle, and may be able to avoid a redshirt.
  • Malique "Bones" Jackson Jackson goes by "Bones." He played quarterback in high school, but will be a cornerback for Florida State. A redshirt is possible while he learns the position, but he may be able to avoid it. Photo courtesy Noles247.com twitter
  • OL Corey Martinez Martinez picked FSU over Miami and wants to become a lawyer. He profiles as a guard or center, and is most likely headed for a redshirt as Florida State is loaded on the offensive line. Photo courtesy of Martinez' father, Ron
  • DT Demarcus Christmas Christmas is now reportedly up over 310 pounds and will be expected to play significant snaps for the FSU defense in his freshman season.
  • Linebacker Delvin Purifoy Out of Pensacola Catholic, Purifoy will be rooming with LB Kain Daub. Florida State is ridiculously loaded at LB, so playing time as a freshman will be tough to come by. He checks in at 6'1.5, 240.
  • LB Jacob Pugh Tallahassee Godby product Jacob Pugh is a physical specimen. But with how loaded FSU is at linebacker, playing time might be tough to come by. He'll be rooming with RB Jonathan Vickers, also of Tallahassee.
  • RB Jonathan "Jay" Vickers Playing time could be difficult to find for the 6'0, 200-pound Vickers as a freshman, but the Tallahassee product is rooming with Jacob Pugh.
  • OT Roderick Johnson, and mom Johnson is 6'7, 330, wants to study computer science, and will be rooming with Derrick Kelly Jr. He says what he'll miss most about his Missouri home are his friends and family. Johnson may avoid a redshirt.
  • OT Derrick Kelly Jr. Kelly, of nearby Gadsen, will be rooming with Roderick Johnson.
  • WR Ermon Lane Lane has been in Tallahassee since late May and is up to 203 pounds. He'll be expected to compete for immediate playing time at receiver.
  • DL Lorenzo Featherston Featherston needs to add 30+ pounds of muscle. Once he does, he can be a dominant pass rusher after his redshirt season.
  • WR Javon Harrison Harrison is a tremendous athlete, but raw as a receiver. He'll be adding muscle and could eventually be a 6'2, 210-pound type receiver. He is rooming with Travis Rudolph.
  • DL Fred Jones Jones is expected to redshirt and refine his game while adding mass.
  • DT Derrick Nnadi Important freshman DT expected to play meaningful snaps for #Noles right away.
  • WR Travis Rudolph The most college-ready receiver in the country, Rudolph will be a strong contender to start right away for Florida State.
  • OL/DL Adam Torres Torres will be asked to add muscle and will begin his work on the defensive line, though he also has offensive line versatility.
  • OL/DL Arthur Williams Some questioned whether Williams would qualify, but he is expected to be in. He'll begin his career on the defensive line, and is extremely raw, so a redshirt is likely.
  • LS Stephen Gabbard Gabbard enrolled early and is from Tallahassee Godby HS.
  • LB Kain Daub Due to some issues with the clearinghouse, Daub was unable to participate in spring ball, though he did enroll early. He's expected to be a full participant in fall, but playing time for the freshmen linebackers will be tough to come by. He'll be rooming with Delvin Purifoy.
  • RB Dalvin Cook Cook says he is 100% after shoulder surgery, and the early-enrollee five-star is expected to compete for meaningful carries as a true freshman.
  • DB Trey Marshall Marshall has taken to the weight room and could play in dime packages. He is not expected to redshirt.
  • JUCO OL Kareem Are Are has slimmed down considerably since enrolling early, and will challenge for a starting spot on the line.
  • Early returns show FSU's freshmen have been working hard
  • Two tight ends Ryan Izzo (left), Mavin Saunders (right). The pair will be rooming together. Saunders is already up to 245 pounds, while Izzo is at 235 pounds. Both are 6'5+, and there is a chance one or both could avoid a redshirt if they impress early on. Saunders wants to major in criminology.

On Friday, Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher announced that all of Florida State's 2014 signing class is expected to qualify. That is huge news for the FSU program, as several students had to work hard down the stretch to make it in, and at the time of signing, few believed that all 28 signees would qualify.

Obviously, qualifying players is important. It's something that Florida State has done exceptionally well under Jimbo Fisher. But it's even more important because Florida State signed a lot of players who have extremely high ceilings, but who will need serious time in the college strength and conditioning program like Florida State's, and not that of a JUCO, to reach that potential.

In all, Florida State signed a quarterback, two running backs, three receivers, two tight ends seven offensive linemen, seven defensive linemen, three linebackers, two defensive backs and a long snapper. With 16 of the 27 position players (long snapper excluded for obvious reasons) being rated four-stars or better, it was one of the best classes in the country yet again under Jimbo Fisher.

Most of the class arrived over the weekend, and the rest will trickle in throughout the week. Five players enrolled for spring semester (Dalvin Cook, Trey Marshall, Kain Daub, Stephen Gabbard, Kareem Are).

Our gallery viewers will be able to find an interesting note or two on each player as they click through and familiarize themselves with each player. Those unique notes contain items like the player's current weight, intended jersey number, roommate, course of study, etc. We also speculate on who will receive early playing time, and who might be waiting a bit.

I also discuss each player's potential for early playing time. Given that the 2014 team is expected to be one of, if not the best team in the history of Florida State, many of the freshmen won't be getting a lot of playing time. But some will, and even those who aren't expected to get a lot of early playing time are going to need to be working hard for 2015, because Florida State stands to lose more off the 2014 team than any team in the school's history.

All "NFTC/Opening" photos courtesy of Student Sports

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