No. 1 Jake Weinberg visits Florida State for first time since committing to the Seminoles

Florida State opened the new year by landing the top kicker in the country in rising senior and 2024 prospect, Jake Weinberg. Over the weekend, Weinberg and his family made their first trip to Tallahassee since committing to the Seminoles to attend the final Junior Day of the month.

From the moment he arrived, Florida State's coaching staff rolled out the red carpet. Weinberg spent the majority of the day alongside special teams analyst Carter Barfield and also met with head coach Mike Norvell.

"Everything. Right when I got on campus everyone here was greeting me," Weinberg said to NoleGameday's Dustin Lewis. "They took me on a tour, I went to lunch with the coaching staff, and it's truly been a great moment for especially me and my family. I'm taking it all in and I can't wait to come back up here."

"It was definitely a cooler moment for me because everyone there was just greeting me. I got to sit in coach Norvell's office and it was just cool," Weinberg continued. "The staff here is just amazing, the team keeps getting better and better. Coach Norvell was telling me that we're going to win a national championship soon and it's definitely going to be my class that's going to help us out."

The energy stood out from the moment Weinberg saw coach Norvell. That passion and excitement is part of the reason he's thrilled to be a Seminole. Norvell broke down to Weinberg what he's searching for in a kicker and how he's going to push him once he's officially at Florida State.

"Really he just wants to see mentally. Special teams here is a big part for him, he said it's the first thing they do in practice," Weinberg said. "You see on his board they've got a bunch of the hidden yardage, the net punts, field goals, and all that. He said the two things that he looked at me [for] was how mentally I can deal with everything and how hard I work. He said when I get here that he's going to keep pushing me to work harder."

The Seminoles struggled with consistency from the field goal team in 2022 as redshirt sophomore Ryan Fitzgerald went through a slump while changing his mechanics. However, Fitzgerald ended the year on a strong note by hitting the game-winning kick against Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl.

"As a kicker, that's who I watch. Especially if I go to a game, I'll watch them warm up. Ryan's a great kicker," Weinberg said. "I kind of like want to see how they warm up before he's about to go out there. I just think Ryan did a really good job this year of keeping the pressure in. I mean, he had the game-winning field goal against Oklahoma in the bowl game so it's pretty cool to see how he can always bounce back and how it's always about staying strong mentally."

Weinberg has built a strong bond with coach Barfield, who will be one of his primary coaches at Florida State. He's also got a special connection with defensive ends coach/special teams coordinator, John Papuchis, who originally offered him the opportunity with the Seminoles.

"It was pretty cool. I've been with coach Barfield like everywhere, I just went to lunch with him," Weinberg said. "Coach JP's a cool guy, I got off the phone with him on new years eve when he offered me the scholarship and I was almost in tears because he's such a great guy. I was making some jokes with him about how I can play d-end too."

The Florida native has already been building a relationship with the other members of #Tribe24. Most of the commitments reached out to him following his announcement including five-star running back Kam Davis and four-star quarterback Luke Kromenhoek.

"Once I announced the commitment, every kid so far who is committed reached out to me," Weinberg said. "It's like a brotherhood, we're all trying to get up here the same day to talk football."

A couple of other programs have reached out to Weinberg to get him on campus, including Auburn. To this point, he hasn't set up visits to any other school outside of Florida State.

"There's some schools that have been but I've told every school that I'm talking to that I'm firmly committed to Florida State. I mean, Auburn's trying to get me on campus but I'm 100% committed to Florida State. This has been my dream school for a while and I'm so stoked to be here. I can't wait."

Weinberg will return to Tallahassee in March for a spring practice and for the spring game on April 15. He plans to take his Official Visit during the fall for a game.

The 5-foot-10, 160-pound kicker is considered the No. 1 kicking prospect in his class by Kohls Kicking. Weinberg is yet to be ranked in the 2024 class according to 247Sports.

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