<
>
EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
Get ESPN+

Too-Early Top 25 recruiting update

The 2013 season -- and the BCS era -- may have just come to a close, but it's never too early to take a look ahead to next season. And whichever teams find themselves battling for next season's national championship, odds are they will receive contributions from some true freshmen along the way.

So, with signing day less than a month away, here's how the teams in the Way-Too-Early Top 25 are looking on the recruiting trail:

1. Florida State Seminoles
Who they have: The Seminoles previously held the No. 1 spot in the class rankings before falling to No. 6, but a big week at the Under Armour All-America Game could propel FSU back into the top two by signing day. Dalvin Cook, a former Gators commit, and Lorenzo Featherston, both top-30 players in the ESPN 300, committed to the Noles before the game and No. 61 Travis Rudolph pledged during the contest. Now with 29 commitments, the Noles are close to done in what should be a special class. ESPN 300 linebackers Kain Daub, Jacob Pugh and Delvin Purifoy highlight the strongest LB class in the country. ESPN 300 QB J.J. Cosentino could eventually succeed Jameis Winston, although ESPN 300 athlete Treon Harris might get a shot at QB, too. Florida State needed offensive linemen more than anything to protect its quarterbacks after 2014 and found a few. Chad Mavety, No. 8 in the ESPN Junior College 50, committed in December and is ready to contribute right away. Six-foot-9 three-star OT Brock Ruble followed a few days later, as did ESPN JC 50 prospect Kareem Are.
Who they want: Florida State is still in search of a landmark commitment at offensive tackle -- at least among high school prospects. Damian Prince will commit after signing day, but four-star prospects Roderick Johnson (an ESPN 300 OT) and Frank Ragnow officially visited Dec. 13. Johnson has FSU as his leader and Ragnow has FSU as a finalist. The icing for this class would be a five-star signee, and the most likely prospect is cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who is down to FSU and Alabama.
Signing day surprise: The hope at Maryland was to land both Damian Prince and Jalen Tabor, both among the top 30 in the ESPN 300. Now that Tabor is off to Arizona, the odds have increased that Prince could sign elsewhere, too. Florida State is the main competition for Prince, and when he announces a little more than a week after signing day, Prince will utter the words "Florida State" instead of "Maryland" to complete FSU's offensive line haul. -- Jared Shanker