College Football

FSU Football Recruiting: 'Noles 2017 National Signing Day Primer

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 2:17 a.m. ET

Fansided, Kelvin Hunt/FanSided via Chop Chat

Check here for FSU football recruiting news in the days leading up to 2017 National Signing Day. All FSU football recruiting information is below.

The ‘Noles had a10-3 for the second consecutive year, but finished No. 8 in the final polls. FSU football is looking for another top five recruiting class under Jimbo Fisher.

They currently have the No. 5 recruiting class in the nation while still being in the mix for several blue chip players.

Fisher has already met most of the immediate needs of the class, and most programs would be happy with what the ‘Noles have thus far. However, if FSU is able to land even half of its remaining targets, it would be one of Fisher’s best overall classes ever.

Here’s a real-time look at the FSU football 2017 recruiting class:

In the Clubhouse (21 Committee) (247 Composite Ranking Next to Name)

Who’s Enrolled?

Who’s Committed?

Recruiting Battleground

Top prospects FSU football strongly in the running for:

The No. 6 overall player in the class of 2017 and the No. 1 ranked defensive tackle recruit. The main competition seems to be from LSU. Wilson really likes both schools, as LSU’s head coach is a defensive tackle coach. LSU is also closer. However, Wilson has visited FSU several times and camped there in the summer. Adding Wilson would give FSU the best defensive line haul in the country.

The No. 64 overall player in the class of 2017 and the No. 9 ranked wide receiver. The main competition for Smith was thought to be Alabama, LSU and Miami. Smith was supposed to visit Miami this weekend, had a game Friday night and supposed to get there Saturday. Smith visited FSU on an under the radar visit about a week ago. FSU has two excellent wide receivers and wants to add another elite receiver.

The No. 77 overall player in the class of 2017 and the No. 11 ranked wide receiver. The main competition for Ruggs will again be Alabama. Ruggs visited FSU about a week ago as well and really like his visit. However, Ruggs is apparently the No. 1 player on Alabama’s board and he’s from Alabama too. It could come down to a numbers game.

The No. 92 overall player in the class of 2017 and the No. 6 ranked linebacker. The main competition for Jones seems to be USC, UCLA and Florida. Jones really likes FSU and is visiting this weekend. He seems to be a highly impressionable kid, so having the last visit could be huge. FSU wants one or two more linebackers in this class since they’re losing two or more in the next year.

The No. 177 overall player in the class of 2017 and the No. 8 ranked linebacker. The main competition for Warner seems to be Stanford. Warner camped at FSU this summer and impressed, but wants to major in Engineering. He has yet to be admitted into Stanford and Jimbo Fisher had an in-home visit with him a couple of days ago. He’ll announce on National Signing Day.

The No. 378 overall player in the class of 2017 and the No. 25 ranked defensive tackle. Farrell is a current LSU commit that FSU is trying to flip. He is visiting FSU this weekend. Farrell isn’t a replacement for Wilson if FSU happens to miss there as they are different types of defensive tackles. Some think Farrell is a bit underrated with a three-star ranking. At the very least he would have great depth to an already monster defensive line class.

Other Targets

Gray is an excellent safety prospect that’s currently committed to Tennessee that really likes FSU. The ‘Noles staff have been trying to get Gray to visit as he was scheduled to do so, but Tennessee has done a great job of getting him to avoid the visit. He seems to be sticking with his commitment after openly flirting with FSU football.

Gay is excellent linebacker prospect that’s from Mississippi. FSU got to the party a bit late in this process and it looks like this battle is down to LSU, Michigan and Mississippi State.

This ship seems to have sailed. Originally it was thought to be a Alabama/FSU battle with Parks really wanting to go to Alabama if their roster numbers worked out. The news on Parks regarding FSU seems to have cooled in the last couple of weeks.

Intriguing prospect that visited FSU football a couple of days ago. He’s 6’7 205 pounds and being recruited by FSU defensive ends coach Brad Lawing.

Thoughts

FSU is in a position where all of the remaining targets are outside of the state of Florida except for Parks. They’ve done about as good a job as one could ask with this class. They have elite players and a number of players with excellent upside at the moment.

One thing to keep an eye on is the numbers game. FSU will likely have to trim its roster if they are able to land four or five of these targets.

That’s something that Jimbo Fisher hasn’t done much of in the past, and would suggest a move to strengthen the roster overall.

This post will be updated in real-time as commitments/news become available.