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Tallahassee's top recruit spurns FSU football to stay with Florida Gators

Florida State's defensive end roster thins out in early July after Tallahassee's top recruit dropped out of recruiting to play for one of the Seminoles' biggest rivals.

On Monday, four-star defensive end Jalen Wiggins announced he would be joining the Gators after exploring his options over the past few months. Instead of playing for his hometown, he plans to wear the orange and blue at the collegiate level.

The Seminoles made a big push to sign Wiggins back in the spring, bringing him to campus in March for the Legacy recruiting event, where he was able to speak with arguably the biggest name to ever come out of the 850, legendary linebacker Ernie Sims. Sims, now a member of FSU's coaching staff, was able to give Wiggins a perspective that not many others would understand.

READ MORE: Longtime blue-chip offensive tackle target commits to Oregon, cancels official visit with FSU football team

Wiggins visited Florida State three more times in June, including his official visit on the last weekend before the offseason. There's no question that the Seminoles were targeting this player, but they lost out to the Gators.

There is still a chance that head coach Mike Norvell will try to move Wiggins before the Early Signing Period in December. Florida is battling arguably the toughest schedule in the country this fall and the outcome could well determine whether Billy Napier is retained. A poor season or coaching change would leave an open door for the 'Noles to get back in contention.

For now, though, this is a big blow to the recruiting committee, as there simply aren't many other recruits for the position that FSU is currently having a lot of success with. Four-star Javion Hilson has already committed since January, but the staff needs to sign at least one more scholarship player to the position, maybe even two. Four-star Zion Grady (Ohio State) and three-star Nicolas Clayton (Wisconsin) both made their decisions last month.

The only uncommitted defensive end who has officially visited the Seminoles is four-star Jared Smith. He is considering the program along with Auburn, USC, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina. It will be interesting to see if Florida State begins to broaden its focus and evaluation efforts ahead of the signing period.

Wiggins recorded 70 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and three pass deflections on defense during his junior season at Rickards High School. He also ran four times for 79 yards and one touchdown on offense. The 6-foot-4, 255-pound defensive end is considered the 77th-ranked prospect, 11th DL and 13th recruit in Florida for the class of 2025, according to 247Sports.

Florida State has nine verbal commitments in #Tribe25, ranking 36th nationally.

READ MORE: FSU Football beats Texas Longhorns in battle for best defensive tackle

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Anna Harden

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