Florida State trending for one of the nation's elite defensive linemen
Building and rebuilding along the offensive and defensive lines is a major priority for Florida State with its 2025 recruiting class.
The Seminoles, who entered the week at No. 12 in the On3 Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings, have four commitments — two of whom are projected to play in the trenches. Jacksonville (Fla.) Raines five-star Solomon Thomas headlines a strong early start for Mike Norvell and Co., but they’re still targeting multiple players along both sides of the line.
One of their top defensive targets hails from the Sunshine State in Port Charlotte (Fla.) four-star defensive lineman Myron Charles. The ‘Noles are battling Miami, Florida, USC and a host of others, but they look to have the upper hand right now, according to On3’s Steve Wiltfong.
On Wednesday, he dropped an expert pick in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) for FSU to eventually land Charles.
“I like Florida State as the program to beat for Charles and have the Seminoles in the top two alongside South Carolina for Greensboro (Ga.) Greene County On300 defensive lineman Kevin Wynn,” Wiltfong wrote. Charles told him that playing style, development and the relationships he has built with the coaching staff have been huge.
“What excites me is their play style,” Charles said. “They’re gonna develop you to the max and to let athletes be athletes. Got a great staff that’s not gonna let you fail. Only one stopping you is yourself. Truly where stars come to shine. Gonna be surrounded by great players that also want to be great that’s gonna push you and have people you can compete against everyday. I think FSU is gonna continue to grow. They know how to recruit the right way. Everyone not just the football staff has been there for so long and still enjoy getting outta bed early in the morning and staying there late. Just by so many great people every day.”
The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Charles is the No. 58 overall prospect in the 2025 On300 rankings. He also ranks as the nation’s No. 4 defensive lineman and No. 8 recruit in the state of Florida.
More on the Seminoles’ 2025 class
The quartet of FSU commits are evenly split on offense and defense. Thomas, the No. 20 prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking, jumped on board in December.
“I wanted to make the decision for a good little minute now,” he told Warchant when he committed. “I actually wanted to commit the day after they had said that Florida State wasn’t going to go to the playoffs, which I was kind of upset about because I was rooting for them. … It hurt me, so I was like, ‘OK, I’m gonna make it to where they can’t count us out again.”
On the offensive side, Thomas is flanked by Jacksonville Mandarin three-star quarterback Tramell Jones. The 6-foot, 185-pound signal-caller may be just the No. 32 QB in the cycle, but his stock has continued to rise since his pledge to FSU in April 2023. He was recently named to the Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles this summer, the nation’s most prestigious quarterback competition.
On defense, Cocoa four-star EDGE Javion Hilson is a former Alabama pledge who joined the fold in Tallahassee in January following the retirement of Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban. He is a top-50 overall recruit. Sanford Seminole four-star linebacker Ethan Pritchard is also committed to FSU and is the No. 35 player at his position.