Schoffel: Now's not the time to worry about FSU's recruiting rankings
Team recruiting rankings don't mean much in May, with nine months remaining until February's traditional National Signing Day.
You know that. I know that. Everybody knows that.
There's so much time remaining -- and so many prospects available on the national landscape -- that a program ranked outside the top 15, 20 or 30 could make a dramatic move before the dust has settled on the class of 2021.
Until that happens, however, there is bound to be some uneasiness for programs that are lagging behind their rivals. Especially if those programs are being led by new coaching staffs. With first-year head coaches who are unproven at the Power 5 level.
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Despite all of the excitement surrounding Mike Norvell's hiring this past December, and regardless of all the positive reviews from inside and around the football program since his arrival, it's understandable that some fans are concerned about what's happening in recruiting.
As of May, 18, 2020, the Florida State Seminoles rank 39th in the Rivals recruiting rankings. And that's after last week's commitment from four-star Texas cornerback Hunter Washington. Before that announcement, the Seminoles were several spots lower.
So, yeah, it hasn't exactly been a hot start to this recruiting cycle.
* Miami 4-star OL commit plans official visits to FSU, three SEC schools
Florida State simply isn't accustomed to being lumped in with programs like Northwestern (No. 36), Boston College (No. 37) and Kansas (No. 41) in the recruiting rankings. This isn't the first time the 'Noles have been there, but it's certainly not their customary position.
FSU fans also are witnessing programs around the country piling up commitments left and right, and they're wondering why their team isn't doing the same.
As of this morning, there are 31 programs in the country with at least 10 commitments for the class of 2021; Florida State has six.
Not only that, but the Seminoles' two biggest rivals -- Miami and Florida -- each have 13. The Gators' class is currently ranked No. 5 in the country, and the Hurricanes' crop is ranked No. 13.
Tennessee has 21 commitments in hand. Ohio State has 18.
So I get why some FSU fans are growing concerned. At the same time, it's way, way, way too premature to even think about judging Norvell's and this coaching staff's ability to recruit.
Just look at the hand they've been dealt since arriving in December and how they've played it.
They had to spend the first six weeks salvaging FSU's 2020 class, and I think most would agree they did an admirable job with that. They not only held onto most of the previous staff's commitments, but they snared a pair of promising quarterbacks and filled some other important needs.
They also have done an outstanding job of mining the transfer portal to add players at a variety of positions, including defensive tackle, defensive end, offensive line, running back, defensive back, linebacker and tight end. Have they landed every transfer they've wanted? No way, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a team that has addressed as many needs through the transfer market.
Then they got off to a nice start with the 2021 class by landing commitments from four-star quarterback Luke Altmyer and four-star linebacker Branden Jennings in February. At that point in time, I think most Florida State fans had to be very pleased with what they had seen from this coaching staff when it comes to accumulating talent.
Since then, however, things have slowed to a crawl.
Despite handing out a slew of offers, the Seminoles have landed just two commitments in the last three months -- Washington and three-star offensive lineman Jake Slaughter. And several prospects that FSU was involved with have committed elsewhere.
So it's understandable that fans would start raising their collective eyebrows. But passing judgment at this point -- given these set of circumstances -- would be incredibly unfair.
When the NCAA shut down in-person recruiting in mid-March, it put first-year coaches like Norvell at a sizable disadvantage. Not only have his assistant coaches not been able to get out on the road to build relationships around the state and the Southeast, but they haven't been able to bring prospects in to check out how different things are under the new regime.
Dozens of top recruits who were planning to visit FSU in March and April now will have to wait until later this summer or the fall. And while programs around the country are dealing with that reality, it is particularly challenging for a new staff -- especially one in this situation.
As we all know, Florida State's football program hasn't exactly developed a sterling reputation over the past few years. The team looked disinterested at times during Jimbo Fisher's final season in 2017, and they appeared disorganized and undisciplined during both of Willie Taggart's campaigns.
The only way Norvell and company can really sell recruits that things will be different in 2020 and beyond is by showing them. By letting them watch practices. By having them spend time around the program.
That's why those March and April visits were going to be so important. But once everything was shut down, they lost those opportunities.
I also think it's important for everyone to remember that Norvell's staff is starting out at a much different place than either of his two predecessors.
When Taggart took over, Florida State was just one year removed from a string of 10-win seasons. As ugly as the 2017 campaign was, it could be explained away as a blip for one of the premier programs in the country. That's why Taggart was able to get involved with so many five-star and four-star recruits during his first few months on campus. (He might have landed a bunch of them, too, if the product on the field wasn't so bad.)
Norvell doesn't have that luxury. He's taking over a program that is in the midst of a three-year slide. A team that has been averaging six wins a season.
And while some might suggest that Fisher faced a similar scenario when he stepped in as head coach in 2010, I would argue that he also inherited a much better situation. Fisher had been on the coaching staff for three full years as offensive coordinator before he took the top job. He had been visiting recruits and building relationships in Florida and Georgia for months and months before he started pushing for commitments.
Mike Norvell still hasn't been face-to-face with a lot of the prospects the Seminoles are trying to recruit for this class.
That's not making excuses. It's stating facts.
And to be honest, I don't think anyone is going to feel the need to explain anything about Florida State's recruiting under Norvell once things return to normal.
Once prospects can spend time around this program, once they can see how organized his operation runs, once they see the way players are buying in to his leadership, FSU will start making up ground in a hurry.
Will they make a splash at the elite level? Will they start beating out the Clemsons, Alabamas and Georgias for the best prospects in the country? I can't predict that. Not for awhile anyway.
Because even if Norvell gets this program humming at peak efficiency, he still has to prove he can walk into a living room after a Dabo Swinney or a Kirby Smart and seal the deal. That is a new challenge for him. And while I'm sure he is confident that won't be a problem, many others will have to see it to believe it.
What we do know now is he's fully capable of running a quality program. He has some excellent recruiters on his staff. They are, by all accounts, working extremely hard. And they have a great brand to sell.
My hunch is this is going to be the exact opposite of what we saw in Taggart's first year on the job. Taggart was able to sell hope for a quick turnaround in the beginning but couldn't back it up on the field.
Norvell's best days on the recruiting trail will likely come after prospects have seen him coach. The problem right now is very few of them have gotten that opportunity.
Contact managing editor Ira Schoffel at ira@warchant.com and follow @IraSchoffel on Twitter.
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