4-star offensive lineman Julian Armella visited by Florida State

Four-star Miami (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas offensive lineman Julian Armella recently narrowed his focus to four schools, and one of the contenders visited him Thursday.

Florida State sent offensive line coach Alex Atkins down to Miami to see Armella, who has long been one of FSU’s priority targets. Armella is the No. 137 prospect in the On3 Consensus, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He ranks as the No. 9 offensive tackle nationally and the No. 18 prospect in Florida.

GO NOLES ! Great in home visit !🍢 #FSUFB #NOLEBLOODED pic.twitter.com/SHSjTePtW9

— Julian Armella (@ArmellaJulian) December 3, 2021

Julian Armella locked in on four schools

After sorting through more than 35 offers, Armella recently trimmed his list to four and discussed each school with On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons. Alabama, Florida State, LSU and Florida are the schools still contending for his commitment.

Armella is a Florida State legacy. His father, Enzo Armella, played defensive line for the Seminoles in the early 1990s. He grew up following the school in Tallahassee and is very familiar with the ACC program. Mike Norvell and Alex Atkins are recruiting him extremely hard, too. An official visit to Florida State is expected to take place in December.

The 6-foot-5, 280-pounder took an official visit to LSU in June. The Tigers recently hired Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, but they will have some major ground to make up if they want to be a true contender down the stretch. Ed Orgeron was a favorite for not only Armella, but his mother as well.

The only other official visit Armella has taken to date is to Alabama. He was there for the LSU game earlier this month. Armella raved about his trip to Tuscaloosa, saying it felt like “home” and he loved the “competition level” there.

Florida was scheduled to receive an official visit, but the firing of head coach Dan Mullen has thrown a wrench into those plans.

Who’s trending lately?

Entering the summer, LSU was in the prime spot. The connection with coach O was real. The other two SEC schools were high on his radar as well, and still, have to be considered contenders, but in recent weeks, there has been buzz around Florida State.

Like LSU, Florida is without a head coach. The coach Armella connected with, Hevesey, is no longer there either. Alabama is definitely in play, but Florida State is in heavy pursuit, and the Seminoles are expected to receive the final official visit.

Norvell, Atkins, and multiple staffers in Tallahassee have made sure Armella knows he is a priority, and it appears to have them in a good position late.