Noles247 War Room: Latest on Florida State Football recruiting after beating Virginia Tech (2024)

LJ McCray wrapped up his official visit to Florida State over the weekend on Sunday and he gave an in-depth overview of how the trip went to Noles247 yesterday.

FSU gambled by not using their official visit on McCray during the summer with his four other finalists, Georgia, Florida, Miami and Auburn all hosting him on campus in June. The Seminoles' gamble paid off in that they were able to get McCray to take an in-season trip to Tallahassee just a few weeks removed from his planned decision date.

Here's everything we've gathered on where things stand with FSU and McCray as he heads into decision-mode:

-- FSU has caught-up in his recruitment. The Seminoles were not a true contender with McCray from April to August. Before this weekend, McCray hadn't been in Tallahassee for a visit since March. FSU's ability to get him to Orlando to watch their win over LSU in week one and to also have him make it to campus for his planned official visit over the weekend was massive in catching up in this recruitment.

-- I view Florida as FSU's biggest contender in this recruitment right now. Georgia is another strong factor with Miami and Auburn also very much in the mix. It's the Gators, however, that I hear the most about when it comes to McCray's recruitment. While the Seminoles have been recruiting McCray longer, UF has set the tone in this recruitment in 2023 and they continue to be an attractive option to the Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland standout.

-- According to McCray over the weekend, he intends to make a decision sometime after his birthday on October 18. So this is truly crunch time for him and his family as they look to choose one of five finalists as his future home.

-- We'll continue to update this recruitment over the course of the next few weeks as I anticipate a few twists and turns along the way.

Prior to this weekend, five-star defensive back commit KJ Bolden had been to two Florida State games this season and both were not in Tallahassee. He attended LSU vs. FSU in Orlando in week one before heading to Death Valley to watch FSU take down Clemson in week four.

Bolden was finally back in Tally over the weekend for his first visit to FSU since committing to the Seminoles in early August. I wrote over the weekend that Bolden was a local celebrity as he walked around Doak Campbell Stadium signing autographs and taking photos with fans all afternoon.

FSU fans worried when Bolden took two visits to other programs this season in Georgia and Auburn. I'm not overly concerned when it comes to the strength of Bolden's commitment to the 'Noles right now.

I think he's truly locked in with FSU -- although he may take a visit or two elsewhere this season. I expect him back at FSU for the Miami game on November 11 and he could attend either the Syracuse game this upcoming weekend or the Duke game the weekend after.

I expect FSU to host Bolden on an official visit after the season -- likely in December prior to national signing day.

Something to note: I think there is a very real possibility that Bolden joins FSU's football team for bowl practices in December. That's something, I'm told, that's being worked on right now.

Jordan Boyd, a three-star edge rusher committed to Georgia Tech, was back at Florida State over the weekend. It marked his first trip to Tallahassee since being offered by the Seminoles after a summer camp in late July.

Boyd has remained in communication with the FSU coaching staff but I wouldn't describe FSU as in an all-out pursuit of his services at this time. I think both sides are mutually interested in each other but as FSU works out its defensive end board, they could either increase or decrease contact with Boyd as the cycle progresses.

He did indicate in his post-visit interview that he's planning to be back at FSU for their game against Miami in November. He also let us know that FSU is the only other program recruiting him aside from the Yellow Jackets.

Florida State hosted three important 2025 defensive line targets on campus for the Virginia Tech game...

4-star DL Jalen Wiggins: FSU got the Tallahassee (Fla.) Rickards standout back on campus for the first time this season and the Seminoles defensive line impressed him. FSU is battling other in-state programs like Florida and Miami for Wiggins and I reported before the trip that I think the Seminoles have an uphill battle to climb in this recruitment. I think that may still be the case but I view it was a very positive sign that they were able to get him back on campus over the weekend. They need to continue to get the local talent on campus this season.

4-star DL Amare Adams: South Carolina is a state FSU loves recruiting -- especially when it comes to defensive lineman. Amare Adams is a prospect FSU badly wants in their 2025 class and they finally got him back on campus over the weekend. He hasn't been in Tallahassee since he was at the Clemson at FSU game in 2022. FSU knocked it out of the park with Adams and his family over the weekend. The 'Noles will look to get Adams back on campus this season and for an extended stay in January.

4-star DL Isaiah Gibson: FSU has been the team setting the edge in Warner Robins (Ga.) Isaiah Gibson's recruitment. He made it back to campus over the weekend as the Seminoles look to continue building on their momentum in this recruitment. I'm looking to catch up with the Peach State standout to garner his thoughts on his latest trip to Tallahassee.

FSU landed a spring commitment from four-star 2025 quarterback Tramell Jones and made it clear from the jump he was their guy. Jones told Noles247.com that the FSU coaching staff wouldn't have another 2025 quarterback in the office of head coach Mike Norvell.

They held true to their word when four-star 2025 quarterback Carter Smith visited campus over the weekend. Not only did Smith not step foot in Norvell's office when he met with the coaching staff on Sunday, the staff communicated to Jones beforehand that Smith was going to be on campus.

The Seminoles feel great about Jones and his fit into their offensive scheme. It's also clear they'll continue to evaluate other 2025 quarterbacks as Jones continues to visit other schools.

FSU is recruiting a number of talented 2025 running backs and one of the prospects they communicate a good amount is four-star running back Taevion Swint. UCF has held the pledge of Swint since April but he made it clear to Noles247 over the weekend that the Seminoles are a favorite school of his.

Keiwan Ratliff helps the 'Noles recruit the Orlando area and he's done an excellent job in Swint's recruitment to the Seminoles. Head coach Mike Norvell has also taken a personal role in recruiting the shifty running back out of Osceola High School.

I don't think FSU is in any rush to push for a flip from Swint but I do think they'll continue to chip away at his early pledge to the Knights.

A prospect that showed up to Florida State over the weekend that wasn't on our initial expected visitor list was Berkeley Prep defensive back Dallas Golden. A four-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, Golden is a recruit that FSU absolutely loves in the 2025 class.

They worked him out over the summer at their June Elite Camp and since that trip, he's been a top priority at defensive back for the Seminoles in that class.

Five-star FSU commitments Charles Lester III and Landen Thomas both were expected at Florida State over the weekend but did not end up making their trips to campus.

I'm not hitting the panic button yet with either prospect but schools continue to reach out to both in an attempt to change their minds on the Seminoles. It's important FSU is able to get them back on campus at some point over the next few weeks to make sure everything is going well in each of these recruitments.

To my knowledge, they were not on any other campuses over the weekend.

Five-star 2025 offensive lineman Solomon Thomas was slated to be at Florida's game against Vanderbilt this past weekend. Instead, he showed up in Tallahassee for FSU vs. VT. He was joined by several family members including his mother on the visit.

Thomas is one of FSU's top overall targets in next year's class and one of, if not their top option along the offensive line. Thomas already has a strong relationship with Alex Atkins and him making it to campus again was a positive sign.

UF, Georgia, Miami and others are all early contenders in this recruitment.

FSU's game against Syracuse got selected for a noon kickoff which isn't the most positive news when it comes to recruiting. It's not easy to convince prospects and their families from far-away locations to trip to Tallahassee for a noon game as they'll likely have to leave their hometowns early in the morning or make multi-day visits.

I expect most of the visitors for this Saturday's game to be from local or semi-local spots like North Florida and South Georgia. There will be exceptions but I don't expect the visitor list to be stacked with talent from locations far from Tallahassee.

Next week's game against Duke is set to be a night game and the visitor list is already looking stacked. More on thatsoon...