Florida State rises to No. 5 in On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings

It has been an incredible 24 hours on the recruiting trail for Mike Norvell and his staff.

Florida State rose seven spots last night after the commitment of five-star cornerback Charles Lester III. Today, the Seminoles are up two more spots to No. 5 in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings with the commitment of Modesto (Calif.) Central Catholic four-star offensive tackle Manasse Itete.

That commitment gives Florida State its third offensive tackle in the 2024 cycle and 11th blue-chip prospect.

Itete is the nation’s No. 354 overall prospect and No. 24 offensive tackle according to the On3 Industry Ranking — a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 31 player in California.

The 6-foot-4, 290-pound Itete decommitted from USC yesterday after having been committed to the Trojans since the start of June.

“It was a hard decision because USC was my choice and where I thought I was going to go,” Itete told On3. “Florida State, those are my people. All of the people I love are there so I need to go somewhere that I’m the most comfortable every day. I know for they want me and they’ll push me to be great.

“…When I made my original decision, Florida State was one of my top schools Florida State but USC was showing the most love at that time. Since then though Florida State has been consistent and showing me love.  It honestly took me awhile to come to this decision.

“…Just to see the consistency Florida State has had with me helped me make this decision. I told them that I had made my choice but they kept telling me how much they wanted me. That’s what really just changed my mind.”

Itete joins surging Seminoles class

Itete is the 11th blue-chip recruit to commit to Florida State in the 2024 cycle. Lester joined the class last night as the Seminoles’ second five-star alongside Moultrie (Ga.) Colquitt County tight end Landen Thomas.

Florida State’s other top-150 commits include Savannah (Ga.) Benedictine Military School four-star quarterback Luke Kromenhoek, Albany (Ga.) Dougherty four-star running back Kam Davis and Pensacola (Fla.) Pine Forest four-star offensive tackle Jonathan Daniels.

Besides Itete and Daniels, Ovideo (Fla.) three-star offensive tackle Tye Hylton rounds out the Seminoles’ offensive line class in 2024.