5-star TE Landen Thomas flips from Georgia to Florida State

Moultrie (Ga.) Colquitt County five-star tight end and Georgia commit Landen Thomas has been committed to the Bulldogs since July 2022. But prior to that, he was an early commitment to Florida State.

Even after he decommitted in October 2021, the Seminoles never gave up in their pursuit of him. His commitment to the Bulldogs didn’t change that either — FSU was relentless. After visiting Tallahassee over the weekend, Thomas is back on board with Mike Norvell and Co., flipping his commitment to the ‘Noles in the process.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder simply felt that his home was with the Garnet and Gold.

“I feel like they can get me the ball in all type of different ways,” he told On3. “I feel more comfortable down there, and they are trending in the right direction. FSU is going win a national championship soon. I made the final decision Sunday, but I have been thinking about it for about two months now.”

Florida State’s on-field success played a major role

A big reason for his change of heart in recent months has been the Seminoles’ success under Norvell on the field. After the program’s first 10-win season in six years, FSU has momentum both on the field and off of it.

“Coach Norvell has done so many good things at FSU,” Thomas said. “Just thinking about how they were his first year to now. He is building it back to where they used to be. All the coaches are. And another think I like about Coach Norvell is he’s gonna push you because he knows how good you can be and he’s going to tell you that.”

The decision, though, wasn’t an easy one. Georgia has produced some of the country’s best tight ends in recent years and is coming off back-to-back national titles. Still, Thomas felt like Florida State was where he is meant to be.

“The flip wasn’t easy at all because of the great things Georgia has going on,” he said. “They are coming off of two nattys and using the tight end so much in the passing game. It wasn’t an easy flip at all, but I felt like I belong in Tallahassee.”

Thomas joins a top-five class at Florida State

After the latest On300 rankings update, Thomas is the No. 20 overall prospect and No. 1 tight end in the 2024 class. Should be sign with the ‘Noles, he’ll be the first five-star recruit to do so since 2017 when FSU landed Cam Akers, Joshua Kaindoh and Marvin Wilson.

In this class, he joins up with top-50 running back commitment Kameron Davis and On3’s No. 5 quarterback, Luke Kromenhoek, to form a formidable offensive haul. The Seminoles also landed commitments from four-star wide receivers BJ Gibson and Lawayne McCoy over the weekend to push them into contention for one of the country’s top classes early in the cycle.