Just when we thought Florida State had closed out its high school class for 2025, the Noles made a late addition on Monday afternoon, adding dual-threat quarterback Gavin Markey out of Jefferson, Georgia. Markey posted on social media about receiving an offer from FSU on February 22nd and pulled the trigger on his commitment coming off a visit to campus over the weekend.
Markey is an intriguing prospect with the size to be a bruising runner at 6-foot-2, 235 pounds. He also has a decent combination of speed, power, and athleticism, with a 4.6 forty-yard dash time, 37.4 inch vertical, and benching over 300 pounds, according to his NCSA recruiting profile.
Markey was a two-year starter at Jefferson, leading them to a 24-4 record over the past two seasons. During his senior season, he was awarded first team all-state and all-district honors. He completed 54% of his passes for 1,547 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions in his senior season while adding 1,660 yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground. He has put up 4,838 all-purpose yards and 69 total touchdowns over the past two seasons.
Could the Noles have found a diamond in the rough who fits the Malzahn offense? It appears they think so, as Markey is a recruit who was certainly flying under the radar. He is not currently rated by any of the major recruiting services and only has a profile with Rivals. His only other offers were to Murray State, UT-Martin, and Virginia Military Institute. To be fair, Jared Verse was also a zero-star recruit coming out of high school.
Markey’s post-commitment comments indicated that things went well throughout his meetings with quarterbacks coach Tony Tokarz and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. He sees himself and his play style as a good fit for Florida State’s new style of offense. Keep in mind that under the new system, there are no longer walk-ons in college football, so Markey will count towards the 105-roster limit.
Malzahn has a history of using dual-threat quarterbacks in his run-heavy offense. One of his most successful quarterbacks at UCF was 6-foot, 200-pound dual-threat John Rhys Plumlee, who rushed for over 1,300 yards in two seasons. Markey definitely seems to fit what Gus likes in a quarterback. I’m sure he will be more of a developmental prospect, but he does give FSU added depth at the position with a guy who fits the system, and his film looks pretty good. Not to bring up a rival or say that he will be the same caliber, but he has a big arm and an almost Tebow-esque style of play. Thanks for reading, and Go Noles!
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