Florida State is in position to land multiple commitments in July after hosting 13 official visitors last month. The Seminoles won out over Auburn, Clemson and Florida for top-100 quarterback Keldrick Faulk earlier this week, and it’s possible the trenches could get another addition in the near future.
READ MORE: QB Chris Parson updates commitment status with FSU
On Wednesday night, 2023 offensive lineman Lucas Simmons announced he will make his decision on Monday, July 11. He plans to commit live on CBS Sports HQ between Florida State, USC, Florida and Tennessee.
The national team completed its list of official visits with a trip to Tallahassee in late June. It was one of only three official visits in which both of Simmons’ (USC, FL) parents were present. He told them what to expect from the Seminoles coming into the weekend and they seemed impressed.
“Man, it was good. My parents were seeing it for the first time,” Simmons told Dustin Lewis of NoleGameday last month. “I was explaining how I feel about the state of Florida and what separates the state of Florida in different ways. There are so many words, you know? When they stepped on campus and met Atkins, met Norvell, and saw everything I was talking about, it was like they realized exactly what I was seeing. It didn’t disappoint me at all for OV either. I just saw another opportunity to spend more time with the players and coaches. I just had a great time overall.”
During his recruitment, Simmons developed an extremely close relationship with offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Alex Atkins. While sitting with him during the official visit, Atkins showed Simmons something that puts everything the two have built into perspective.
“We had campus tours and all that so my parents could see the College of Business,” Simmons told NoleGameday’s Dustin Lewis last month. “What impressed me the most was meeting Atkins. During the meeting they said they had a recording of me from my old camp. I camped at Florida State Mega Camp a year ago. So we watched the tape. I had never seen that tape before. As you watch it, you can see how I was doing the exercises completely wrong and then how Coach Atkins taught me to correct it.
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“It really showed that our relationship has grown so naturally and consistently over the course of a year. It kind of put everything into perspective,” Simmons continued. “Coach Atkins is someone I really respect and trust. I have a hard time trusting people at all, especially college coaches, because I feel like sometimes it can be fake, if you know what I mean. I feel with Atkins, I know exactly what I’m getting myself into. I have absolutely no bad things to say about Atkins. I just enjoy talking to him.”
Pairing Simmons with fellow offensive lineman Roderick Kearney would create one of the best tandems up front in the class of 2023. It would also be another feather in Atkins’ cap on the trail. The rising young coach has earned a reputation as one of the best recruiters in the country. It’s also not due to glitter or shine. Atkins is as genuine as it gets and builds relationships with players like few coaches in sports.
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Florida State has ten verbal commitments in the 2023 class, which ranks No. 40 in the country according to 247Sports. Half of those pledges are on the offensive or defensive line.
Stick with NoleGameday for more Florida State football coverage this summer.
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