TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- When Florida State began the transition from Bobby Bowden to Jimbo Fisher in December 2009, Fisher hit the recruiting trail immediately.
Florida had routed Florida State 37-10 just days earlier. On the day Bowden was dismissed into retirement, Fisher was in South Florida trying to win over recruits.
He knew that the Dade-Broward-Palm Beach area was loaded with talented prospects. They were players that would help him turn around the Florida State football program. Many of those recruits are now juniors and seniors that have helped the No. 3 Seminoles open 7-0 going into Saturday night's showdown at home against No. 6 Miami (7-0).
"We spent a lot of time on them," Fisher said. "And we wanted to re-assure them of what we were going to do and what we thought we could do here."
Fisher quickly landed a five-star prospect in short order when defensive back Lamarcus Joyner gave his verbal commitment, who would become one of the cornerstone's of Fisher's first signing class in February 2010. And from there the pipeline has been flowing north to Tallahassee.
In 2011, Fisher landed receivers Rashad Greene of Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas and Kelvin Benjamin from Belle Glade Glades Central, tailback Devonta Freeman of Miami Central and tight end Nick O'Leary from Palm Beach Dwyer.
"There are so many great players down there," Fisher said. "And it's very critical down there that you get your share of guys."
It's a group that includes Florida State's leading rusher, three of the four top receivers and the second-leading tackler. All of them could have opted to go elsewhere, to less risky schools that weren't coming off struggles to finish the 2000s.
Fisher not only was able to land Joyner in February 2010 but also was able to keep him around for his senior season in 2013. Joyner wanted to improve his draft prospects by moving from safety to corner, so Fisher and first-year defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt liked the idea. And it didn't hurt that Pruitt was implementing a more aggressive defense, one that has often allowed Joyner to blitz off the corner.
"That was another big reason I came back, knowing that Coach Pruitt was going to come in and implement this kind of defense," Joyner said. "I trusted that it would help me show the skills I wanted to show. I'm at nickel, I'm at corner, I get to blitz, I get to play man-to-man. I get to do all those things I wanted to do coming back for my senior year."
Joyner has delivered with 37 tackles, three forced fumbles, three sacks and an interception. Joyner had three turnovers in the first half of the rout at Clemson. He is a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award (top defensive player) and the Thorpe Award (top defensive back).
While Joyner was the five-star that everyone wanted, Freeman was a backup that Fisher found by accident. On a recruiting trip to Miami, Fisher saw a Miami Central running back that was impressive in practice (the team's starter, Brandon Gainer, had night classes and wasn't practicing that night).
So Freeman, who had not been analyzed yet by the recruiting services or been offered a scholarship, soon had one from Florida State.
Freeman has 561 rushing yards and six touchdowns this season, but the junior is also eighth all-time on Florida State's career rushing TD list (22) and is 13th career rushing yards list (1,800).
"I've always got a chip on my shoulder," Freeman said. "But it's an even bigger chip on my shoulder knowing that more people from Miami are going to be watching, and more people from Miami knowing the situation that happened with my recruiting and stuff like that.
"(Miami) didn't offer me, they said they had too many running backs. (Then) by the time they wanted me, I already had in my head, 'I'm coming to Florida State.'"
Greene is Florida State's playmaker at receiver but he's also the Seminoles' most consistent receiver, grabbing a pass in 22 straight games.
The 6-foot junior is on pace to have a career season, pulling in 39 receptions for 690 yards. His eight touchdowns in just seven games is already a career high for a single season.
The catches are adding up for Greene, who has 134 receptions and 21 career touchdowns (both of which put him comfortably on Florida State's top 10 list in those categories). His 2,027 career receiving yards places him just 74 yards from a spot in the top 10.
"I feel like in my years here at Florida State I've been a very consistent receiver and I keep stressing that and getting better," Greene said. "At the end, I don't look at it as far as being about me, I just want to help my team win."
Benjamin has been a 6-foot-6 project, a receiver with plenty of talent that needed to be refined. After a redshirt season in 2011, he was frustrated by only grabbing 30 passes for 495 yards and four touchdowns a year ago.
He and Fisher talked about not trying to always turn every play into a 20-yard gain or a touchdown -- that winning games required moving the chains and earning first downs. Benjamin took that to heart, and he already has 23 catches for 430 yards and five touchdowns.
"I think I fell in love with the game all over again," Benjamin said. "He tells me he thinks that I feel like I have to make the big play all the time, and just settle for the 5-yard catch or the 7-yard catch. That's what I do now, just focus on catching the ball."
O'Leary has been catching the ball often, building one of the best seasons by a tight end in Florida State history. The junior has just 17 receptions, but his six touchdowns in 2013 are already a single-season school record by a tight end.
He has 10 TDs for his career, tying him for the most by a tight end in school history. O'Leary's 723 career receiving yards are already third in school history among tight ends.
"I kind of expected it now that I'm an upperclassman," O'Leary said. "I expected to get the ball more and be more a part of the team. That's what's happened."
Florida State has been averaging 52.6 points per game in 2013. The Seminoles have the nation's No. 3 scoring offense, and that's a credit to both quarterback Jameis Winston but also the surrounding pieces.
And four of them on offense are players that grew up in South Florida.
"We're pretty much unstoppable right now," O'Leary said. "We never feel like we're going to turn the ball over or punt the ball."
Contact Bob Ferrante at bobferrante17@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @bobferrante.
