Grading the Florida State football 2021 recruiting class as Mike Norvell tries to recapture some of the magic down in Tallahassee.Â
Anyone hoping that Florida State football was going to take a dramatic, positive turn in the first year under head coach Mike Norvell was in for a rude awakening in 2020. The hope is renewed for 2021, though, as the developmental coach now has a full year to coach and bring in his guys.
The prized newcomer for the Seminoles won’t be a freshman but, rather, UCF transfer quarterback McKenzie Milton. If he’s healthy, this could be a game-changer for FSU and the offense. And they’ll need it with a recruiting class that is outside of the top 30 overall rankings.
With that, let’s grade the Florida State football 2021 recruiting class to see what kind of talent is coming to Tallahassee. Note: All rankings are via the 247 Sports Composite.
Biggest Florida State football commit for 2021: Hunter Washington, CB
The elephant in the room is that there is only one recruit that ranks inside the top 250 in this class for the Seminoles and Hunter Washington is right on the edge at No. 250. But even still, the 4-star cornerback is the kind of player that FSU has used well traditionally. He’s a bit undersized at 5-foot-11, 178 pounds but he has great quickness and agility and his ability to be a moving piece in the secondary could pay dividends for Florida State as they try to replenish the defense.
Strengths, weaknesses of the 2021 Florida State football recruiting class
Norvell is very clearly trying to revamp the FSU defense right now as 10 of their 16 commits are on that side of the ball, including six of their seven highest-rated recruits. That makes the defense, the front-seven in particular, a big strong point of the class.
The offense is another story. There is no skill position player inside the top 500 overall recruits that the Seminoles have landed and they also have no running backs in the class as of now. For a team with as many holes as they’ve shown in 2020, that’s less than desirable.
Diamond in the rough of 2021 Florida State football class: Joshua Burrell, WR
Burrell is one of the players not ranked inside the top 500, sitting at No. 515 overall and as the No. 77 wide receiver in the class. At 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds, though, you have to believe that Norvell sees something in him and could make him a real weapon in this offense given his size and length with nice bulk already on it.
Where does Florida State football rank in the 2021 recruiting cycle?
All told, it doesn’t look great for Norvell and the Noles here. They are ranked just No. 6 in the ACC and No. 31 overall thus far in the 2021 cycle. There’s certainly room for improvement there.
Florida State football recruiting grade: B-
On one hand, this isn’t the level of recruiting Florida State is known for. On the other, Norvell’s style is developing his guys, which he seems to be primed to do with this class.
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