Florida State bolsters #Tribe26 with productive LB addition

The Florida State football family runs deep as garnet and gold bloodlines have entrenched themselves across multiple generations.

Over the years, the Seminoles have fielded their fair share of brothers, some whom shared the field together at the same time. That will continue in 2025 with true freshmen defensive lineman and twins, Mandrell and Darryll Desir. Last season, Ja'Khi Douglas and Jaylin Lucas were briefly able to play alongside each other before the latter suffered a season-ending injury in the second game.

The family ties in Tallahassee aren't going to slow down anytime soon.

On Tuesday, three-star linebacker Noah LaVallee announced he was committing to Florida State following an official visit. LaVallee previously visited Ole Miss and also held offers from programs such as North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Michigan State, among others.

LaVallee is the younger brother of redshirt sophomore linebacker Caleb LaVallee, who transferred to the Seminoles from North Carolina during the offseason. Noah LaVallee has been a consistent visitor to FSU over the last few years.

The Georgia native is coming off a dominant junior season where he totaled 124 tackles, eight tackles for loss, one sack, two fumble recoveries, five pass deflections, and a blocked punt. LaVallee had 10+ tackles in nine games, including a season-high 18 tackles in a loss to North Cobb High School on September 20.

The 6-foot-1.5, 220-pound linebacker is regarded as the No. 1230 overall prospect, the No. 103 LB, and the No. 131 recruit in Georgia according to the 247Sports composite ratings.

With the addition of LaVallee, Florida State holds 13 verbal commitments in its 2026 class which moves from No. 29 to No. 26 in the country. The Seminoles previously landed three-star linebacker Karon Maycock.

Other names to note at linebacker for Florida State include five-star Xavier Griffin, four-star Rodney Colton Jr., four-star TJ White, three-star DQ Forkpa Jr., and three-star Adam Balogaun-Ali.