Saturday’s FSU-Florida
game could have effect on future recruiting.
TALLAHASSEE — FSU defensive end DeMarcus Walker, in the waning days of his recruitment, considered Florida.
Former Gators coach Will Muschamp made a late push on Walker as he wavered from his commitment to play for Alabama, using Walker’s mom as a way to get in good with the Jacksonville native.
“She came inside the house and she was on the phone with Muschamp and Muschamp’s talking her ear off,” Walker recalled. “It was very close. Very close.”
The Seminoles, about a month prior to Walker committing to FSU in January 2013, fell to Florida 37-26. While his final decision came down to FSU and Florida, that game ultimately had no bearing on his recruitment. “Teams are on and off, you never know what they’ll be next year,” Walker said. “You’ve just go to see what the best opportunity is for you.”
Saturday’s contest between No. 13 FSU (9-2) and No. 12 Florida (10-1) has implications on the re-
cruiting trail for both programs. The result of the game itself is not overly important when it comes to prep prospects, but some believe it is a factor nonetheless.
“Recruits, they don’t make their decision based on one game, but they will based on how a season goes,” said Mike Farrell, the national recruiting director for Rivals.com. “And this has an impact on how this season goes for both of these teams.”
A slew of in-state prospects from the Class of 2016 are expected to be on the sidelines of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday night. The list of projected visitors includes Bradenton IMG Academy defensive end Shavar Manuel, Crawfordville Wakulla quarterback Feleipe Franks and Tampa Catholic receiver Nate Craig-Myers. All three bluechip recruits are uncommitted but are strongly considering Florida and Florida State.
The Gators, who are trying to parlay a turnaround season into an equally impressive recruiting haul, currently have the country’s 10th-rated recruiting class according to 247Sports.com. It is a significant jump from last year’s group, which was ranked 21st nationally. A win against Florida State could theoretically send a message to this year’s class as well as prospective underclassmen.
“Above all, Florida wants to put on a good show,” said Blake Alderman, who covers Florida recruiting for Rivals. “A win helps, definitely. But overall from a recruiting standpoint, nobody expected Florida to be 10-1. So far they’ve done a lot in recruiting.
“The last couple years, Florida has been down and Florida State has been riding the high horse and now Florida is starting to grab a couple of these kids. …This is really the chance for him to capitalize on it.” FSU currently has the No. 3 class, according to 247Sports.com. Coach Jimbo Fisher does not think the winner of this game necessarily has a huge edge on the recruiting trail, pointing to the fact that Florida still regularly sends players to the NFL despite recently falling out of the national spotlight and losing four of its last five games to FSU.
“It does have implications, don’t get me wrong, but both schools are going to get good players,” Fisher said.
However, Farrell and Alderman each believe Saturday’s contest could be quite “impactful” for FSU.
“It’s more important for Florida State,” Farrell said. “They’ve been the bully on the block the last few years, recruiting extremely well. It’s the program of choice for a lot of the top kids in Florida, so they have more to lose. But they need to reestablish their dominance with a victory, whereas with Florida everything at this point is gravy.”