Melina Vastola- USA TODAY Sports
Jimbo Fisher has taken some flack for a few things throughout his first few years as head coach of the Florida State Seminoles. Whether it’s questioning his play-calling during crucial times in a game or bringing him down for having, what some consider, a soft overall demeanor, there’s a lot of people that aren’t happy with the FSU head coach. But, there is definitely one thing that you cannot criticize the coach for.
Jimbo Fisher is getting his players paid!
This fact hasn’t been more evident than it was the last three days during the 2013 NFL Draft. In all, Florida State sent 11 total players from last year’s Orange Bowl championship winning squad to the NFL via the way of the draft, five in the first two rounds alone. It’s a testament to the job that Fisher and staff have done not only finding the right players to bring to Tallahassee, but developing them as well.
Undoubtedly, this weekend’s impressive results also help in probably the most crucial area in all of college football–recruiting.
When Jimbo first arrived in Tallahassee, he was already at somewhat of a recruiting advantage having won a national championship as the offensive coordinator of the LSU Tigers. Convincing a player and those closest to him in his family that the young man is going to a program run by a man associated with highest-level prize in college football is certainly helpful in the recruiting process.
You know what’s even better though? Convincing those same people that that young man can be rich in about three years. And that is exactly–especially after this past weekend–what Jimbo Fisher can do now.
I mean, just as a quick example, let’s take a look at how the two quarterbacks under Fisher have fared when it came time to hear their name called in New York City in April.
Aside from the fact that E.J. Manuel wasn’t slotted by many to be picked as high as he did at #16 by the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, a Fisher-bred QB has shocked people before. In 2011, Christian Ponder was selected even higher at 12th overall by the Minnesota Vikings. There were a majority of people who had Ponder nowhere near a first-round prospect. Yet, he was impressive enough in workouts for the Vikings to put their trust in him. That is called development.
If a prospective quarterback is on the fence about attending Florida State, Fisher can merely point to these two events. Two quarterbacks under his watch at FSU, two first round draft picks.
But, with the 11 players selected this weekend, Fisher can do that now in every recruit’s living room that he sits down in. This is especially effective in the southern part of the United States where he and his staff do most of their recruiting against the always draft-successful SEC.
With each pitch of “If you come to Florida State, there’s a very good chance you can be hugging Roger Goodell in a few years on national television.”, the recruiting success rate will continue to increase in Tallahassee.
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Jack is a College Football Contributor for Rant Sports. Follow Jack on Twitter @FSUYankee14
