Top Florida State offensive tackle target sets commitment date
Florida State is in a position to land multiple commitments throughout July after hosting 13 official visitors last month. The Seminoles won out over Auburn, Clemson, and Florida for top-100 defensive lineman Keldric Faulk earlier this week and it's possible that the trenches will get another addition in the near future.
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On Wednesday evening, top 2023 offensive tackle Lucas Simmons announced that he'd be making his decision on Monday, July 11. He plans to commit live on CBS Sports HQ between Florida State, USC, Florida, and Tennessee.
The national recruit finished off his slate of official visits with a trip to Tallahassee at the end of June. It was one of just three official visits that both of Simmons' parents attended (USC, Florida). He told them about what to expect from the Seminoles coming into the weekend and they seemed to be impressed.
"Man, It was good. It was my parent's first time seeing it," Simmons said to NoleGameday's Dustin Lewis last month. "I've been explaining how I feel about Florida State and what separates Florida State in different ways. There's only so much words can do, you know? When they stepped foot on campus and they met Atkins, they met Norvell, and they saw everything that I've been talking about, it's like they realized exactly what I've been seeing. It didn't disappoint at all on the OV either. I just saw another opportunity to spend more time with the players and the coaches. I just had a great time overall for sure."
Throughout his recruitment, Simmons has developed an extremely close relationship with offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Alex Atkins. While sitting down with him during the official visit, Atkins showed Simmons something that put everything the two have built into perspective.
"We had the campus tours and all that so my parents could see the College of Business," Simmons said to NoleGameday's Dustin Lewis last month. "What stood out to me the most was the meeting with Atkins. During the meeting, they said they had tape of me from my old camp. I camped at Florida State's Mega Camp a year ago. So we were looking at the tape, I had never saw that footage at all before. While looking at it, you can see me doing the drills completely wrong and then how coach Atkins taught me to correct it.
"It just really showed that our relationship has developed so naturally and it's been consistent for a year. It kind of put it all into perspective," Simmons continued. "Coach Atkins is a guy I really respect and trust. It's hard for me to trust people at all, especially college coaches because I feel that it can be kind of fake at times if you know what I mean. I feel with Atkins I know exactly what I'm getting into. I can't say any bad things about Atkins at all. I just enjoy talking to him."
Pairing Simmons with fellow offensive line commit Roderick Kearney would create one of the best tandems up front in the 2023 class. It would also be another feather in the cap for Atkins on the trail. The rising young coach has developed a reputation for being one of the top recruiters in the country. It's not due to glitz or glamour either. Atkins is as real as they come and builds relationships with players like few coaches in the sport.
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Florida State holds ten verbal commitments in the 2023 class which ranks No. 40 in the country according to 247Sports. Half of those pledges are on either the offensive or defensive line.
Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State football throughout the summer.
