Florida State remains in the mix for 5-star WR Caleb Cunningham

Ackerman (Miss.) Choctaw County five-star wide receiver Caleb Cunningham has the attention of every major program in the south. After naming a dozen schools among his top contenders in January, the elite wideout has been on the road visiting a plethora of schools into the spring.

March has already seen Cunningham hit Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss — all of which made positive impressions on his recruitment. Over the weekend, he got out of the SEC and hit Tallahassee for his latest visit with Florida State.

The Seminoles have been pursuing the 6-foot-3, 185-pounder, as he’s made trips to see Mike Norvell and Co. since 2022. With Cunningham’s latest trip down, FSU recruiting insider Michael Langston joined ‘The Inside Scoop’ to detail where the Noles sit in the jam-packed race for one of the top uncommitted prospects in the nation.

“It showed throughout the weekend, he had some eye-raising comments. ‘If my parents dropped me off, I’d feel like they’d be very comfortable with me here,’ so that’s big. His comfort with this offense is certainly attractive and it’s a heavy attraction,” Langston told On3’s Josh Newberg.

FSU will be a ‘major player’ in Cunningham’s recruitment

One thing that FSU will always have in its favor throughout the recruitment of Cunningham is the long-standing relationship. Before things began to take off for the wideout, the Seminoles were already making an impact. While the competition will remain stout until he makes a final decision, the Seminoles are carrying some momentum into the spring and summer.

“People forget, when his recruitment first started, he named FSU the No. 1 school. That was before he had really taken some visits. All of this stuff is positive, he’s saying all these great things, and I think FSU will be a major player,” Langston said.

That being said, Langston isn’t ready to call his shot and log a pick in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine. There’s plenty of time left before pen gets put to paper, but pulling Cunningham out of the SEC — more specifically the pair of in-state SEC programs, Ole Miss and Mississippi State — will be a tall order for the FSU coaching staff.

Time will likely tell for Cunningham, the No. 20 overall prospect and No. 3 WR in the 2025 cycle — according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

“I need to see some stuff — some body language, some tendencies — that leads me to believe that he’d leave that state. I haven’t seen that yet, personally,” Langston said. “I would think more likely to stay in the state, I need to see more. He’s going to officially visit FSU for sure, he’s probably going to be back there again this spring.”