Two recruiting classes paved road to success
TALLAHASSEE — The Class of 2010 vs. the Class of 2011.
It is a widely debated topic inside Florida State’s locker room.
The players remaining from the Class of 2011 like to take credit for the Seminoles’ rise to prominence. Members of the 2010 recruiting class, FSU coach Jimbo Fisher’s first class as the Seminoles’ head coach, beg to differ.
“For them it may be a rivalry,” said FSU senior linebacker Telvin Smith, a member of the 2010 class. “But for us, we know who solidified [it].”
The banter is all goodnatured. FSU players know they’ve received major contributions from members of every recruiting class, from redshirt seniors in the class of 2009 to true freshmen, during this 13-0 season. The Seminoles face Auburn Jan. 6 in the BCS National Championship Game in Pasadena.
Still, at the center of FSU’s success this season is the Class of 2010 and the Class of 2011.
To pick which class means more to the Seminoles, however, is no easy task.
“I don’t know if you can pick one,” Orlando Sentinel recruiting analyst Chris Hays said. “More import antly t han anything, they’ve melded together. You can’t do anything now without the other class. There are so many key elements what FSU does in both of those classes.”
FSU had the nation’s 9th-ranked class in 2010, according to 247Sports.com. The 2011 class was ranked No. 2.
The 2010 class has yielded seven starters on this current squad: Smith, cornerback Lamarcus Joyner, defensive end Christian Jones, safety Terrence Brooks, wide receiver Kenny Shaw, offensive tackle Cam Erving and fullback Chad Abram. Defensive end Bjoern Werner declared for the NFL Draft this spring and was selected in the first round.
“I knew this was a special group of guys and always will be to me,” Fisher said. “The things I wanted to put in this program, they took and put in this program. They were the ones who put it in there.”
That is the Class of 2010’s biggest argument when going back and forth with the Class of 2011: Unquestioned leaders like Joyner and Smith largely instilled their personalities in the makeup of this team.
“We always mess around Telvin and those guys, Christian Jones and those guys,” said junior running back James Wilder Jr., who is part of the 2011 recruiting class. “They’re always like ‘We got this started, man,’ just messing around, ‘We’re here because of our class.’ And we’re like ‘Well, our class has the most people that’s on the field, we brought us here.’ ”
The 2010 class placed the f ramework f or FSU to evolve into a title contender. However, it is difficult to ar- gue that the Class of 2011 took the team to another level.
Starters or key contributors from that class include: Wilder, running back Karlos Williams, running back Devonta Freeman, receiver Kelvin Benjamin, linebacker Terrance Smith, defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan, tight end Nick O’Leary, offensive tackle Bobby Hart, receiver Rashad Greene, offensive guard Josue Matias, defensive tackle Nile Lawrence-Stample, safety Tyler Hunter, offensive guard Tre’ Jackson, and reserve center Austin Barron.
“Those guys followed up tremendously. They did their job,” Telvin Smith said. “They filled our shoes and they made our shoes grow a