On Wednesday night, Jimbo Fisher was asked a question regarding his loyalty to Florida State at his weekly call-in-show. Just after the fan got the question off, he was shoved and escorted outside of the filming area, while Fisher remained mum on the situation. Fisher has been asked about the vacancy at Texas A&M multiple times, but has declined to comment each time.
Shortly after the altercation and Fisher’s decision to not comment once again, four-star defensive back Houston Griffith announced his decommitment from Florida State. The four-star IMG Academy (Fla.) senior was FSU’s second highest rated recruit in the 2018 class, the 60th overall player in the country, 9th among corner backs and No. 12 in Florida by 247 composite rankings. He originally committed to Florida State on October 8th.
Griffith tweeted that he committed to Notre Dame earlier this month, but said it was a teammate who had his phone and did it. The talented defensive back and Notre Dame have had mutual interest in each other and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Griffith in South Bend next year.
On Monday, I asked Fisher at his weekly press conference if he felt not commenting regarding rumors of him departing to Texas A&M would have any negative implications on recruiting in Tallahassee. He gave a simple answer of “no.”
Longtime 2018 commit and Tallahassee native Amari Gainer also spoke about the matter earlier on Wednesday saying the situation was “very unsettling” in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat. Gainer will make an official visit to Texas next weekend, and the Seminoles could be in danger of losing its three-star local linebacker and biggest recruiter among the class.
The father of Florida State linebacker Josh Brown chimed in on the situation:
FSU AD and Administration needs to get this situation under control immediately. We are losing valuable commits because of the silence and lack of communication. This is ridiculous!!
— frederick brown (@frederickbrn) November 30, 2017
Update 9:40 PM: Florida State lost its second commit of the night. Israel Mukuamu, three-star safety out of Bossier City (La.) Parkway announced his decommitment. The No. 541 player in the nation according to 247 composite rankings directly cited the uncertainty in the coaching staff at Florida State as the reason.
Please respect my decision...got to do what’s best for me! pic.twitter.com/MoEeDnktxC
— Israel Mukuamu (@IsraelMukuamu) November 30, 2017
Update 10:37 PM: And make it another decommitment. The nation’s No. 3 center, Verdis Brown, took to Twitter as well to part ways with the Seminoles.
I have decided to decommit from Florida State University and reopen my recruitment.
— Verdisbrown52 (@verdisbrown) November 30, 2017