Florida State receives commitment from highest-ranked DL since 2017 class in Keldric Faulk

Florida State has a new highest-ranked verbal commit in its 2023 recruiting class.

Keldric Faulk, a four-star defensive end, announced his pledge to the Seminoles on Tuesday from Highland Home (Ala.) High. The three major recruiting services each rank Faulk ahead of FSU’s other nine 2023 commits.

Rivals considers Faulk to be the No. 5 weak-side defensive end and No. 53 overall player in the class, while On3 (No. 14 edge rusher, No. 79 overall) and 247Sports (No. 11 defensive lineman, No. 111 overall) rank him lower.

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As long as he doesn’t slip too much in the recruiting rankings, Faulk also would be the highest-ranked high school defensive lineman to sign with the Seminoles since the Jimbo Fisher Era. Marvin Wilson and Joshua Kaindoh, two members of the 2017 class, were the last FSU defensive linemen signees who ranked higher than Faulk.

The Seminole 2023 class now ranks No. 14 (On3), No. 37 (Rivals) and No. 43 (247Sports) nationally.

“Really good player. I was really impressed with him," said Tom Lemming, a recruiting analyst for CBS Sports Network. "He’s got really good length. He’s got explosive moves off the ball."

Faulk chose FSU over an impressive offer list of schools. He included Clemson, Auburn and Florida in the top four list he posted on social media a couple of weeks ago. The Seminoles benefited from pursuing Faulk relatively early in his recruiting process and hosting him for multiple visits. They considered him to be a top recruiting target.

FSU offered Faulk a scholarship in May of 2020. Then the Seminoles hosted him for a recruiting camp last June and two unofficial visits in March. His last of four official visits last month came to FSU. He also took official visits to Clemson, Auburn and Florida, in that order.

At 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, Faulk has the look of a player who could see the field early. He moves well for his size, averaging 22 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks per game for Highland Home's basketball team last season.

"He’s got really great movement skills," Lemming said. "He could keep getting bigger and stronger like most of these guys who look more like a power forward right now. He’ll get bigger. It’s a great catch for Florida State.”

The Seminoles now have two four-star defensive end pledges in Faulk and Miami Gulliver Prep’s Lamont Green Jr. Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College's Jaden Jones, FSU's other defensive end commit this cycle, also comes from Alabama and knows Faulk.

Lemming called the 2023 defensive line class in Alabama the best he's seen in 43 years as a recruiting analyst. Of the 10 highest-ranked players in Alabama this cycle, six of them are defensive linemen. All six of them are ranked among the top 116 overall players in the class, per 247Sports.

Faulk represents one of those six.

“Alabama is normally a good recruiting state, but nothing like this. And he fits right in there," Lemming said. "He’s one of the best. He’s a big-time athlete with really good movement schools and uses his hands well. He’s a natural as a pass rusher.”

Reach Carter Karels at ckarels@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @CarterKarels.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football lands commitment from four-star defensive end Keldric Faulk