Florida State Staying Consistent With Four-Star CB Ricky Knight III

There are a ton of defensive backs on Florida State's recruiting board for the 2024 class. There might not be a prospect who fits the bill of what the Seminoles are looking for better than four-star cornerback Ricky Knight III. The rising senior has length, quick instincts, and a competitive nature that can't be taught.

A trending target for Florida State, Knight III and his family returned to Tallahassee over the weekend to observe the program's second scrimmage of the spring.

"Today's experience was full of excitement, it was amazing. I was with my family and to see my family just enjoy this place shows me that they truly care about it," Knight III said to NoleGameday's Dustin Lewis. "To see the guys interact with my family also showed that they want to show a lot of love towards me and they truly mean what they say and what they're talking about. Coach Norvell made it pretty clear that he's not promising me playing time, none of that, he's promising me that he's going to push me to be the best that I can be but he also promised that I would never fail here."

As Knight III mentioned, one of the highlights of the trip was spending more time around head coach Mike Norvell. The honesty and consistent message from the Seminoles really seemed to stick with him.

"Honestly, it was just the fact that coach Norvell made it pretty clear that he's not trying to give no selling speech," Knight III said. "He's being genuine and he's being 100% from the heart."

"He didn't switch up what he said," Knight III continued. "It's been the same message since day one, since he first gave me an offer, it's been the same message, that he would not fail me and that he's not trying to buy me. He's not trying to sell me this dream. He's been 100% and just keeping it real with me."

The Florida native was also able to meet with defensive backs coach Patrick Surtain Sr. The most recent addition to the staff outlined what he expects out of Knight III.

"He just let me know how many guys they're losing," Knight III said. "He also let me know what his expectations were for me if I was to come here and he let me know that he wants to be my guy coach."

The level of competition, which is an aspect that Knight III searches for, was evident through FSU's scrimmage on Saturday morning. To him, it looked like everyone on the team was in sync.

"For the most part, I'm always focused on competition. I want to see who is competing and it very clearly stood out to me that everybody was competing and everybody wants the same goal, a national championship," Knight III said. "You could see the guys gelling together, communicating. When one of the players got kicked out, there was no fighting between them. They let him know what's wrong, what happened and how to fix it. That just showed that they're gelling together and becoming a family."

Outside of Norvell and Surtain Sr., he was able to hang around Director of High School Relations, Ryan Bartow, and defensive backs graduate assistant, Andrew Wilson. Players such as Akeem Dent, who is from the same area, and KJ Kirkland also spoke with Knight III.

Coming out of his second visit to Florida State this year, Knight III claims that the program is "very special" to him. The Seminoles were the first team to extend him a scholarship offer back in January.

"This place is very special to me. When I was a kid, this was the first and only college I've ever been to. It was when coach Jimbo Fisher was the coach. I came here for a camp, I stayed on campus, I was here for football. This place is just special to me because they've kept the same message since day one. How many people can say that they were a guy with no stars, no offers and their first offer was from head coach Mike Norvell from FSU."

At this stage of his recruitment, Knight III has official visits scheduled to Penn State on June 2-4 and Florida State on June 15-17. He's also considering programs such as Penn State, Texas A&M, and others.

Knight III is planning to make a commitment in the summer following his official visits. A decision "might" come sooner depending on how his recruitment continues to unfold.

The 6-foot, 168-pound cornerback is regarded as the No. 439 overall prospect, the No. 42 ATH, and the No. 65 recruit in the state of Florida in the 2024 class according to 247Sports.

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