Florida State hosts important list of recruits on official visits this weekend

Update: Kongbo may be rescheduling visit for next weekend. We will monitor how the weather impacts the visits as well.

With National Signing Day now less than two weeks away, it truly is crunch time for the Florida State football staff that looks to finish their recruiting period with a strong finish. Much of that starts this weekend when the Seminoles welcome in nine 2016 recruits, three of whom have already committed to Florida State. Here's the lengthy list of who will be taking their official visits to Florida State this weekend:

Commitments

Baveon Johnson

Johnson, a 4-star center out of Lake Gibson HS in Lakeland, Florida, has been committed to Florida State since March of last year. Measuring in at 6'3", 330 pounds, Johnson already weighs more than any of the three centers who started for Florida State last season. He is ranked as the best true center and fourth-best player in Florida in the 2016 recruiting class. Despite taking an official visit to Alabama last weekend, Johnson remains firmly committed to the Seminoles.

Kyle Meyers

Meyers is a 4-star cornerback out of Holy Cross HS in New Orleans, Louisiana and has been committed to the Seminoles since receiving an offer when he was participating in Jimbo Fisher Camp last July. Meyers is listed as 6'0" tall and 170 pounds and has remained committed to FSU despite receiving offers from the likes of Clemson, LSU, and Ole Miss, among others.

Jamel Cook

Cook, a 4-star athlete specializing in defensive back and safety from Miami Central HS in Miami, Florida, has been committed to FSU since February of last year. However, Cook's ranking as the No. 2 athlete in the 2016 class, as well as his 6'4", 190 pound frame, has brought on some late offers from other schools and Cook's visit to Tallahassee is sandwiched between a visit to Louisville last weekend and a trip to LSU the weekend of January 29th, establishing that Cook's official visit is likely the most important of the three commits.

Targets

Keith Gavin

Gavin, a 6'3", 211 pound 4-star wide receiver out of nearby Wakulla HS in Wakulla, FL, was committed to Florida State for over a year before he made the decision to reopen his recruitment last August. Alabama has emerged as the main competitor for Gavin despite additional offers from Clemson, Florida, and Georgia. Gavin used his official visit to Tuscaloosa last weekend and saved his final official visit for Florida State this weekend, potentially a positive sign for the Seminoles.

Keyshawn Young

Florida State has made a late surge for Young, welcoming him for an official visit just days after making an in-home visit. He is listed as a 5'11", 175 pound 3-star receiver out of Miami Senior HS in Miami, FL who is also able to play defensive back. It is known that Young is close with Jamel Cook and that they often make visits together, both visiting Tallahassee just one week after both took officials to Louisville. Young will follow this visit with official visits to USC and Alabama in the next week but Michigan, his first OV back in November, is currently thought to be the favorite to land him.

Jonathan Kongbo

Kongbo, the nation's top junior college prospect, is a 4-star strong-side defensive end. Measuring in at 6'5.5" tall and 264 pounds, he played one year at Arizona Western College but has been courted by the best teams in the nation including Alabama, Oregon, USC, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss since reopening his recruitment and decommitting from Tennessee early this year. This is most likely a FSU/UT battle but FSU should be in good position by getting his last visit this weekend.

Raekwon Davis

Davis, a 4-star defensive tackle from Meridian HS in Meridian, Mississippi, is rated as the 11th-best defensive tackle in the nation. Weighing in at 327 pounds and measuring 6'6.5", Davis is larger than any of Florida State's currently defensive tackles. His Florida State visit comes one week after his OV to Mississippi State that saw him flip from Alabama to MSU and back to Alabama. His final visit will be the weekend of January 29th to the Crimson Tide (this is reversed from earlier in the week).

Stephon Taylor

Taylor is a 4-star defensive tackle out of McDonogh 35 HS in New Orleans, Louisiana and measures in at 6'4", 292 pounds. He owns an impressive list of offers including LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, and FSU, among others. Despite his crystal ball currently being split between Texas and LSU, Taylor will visit Florida State and South Carolina over his final two weekends before Signing Day after visiting the Longhorns last weekend.

Clifford Chattman

Chattman hails from McDonogh 35 HS in New Orleans, just like the aforementioned Taylor. He is listed as a 6'4", 175 pound 3-star athlete who specializes in safety and outside linebacker. Chattman recently named Florida State in his top 4 on Twitter, along with Texas A&M, Arizona, and Oklahoma. Chattman's visit to Florida State follows his OV to Arizona last weekend and is followed by his final visit to Texas A&M next weekend. With Taylor and Chattman, the Seminoles' advantage is that they are both visiting the same weekend as FSU commit Kyle Meyers, who is also from New Orleans.

Should Florida State hope to retain their top-five recruiting class in the final team rankings, a productive weekend of official visits over this week and next will go a long way towards ensuring that the Seminoles finish the year strong.