Florida State early signing period preview: Will the Seminoles lose commit Keldric Faulk to Auburn?

Mike Norvell plans to have his cellphone on him at practice Wednesday morning.

The Florida State football coach will need to be in the know at the beginning of the three-day early signing period for high school seniors in the 2023 recruiting class, which officially starts at 7 a.m. Wednesday and ends Friday night.

The 2023 cycle ends with the relatively nonchalant national signing day on Feb. 1.

“We’ve got work to do,” Norvell said.

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The Seminoles have a chance to sign their first top-15 recruiting class nationally since 2018. Their 15-player 2023 class ranks No. 16 (On3), No. 18 (247Sports) and No. 28 (Rivals) on the three major recruiting sites.

Throughout this month, the FSU coaching staff has been actively courting recruits and transfer prospects via in-home and on-campus visits.

“We are excited about the group that is coming,” Norvell said. “We have had great official visit weekends. We are addressing a lot of the needs that we have, continuing to improve as a football team and for our program. And we are getting the right guys.”

A few questions remain for the Seminoles entering the early signing period.

Will all 15 of FSU’s pledges follow through on their decisions and sign during the three-day window? Which uncommitted recruits are worth monitoring? And could the Seminoles flip any recruits pledged to other programs?

Here’s a closer look at FSU’s biggest questions going into Wednesday.

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Will Florida State commit Keldric Faulk flip to Auburn?

The Seminoles are in jeopardy of losing their highest-rated defensive commit.

Keldric Faulk, a four-star defensive end, verbally committed to FSU on July 5. But the Highland Home (Ala.) High product has since visited Auburn multiple times and now seems to be wavering on his decision.

The Tigers gained momentum on Faulk after hiring coach Hugh Freeze late last month. Over the weekend, the Seminoles hosted Faulk for an unofficial visit before he took a Sunday trip to Auburn that surprised the recruiting world.

FSU losing Faulk would be a devastating blow to its signing class. Marvin Wilson and Joshua Kaindoh, two members of the 2017 class, are the last FSU defensive linemen signees who finished higher than Faulk in the recruiting rankings.

247Sports (No. 8 defensive lineman, No. 73 overall), Rivals (No. 8 weakside defensive end, No. 79 overall) and On3 (No. 16 edge rusher, No. 93 overall) each consider Faulk to be a top-100 recruit.

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Which uncommitted recruits could choose FSU?

There will be a handful of FSU targets who will be worth monitoring this week.

Three uncommitted players — Key West (Fla.) High offensive lineman Christopher Otto, Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna Prep defensive back Edwin Joseph and Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage cornerback Damari Brown — are among that group and are expected to announce their decisions during the early signing period.

Otto heavily leans to the Seminoles and told 247Sports that he plans to announce his signing at noon Wednesday. The three-star offensive lineman took official visits to Stanford (Nov. 25-27), Syracuse (Dec. 9-11) and FSU (Dec. 16-18), and received a scholarship offer from Penn State (Nov. 28), within the past month.

The Seminoles appear to be in a solid position with Joseph, who is a four-star athlete on Rivals and On3 and a three-star athlete on 247Sports. He recently took visits to Auburn (Nov. 11-13), South Carolina (Nov. 18-20), FSU (Dec. 9-11) and Louisville (Dec. 16-18).

Brown looks to be the least likely among the three to sign with the Seminoles.

They hosted him, along with his older brother, UCF defensive back transfer Davonte Brown, for a Dec. 9-11 visit. Davonte verbally committed to Miami on Monday. The Hurricanes, along with Alabama, loom as threats to land Damari.

FSU held in-home visits with each of those three recruits.

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Who could flip to the Seminoles?

It’s officially flip-watch time.

Three recruits pledged to other schools — wide receiver Andy Jean (Florida), linebacker Kamren Robinson (Virginia) and safety Conrad Hussey (Penn State) — are among players the Seminoles are looking to sign.

Jean, who is a four-star receiver on Rivals and On3 and a three-star receiver on 247Sports, verbally committed to the Gators on July 30. The Miami Northwestern High product took an unofficial visit to FSU for its 45-38 win over Florida on Nov. 25. The Seminoles hosted him again for an official visit last weekend.

Robinson, who is a four-star linebacker on 247Sports and a three-star linebacker on Rivals and On3, pledged to the Cavaliers on July 1. But the Tappahannock (Va.) Essex product recently took official visits to FSU (Dec. 9-11) and South Carolina (Dec. 16-18).

Hussey, a four-star linebacker from St. Thomas Aquinas High in Fort Lauderdale, committed to the Nittany Lions on April 25. The Seminoles then hosted him for two recruiting visits — an unofficial in June and a Dec. 9-11 official.

FSU held in-home visits with each of those three recruits.

Any surprises?

In the NIL era, expect the unexpected when it comes to the early signing period.

The nation’s top recruit in the 2022 class, Travis Hunter Jr., broke the Seminoles’ hearts during the early signing period last year when he ended his longtime commitment to them and shockingly flipped to Jackson State and coach Deion Sanders (now at Colorado).

To avoid any major surprises this time, FSU will need to sign its three top recruits in five-star receiver Hykeem Williams, four-star offensive tackle Lucas Simmons and Faulk. Several of the nation's top programs showed interest in those three recruits.

Tavion Gadson, a three-star defensive lineman from Savannah (Ga.) Jenkins, seemed to be the Seminoles’ shakiest pledge. He decommitted from FSU on Monday and is expected to sign with Kentucky.

Reach Carter Karels at ckarels@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @CarterKarels. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football ESD preview: Will the Seminoles lose Keldric Faulk to Auburn?