FSU Football's Woeful QB Recruiting in the 2010s

Last month, our Sports Illustrated mothership published a series of articles aimed at deciding which program could lay claim to being the university for each position group over the last decade.

Florida State made the top 10 at a few positions: Linebacker U, DBU. And its highest rank at any position: QBU.

The criteria SI employed was largely intended to determine which schools sent the most coveted talent into the league, greatly valuing players' draft position. So Christian Ponder, EJ Manuel, and Jameis Winston all being first-round selections painted a pleasant picture for the Seminoles.

But Ponder and Manuel were recruited to 'Noles during the 2000s. If you read between the lines closer, and look at how FSU actually recruited the quarterback position during the 2010s, a very different story is told. And it doesn't exactly appear to be one with the happiest of endings-- although that could still change.

Let's review the high school signal-callers who've signed with the 'Noles since 2010, when Jimbo Fisher took over for Bobby Bowden, and how they left FSU.

2010 3-star dual-threat QB Jarred Haggins: converted to receiver
2010 3-star prostyle QB Clint Trickett: transferred to West Virginia
2011 3-star prostyle QB Jake Coker: transferred to Alabama
2012 5-star dual-threat QB Jameis Winston: won national title, drafted No. 1 overall
2012 3-star prostyle QB Sean Maguire: mostly career backup at FSU
2013 3-star dual-threat QB John Franklin III: transferred to CC, Auburn, FAU
2014 4-star prostyle QB JJ Cosentino: rarely used backup during FSU career
2015 4-star prostyle QB Deondre Francois: dismissed, now with Hampton
2015 3-star dual-threat QB De'Andre Johnson: dismissed, CC, FAU, TX Southern
2016 4-star prostyle QB Malik Henry: transferred to CC, Nevada, West Georgia
2017 4-star prostyle QB Bailey Hockman: transferred to NC State
2017 3-star prostyle QB James Blackman: two-year starter, remains on FSU roster

And then those who've yet to have a chance to play:

2020 4-star dual-threat QB Chubba Purdy: signed, enrolled
2020 3-star prostyle QB Tate Rodemaker: signed
2021 4-star prostyle QB Luke Altmyer: verbally committed

Alright, so let's work backward here. We'll give new head coach Mike Norvell credit for doing twice in one recruiting class what his predecessor Willie Taggart couldn't do once in two classes: sign a quarterback out of high school. Hence that gap between 2017 and 2020-- that's the Gulf of Taggart.

But let's go back to the Fisher years, from 2010-2017. After all, he's a QB guru, so this has to be impressive-- right? Well across 12 signees covering eight years, only the three in bold finished their careers as FSU quarterbacks. Okay, Blackman still has a chance to add to this number, but he's far from a guarantee not to transfer. So best case scenario, 33% made it through. If he winds up transferring: 25%.

The transfer market will always be rife with quarterbacks. These guys have been too highly acclaimed throughout high school at the game's most important position to stand around with a clipboard when there are chances to start elsewhere. But a quarter to a third? That's the kind of number that takes a program from Pasadena to Shreveport.

And look who did make it through their time. Winston's career, of course, speaks for itself. And I think Maguire was who we thought he was. But Cosentino never approached anything befitting his blue-chip ranking. End of list.

Of course Winston was the best prospect on this list, as indicated by his ranking, and he more than fulfilled expectations. But those after him are just a long list of poor decisions and missed opportunities. Remove him and you're out that 2013 national championship, some conference titles, and certainly that 29-game winning streak.

Fisher checking out didn't help matters-- nor did Taggart. But again, Norvell is off to a good start, with two blue-chips in two classes, as of now. Fisher signed five in eight years, two of whom finished as Seminole QBs. One was Cosentino. The other was Winston. 'Nole fans will be eager to see if Norvell can develop the promising prospects he recruits, instead of needing them to be generational talents.

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