Florida State trending for 4-star IOL, former Florida commit Peyton Joseph

Fort Valley (Ga.) Houston County four-star interior offensive lineman Peyton Joseph announced his decommitment from Florida earlier this week. The 6-foot-3, 280-pounder is back on the board, but he’s already trending to another high-profile program in the Sunshine State.

Florida State has been in hot pursuit of Joseph this spring and has welcomed him to Tallahassee multiple times as a Gator pledge. Now that he’s once again uncommitted, the Seminoles look to be in pole position.

Three predictions have been logged in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) in favor of FSU landing Joseph. The Noles are now surging with a 59.6% edge in the RPM.

Joseph has been a mainstay on Florida State’s campus, as he was a week-long visitor this month. He’s gotten to spend plenty of time around Mike Norvell, offensive coordinator Alex Atkins and the rest of the staff, building relationships that could eventually lead to his commitment.

“The feeling was amazing getting back to Doak,” Joseph told Warchant this month. “Watching the coaches, all the players running through the (drills) was amazing to be around. It’s always good watching Coach Atkins. He’s one of those coaches that it’s him and the player working together. He’s a very good teacher. He’s a man of his word, and he teaches you the game the right way. And he’s a technician, so you can be the best player.”

Joseph is the No. 174 overall prospect and No. 12 IOL in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 26 player in Georgia.

Florida State looking to build on top-10 recruiting class

The addition of Joseph would be big for Norvell and Co. FSU currently has just four commits in the fold in the 2025 cycle, though the class ranks No. 10 in the nation and No. 2 in the ACC, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

The quartet of FSU commits are split on offense and defense. The current headliner in the class is Jacksonville Raines four-star interior offensive lineman Solomon Thomas — who ranks No. 20 overall in the On3 Industry Ranking.

“I wanted to make the decision for a good little minute now,” Thomas told Warchant after his December commitment. “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.

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.