As summer continues to heat up, so does the activity in and around Tallahassee. It’s been a busy week for FSU athletics, so let’s get caught up on the need-to-know news in one all-encompassing article in this edition of Spear Review. Let’s dive in!
Florida State has been stacking talent in its growing 2025 recruiting class, which has a chance to be a truly transformational class for the Seminoles. Despite a brief roller coaster ride that is seemingly always the case with recruiting, FSU stayed hot on the trail with two more additions since the last time we did a recruiting update.
Florida State’s class is up to 12 commitments with a stellar 91.7% blue-chip percentage (per 247 ratings). They are ranked 17th (3rd in the ACC) in the 247 composite rankings and up to 9th (2nd in the ACC) in On3’s industry rankings. Their average player rating, which is arguably the most important metric, sits sixth in both sets of rankings.
Three-star Safety Max Redmon committed to Florida State on July 9th becoming the Seminoles’ 11th commitment in the 2025 class. The 6-foot, 185-pound defensive back out of Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach Florida is the first non-blue-chip commit of the class. However, don’t let the rating fool you, FSU is getting a physical DB that can provide versatility by being used as a Safety or closer to the line of scrimmage as a nickel.
In 2023, he totaled 64 tackles, 10 TFLs, 3 sacks and 2 INTs. Mike Norvell first saw Redmon at a satellite camp at FAU, so they got to evaluate him firsthand. We’ve seen these types of evaluations pay off for FSU in the past and allowed them to get on talented guys who later climbed in the rankings early. 247 Sports projects Redmon as a potential multi-year starter at the Power 4 level, so this feels like a value add for the FSU. According to the 247 Composite rankings, Redmon is the #94 Safety in the 2025 class and chose FSU over USF and Illinois.
FSU added a big-time addition to the class with blue-chip wide receiver Daylan McCutcheon from Lucas Texas. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound receiver is a Top 100 recruit nationally and the number 14 receiver in the 2025 class. This was a big win on the trail for FSU and wide receivers coach Ron Dugans as they beat out top-tier programs like Texas, USC, Ohio State, and ACC newcomer SMU.
McCutcheon has been highly productive against quality competition in Texas’ 5A division catching 92 passes for 1,430 yards and 20 touchdowns his junior season. His top attributes are quick feet, strong hands, great body control, and next-level after-catch ability. He has also been touted as a polished route runner at the high school level. McCutcheon is a multi-sport athlete who also competes in track and field. 247 Sports projects McCutcheon to be a Power 4 starter with NFL potential. He will join CJ Wiley as the second blue-chip receiver in the class.
As football season closes in, one of the last events before fall camp begins is the ACC football kickoff event in Charlotte, North Carolina. Media members will gather for the four-day event and speak with players and coaches from around the conference about the upcoming season. This will be the first one since FSU and Clemson announced their desire to leave the conference and the two began litigation against the conference and vice versa. While I expect all parties to remain professional, there will certainly be an awkwardness in the air and I’m willing to bet talk of realignment will dominate the headlines.
Last week we saw FSU QB DJ Uiagalelei decline his invitation to allow members from the 2023 ACC championship team to attend the event instead. Not only was it a nice gesture but a great example of the leadership role he’s taking on in Tallahassee.
For this year’s event, head coach Mike Norvell will be joined by Patrick Payton, Joshua Farmer, and Darius Washington. FSU will get its turn in front of the media on day one of the event (July 22nd). It’s worth noting that FSU, who is often negativity recruited for being portal-reliant, is bringing three high school signees who were all-conference selections in 2023. Plant The Spear will be on location in Charlotte bringing you coverage of the four-day event!
FSU baseball has been busy acquiring talent to restock its roster for next season, and they will have several holes to fill after 8 Seminoles heard their names called during the 2024 MLB Draft! Head Coach Link Jarrett will have some good selling points on the recruiting trail after the successful turnaround season that ended in Omaha, and now a flurry of draft picks to hang their hat on.
The Seminoles’ 8 draft picks were the most in the ACC, Top 5 nationally, and the most for FSU since 2017. We want to wish all those who elect to sign the best as they continue to pursue their dreams! The picks are detailed below.
There’s been some rumors spreading like wildfire over the past week about Florida State and Clemson potentially joining the Big 12 conference, or at least being in talks with the league. While it’s never a bad idea to explore all options, this option is unlikely to happen. The source of the rumor that started it all, Yahoo Sports Ross Dellenger, has already provided clarification that his comments were just speculation and nothing more.
There have been a few other accounts on X (formerly Twitter), that have also made claims of the two programs making the jump, but there is no proof to back their claims. In a world where clickbait runs rampant, these baseless claims should all be taken with a grain of salt. The fact is, no one knows what will happen with realignment until an official release is made. Anyone who claims they do know is simply speculating like everyone else.
Even if FSU were able to negotiate a reduced exit cost to leave the ACC, I’m not inclined to believe they would pay somewhere around 100 million dollars or more to join a conference that pays less than the conference they are currently in. The Big 12 also gets a slightly smaller cut of the new 12-team playoff revenue distribution. There is a look-in clause in the new playoff agreement in case more realignment were to happen, so that could change. There have been rumors of exploring private equity funding to entice FSU and Clemson into the move, but I haven’t seen anything tangible to report.
However, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has been aggressive with expansion in the past and stated his desire to bring the conference back to prominence. Florida State and Clemson are two of the three biggest brands (Notre Dame being the other) that exist outside of the Power 2 conferences. If they did decide to go all-in on replacing its flagship brands that recently departed for the SEC, these would be the obvious targets to go after if the Big 12 wants to really move the needle and close the gap on the Power 2.
From FSU’s perspective, I still believe it is the Big Ten, SEC or bust. Even if they could add the two big-name programs and renegotiate the TV contract, the Big 12’s media value obviously wasn’t enough to keep Texas and Oklahoma from leaving for the massive payout they are getting in the SEC. I could certainly be wrong, but this move feels very unlikely for Florida State. There is also the recent report that the Power 2 conferences are “unlikely” to add FSU if it becomes available. I did a full write-up addressing this in a recent article that you can read here.
College football fans across the country have been eagerly awaiting the release of the new college football video game after being absent for the past 11 years since its last edition in 2014. Those who pre-ordered the deluxe edition got an opportunity to play it a few days early on July 15th.
I’ve had a chance to play a few games before writing this article and I must say that EA Sports did a great job. Doak Campbell Stadium looks awesome in the game and features the iconic entrance with Chief Osceola atop Renegade planting the spear at midfield. The official release will be this Friday, July 19th. EA Sports may be doubting the Seminoles as only one player (Pat Payton) was rated above 90 on the game.
FSU is ranked #11 in the game, which aligns with most of the preseason rankings that we have seen. There are a few notable absences in the game, including former 5-Star WR Hykeem Williams. This is possibly due to players who opted out, did not opt-in in time, or simply were not yet added to the roster by the deadline in late April. The game will receive updates periodically so they can appear later. It’s been a long time coming to have the game back in our hands, and I missed yelling at my TV over a video game!
That’s going to do it for this edition of Spear Review. Until next time stay connected with Plant The Spear as we prepare to start rolling out a lot of preseason content to get Nole fans prepped and ready for the 2024 season! Thanks for reading and Go Noles!
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