Florida State rises to No. 7 in On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings

Venice (Fla.) five-star cornerback Charles Lester III gave Mike Norvell his biggest recruiting win since coming to Florida State Friday night. Lester ended up choosing the Seminoles over Alabama, Colorado and Georgia.

That pledge gave the Seminoles their second five-star commit of the 2024 cycle. It also propelled them back into the top 10 nationally.

Lester’s pledge boosted the Seminoles to the No. 7 class in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. The class, which also ranks No. 2 in the ACC, rose seven spots from No. 14.

The 6-foot-1, 171-pound defensive back is the No. 20 overall prospect and No. 2 cornerback in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 4 player in Florida.

“It’s a family atmosphere and every time I go on campus, it’s just a feeling I get there,” Lester told On3. “They’ve got really good people there.  Each individual coach shows the same amount of attention and love to me.”

For Lester, his decision to commit to the Seminoles over the other schools in his final four came down to his relationship with Norvel.

“When I’m there, it’s the same him every time,” Lester said of Norvell. “You won’t get the laid back him or anything like that because he’s hyped every time. I can’t speak for no other recruit but every time I was at Florida State, Coach Norvell made me feel like I was the only person he wanted out of this class.”

For more Florida State recruiting intel, check out Warchant.

Seminoles building a top-10 2024 class

Prior to Lester’s pledge, Norvell’s biggest win at Florida State was flipping Moultrie (Ga.) Colquitt County five-star tight end Landen Thomas back away from Georgia. Thomas had been committed to Florida State before flipping to Georgia and then back to the Seminoles earlier this year.

While Lester and Thomas highlight the class for the Seminoles, they’re just two parts of an impressive class Norvell and his staff have put together so far.

Of their 18 pledges, four are ranked as top-60 recruits. The other two besides Lester and Thomas are Savannah (Ga.) Benedictine Military School quarterback Luke Kromenhoek and Albany (Ga.) Dougherty running back Kam Davis. Kromenhoek is the No. 52 player in the country while Davis is No. 57.

The Seminoles also hold pledges from a pair of top 200 recruits in Pensacola (Fla.) Pine Forest offensive tackle Jonathan Daniels and Tallahassee (Fla.) Florida State Univ. School athlete Micahi Danzy.