Five-star CB Charles Lester III says "Florida State is where my heart is"

The recruiting dead period lifted last week and Florida State wasted no time getting busy on the trail. The Seminoles hosted their first Junior Day of the year as talented prospects from the 2024 and 2025 classes checked out the campus and met with the coaching staff.

Five-star cornerback Charles Lester III is a recruit that FSU has circled in on for quite some time. He returned to Tallahassee on Saturday alongside his family to attend the event.

“It’s always great to be back on campus around the coaches and being around these great people,” Lester said to NoleGameday's Dustin Lewis. “I always love coming back to Tallahassee, and it’s just a special time here.”

There wasn't much more for Lester to learn about the campus as he visited Florida State at least five times last year. He got a chance to participate in a photoshoot and sit down with the coaching staff.

"We went around campus. We were really just enjoying our time, enjoying the opportunity to be back around each other," Lester said. "We had some meetings with coaches, took some pictures, just rode around on the golf cart seeing different things."

“I know the standard and how the environment is here, so I just expect it to be the same, expected coach Norvell to be the same excited, hype-man," Lester continued. "And expected all the coaches to be the same caring, loving people that they are. I just came in knowing the past experiences I had.

Earlier this month, former defensive backs coach Marcus Woodson departed Florida State to take a similar position at Arkansas. The change doesn't appear to have an impact on where the Seminoles stand in Lester's recruitment.

"I just told coach Norvell the same thing,” Lester said. “Once I heard Coach Woodson was leaving, it just separated me from him in our relationship individually. I’m not saying that I don’t want to talk to him anymore, but just saying I will probably talk to him less, because he left, but with Florida State as a brand, it did nothing. I’m locked in with Florida State for itself and for the rest of the coaches. When I started getting recruited, I wasn’t just only talking to him, there’s about 50 other coaches. So, when he left, you’re down one, but next person up.”

On Wednesday, the program officially announced the addition of Patrick Surtain Sr. as its next defensive backs coach. Surtain Sr. was a defensive assistant for the Miami Dolphins and spent nearly a decade coaching for American Heritage High School in south Florida. Lester offered his thoughts on the hire.

“I don’t know much about him, himself, but just knowing about his son, and where he’s at right now, and knowing about the background that the coaches gave me on him. To me, it sounds like the almost perfect fit to the perfect team,” Lester said. “He sounds like a great dude to help these kids, kids like me, to improve as men and as football players. He seems like the one that can come and get it done, and bring this school back to DBU.”

Florida State won ten games this past season and capped the campaign off with a victory against Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl. Lester has seen the progress the program has made over the last couple of years and believes this upcoming season could be special for the Seminoles.

“I’ve been a Seminole my whole life, just the past three years, I’ve been watching and just hearing the things they were saying about FSU. Capping the season off, it was a great way to approach the situation," Lester said. "A lot of people two years ago said FSU was going down the drain. Now after this year, it’s like how it’s supposed to be, and it’s only going to get better. So just leaving off this year and going to next year, I feel like there’s a lot more still to be done. The 10-3 season they already had, going into next year I feel like is going to be one of the special years in the turnaround for the Seminoles.”

Head coach Mike Norvell and General Manager Darrick Yray both personally greeted Lester and his family when they arrived on campus. Norvell's energy and passion are two aspects of his personality that stand out to Lester.

“I talk to coach Norvell a lot, really. He’s a great dude. Out of all the head coaches I've met, he’s the most excited, amped up, energetic. He's more about the kids than anything else. He just wants the kids to be the best them," Lester said. "That guy just wants to be in a position to help anybody he can to get them where they want to be. That's what pumps him up, excites him more. He’s excited to come to work with kids that have the same mindset as him. He always talks about how if he’s going to recruit anyone, he’s going to recruit a kid that has heart. That says a lot about him. He’s not just recruiting for the kid with the most talent, he’s recruiting for the kids that love the game and will be here every day like it’s their last, and that’s the type of team and type of people that I want to be around.”

Being a Seminole means something to Lester. As he says it, he's 'been a Seminole' his whole life, dating back to his youth league football team.

“I've been a Seminole for my whole life,” Lester said. “When I was in youth league, my youth team was called the Seminoles. Before I even started getting recruited by the Seminoles, I was still a Seminole before anything. Like I had offers before the Seminoles, but at heart, I was still a Seminole. No matter if I end up here or somewhere else, the Seminoles will always be that team in my heart. I’m just attached to them.”

The Florida native will take visits to all of the programs in his top 5. It's likely that he checks out Florida State more than any other school in his recruitment, which has been the case so far over the last few years.

“I come back here a lot because I've always been a Seminole, so it’s a dream come true coming to this school just to hang out. So, like, if there was anywhere to go, and we just wanted to go to a school to hang out for the day, the first choice would be Florida State," Lester said. "We’d just hop in the car and drive down here. They have open arms all the time. Even if they’re off, they’ll come in just to have me here. So before anywhere else, I’ll come to Tallahassee. And we’ll roll past Gainesville to get here.”

To begin the new year, Lester released a top five on January 1 that included Florida State, Florida, Alabama, Ohio State, and Georgia. He says that the Seminoles are where his heart is.

“I wouldn’t say there’s a leading team, but I just released my top 5 schools. If anybody is a leader, it’s Florida State, but everybody kind of sits in the same spot right now," Lester said. "I have different feelings for different teams, obviously, but just taking the best chances and opportunities before narrowing anything else down. I’m trying to keep every team, university in the same spot, and not downplay one of them... It wouldn’t matter if I was to commit to somewhere else, like, Florida State would always be the winner in my heart. Just personally, Florida State is where my heart is.”

The 6-foot-1, 171-pound cornerback is regarded as the No. 22 overall prospect, the No. 3 CB, and the No. 7 recruit in the state of Florida in the 2024 class according to 247Sports.

Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State football throughout the 2023 offseason

Follow NoleGameday on Twitter and Facebook