Mandarin quarterback Tramell Jones (1) prepares to toss a short pass over Miami Columbus pass rusher Willis McGahee IV (17) during the FHSAA Class 4M high school football championship game on December 8, 2023. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union] Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Blue-Chip Quarterback Backs Off Longtime Pledge To Florida State

Originally posted on Florida State Seminoles on SI
By Dustin Lewis | Last updated Nov 14, 2024 10:38 AM ET

Florida State is quickly turning into a sinking ship with the program nearing the end of its worst season in nearly half a century. The performance on the field has been on a disaster and that has recruits questioning if the best decision for their careers is to stick with the Seminoles.

FSU's 2025 class took another big on Thursday as four-star quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. announced he was decommitting. Jones Jr. was arguably the biggest bell cow for the Seminoles this cycle and was still recruiting for the program despite the rough year.

This is a major loss for Florida State considering the optics. Jones Jr. claimed he was shutting his recruitment down with the Seminoles over the summer and wouldn't be considering any other programs. He reaffirmed those plans after suffering a season-altering injury in September. Jones Jr. has been in Tallahassee three times this fall, including for the blowout loss to North Carolina two weekends where he was around multiple recruits who are involved with the program.

The Seminoles are at further risk of their class falling apart with Jones Jr. moving on. Plus, in what may be an even bigger issue, Florida State has just two scholarship quarterbacks in the fold for 2025; redshirt freshman Brock Glenn and true freshman Luke Kromenhoek. In all honestly, it's possible that one of those two hits the portal if they don't win the starting job which means Norvell and Tony Tokarz have a lot of work to do.

With Jones Jr. moving on, Florida State is down to 12 commitments in its 2025 class, which drops from No. 31 to No. 42 in the country. He'd been pledged to FSU since the spring of 2023. That's not a good sign with the Early Signing Period a few weeks away and the Seminoles not having much traction with elite high school prospects at this stage.

Jones Jr. is the sixth prospect from the 2025 class to decommit from the Seminoles since the beginning of the season, joining four-star wide receiver CJ Wiley (Georgia), four-star wide receiver Daylan McCutcheon (Texas), four-star wide receiver Malik Clark (South Carolina), four-star defensive tackle Myron Charles (Texas), and four-star defensive end Javion Hilson (Uncommitted).

FSU is in pursuit of four-star prospect and former Michigan pledge, Carter Smith.