Taylor Tatum offered by Florida State

Early Wednesday evening, Taylor Tatum was offered by the Florida State Seminoles football program:

Tatum is a 5’10 195 pound running back from Longview, Texas.

The Class of 2024 prospect attends Longview High School and has a 96 rating (high 4-star) from the 247 Sports Composite List. The sites consider him the 73rd best player in his class (5th best RB and 10th best player in TX).

Tatum already holds offers from the Alabama Crimson Tide, Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn Tigers, Baylor Bears, Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oklahoma Sooners, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Ole Miss Rebels, Oregon Ducks, Penn State Nittany Lions, Stanford Cardinal, TCU Horned Frogs, Tennessee Volunteers, Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M Aggies, Texas Tech Red Raiders, USC Trojans, and Washington Huskies, among others.

We spoke to Tatum, and he told us he received the offer on a FaceTime call with Florida State head coach Mike Norvell, but has been in touch with Coach David “YAC” Johnson (position) and Coach Chris Thomsen (area). He called the offer a “blessing” and said he’d like to potentially visit FSU in the spring.

From Gabe Brooks of 247 Sports:

Requisite height and frame with perhaps relatively leaner stature, but good build with space to add mass. Broad-shouldered and assembled well.

Instinctive lane-finder. Plays with patience. Presses blocks to allow for holes to materialize. Also knows how to buy a couple more strides of time on perimeter runs to help blockers re-route defenders.

Quick-footed in the hole. Regularly makes something out of nothing when penetration disrupts play in the backfield. Uses an effective hesitation to set up evasive measures in space.

Plenty functionally athletic to bounce runs, but plays with good discernment for a young back and keeps plays inside as needed. Flashes high-kneed, open-field speed to hit the big play. Run-finishing ability plays above listed size.

Outstanding production in junior season. Counting stats made huge jumps with higher volume, but per carry rate also remained high. Capable pass catcher who can flex to the slot and provide a true receiving threat.

Excellent athletic profile. Three-sporter who’s also a high-level baseball standout with hitting power and outfield range. Owns encouraging 200-meter track speed despite limited reps.

Knows how to shrink his target when anticipating contact, but runs upright at times. Shows some deceleration gear-down on occasion when redirecting. Will need to add some mass to maintain high-volume functionality and develop trustworthy pass-pro effectiveness vs. P5 talent.

Through junior season of high school, looks like one of the nation’s top running backs in the 2024 recruiting cycle. Physical tools and play style should fit myriad offensive schemes. Projects to the high-major level as an eventual impact starter with a long-term developmental ceiling that could lead to the earlier rounds of the NFL Draft.

Also plays baseball and competes in track and field.

Ran 200-meter times of 22.05 and 22.16 as a sophomore in Spring 2022. Ran the second leg of Longview’s 4x100 and 4x200 relays, which each finished in the top five at the Texas 5A state track and field championships. Earned Co-Sophomore of the Year honors on the Texas District 15-5A all-league team in Spring 2022. Ran a 23.01 200 and long jumped 19-6 in his only freshman track meet in Spring 2021.

2022: Texas District 7-5A D-I Overall MVP as a junior. Ran for 1,891 yards and 33 TDs on 8.33 ypc. Added 12-160-3 receiving. Helped Longview to a 14-1 record and the Texas 5A D-I state semifinals.

2021: Ran for more than 700 yards as a sophomore. Added 6-85 receiving, totaling nine TD (6 rushing, 3 receiving).

2020: Primarily played sub-varsity action before getting the call up to varsity in the playoffs.

As always, make sure to get more info by checking out Tomahawk Nation’s recruiting thread.