Florida State football, recruiting news: Derwin James’ draft stock continues to trend upward

Football

Derwin James is a projected first round draft pick and is one of the most uniquely athletic players in the 2018 class. Gil Brandt of NFL.com assessed the top 10 defensive backs to pursue in free agency and the NFL Draft and put Florida State’s James at No. 3, behind Alabama’s draft prospect Minkah Fitzpatrick and free agent veteran Malcolm Butler. In Brandt’s analysis of James, he said: “He’ll start and contribute immediately in the NFL.”

In Mel Kiper’s Mock Draft 2.0, James is projected to go to the Seattle Seahawks with the No. 18 pick in the draft.

Head coach Willie Taggart and company began “the chase” this week. The intense offseason workouts were employed by Taggart at South Florida and later Oregon, and he is now brining the regimen to Tallahassee. Seminoles.com shared photos online here.

Recruiting

Football programs are constantly fighting for an edge to secure the top recruits in the nation. Florida State is aware of this and is working to potentially add to its current facilities. Our David Visser discusses the latest wrinkle to these plans here.

Other Sports

The FSU baseball team took a major hit when LHP Tyler Holton announced via his Instagram account that he would be undergoing Tommy John surgery to repair his torn UCL and would miss the remainder of the 2018 season.

Holton started on Opening Day for the Seminoles on Feb. 16 and exited after four innings with apparent discomfort in his arm. Read more on the situation from Kris Dunn here.

FSU’s No. 9 women’s basketball team will host Boston College tonight at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in the RISE Unity Game. RISE (The Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality) intends to bring people together and understand one another through the platform of sport.

The team will look to bounce back from a loss to Duke on Monday.