TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ Seven new players, including three five-star prospects who were considered top 5 players nationally at their respective positions, have joined the Florida State football team this spring semester.
Coach Jimbo Fisher believes he recruited the right players to become Seminoles.
"We didn't miss on any of those guys," Fisher said before Monday's first spring practice. "(I'm) happy with their athletic abilities, all are doing really well in school _ I mean really well, great students, doing what they're supposed to be, dependable, reliable people and coming out there and working their tails off.
"(They're) outstanding young men, very excited with all those guys."
The nation's top running back in Cam Akers headlines the group, followed by the nation's No. 3 defensive end Joshua Kaindoh and No. 4 cornerback Stanford Samuels III.
Four-star quarterback Bailey Hockman, four-star safety Cyrus Fagan, three-star tight end Tre' McKitty and junior-college transfer linebacker Adonis Thomas are also getting their first chance to practice with the Seminoles this spring.
"They look like they've been there a couple of years, all fit in, running and drills," Fisher said. "They had to learn early but they've done a great job adapting and fitting right in."
Akers, who is from Clinton, Mississippi, has already garnered expectations of being a player that could help the Seminoles cushion the loss of running back Dalvin Cook next season. Akers is the highest rated prospect FSU has ever signed.
"He's a really strong kid. I see mental toughness in him," starting quarterback Deondre Francois said of Akers. "I feel like he can help the team tremendously as a true freshman, or even next year and the years to come. I see a very mature young man in him."
Francois also said helping Hockman, who was rated as a top 15 quarterback nationally, will be among his many roles in his second season as a starter for the Seminoles
Redshirt sophomore safety Derwin James, a former early enrollee and leader of FSU's secondary, praised Fagan and Samuels after their first practice, too.
"They're some dogs. I like them," James said. "They're learning. You can tell the speed is different for them, but I like how they're going."
The spring semester will give each new player a chance to get acclimated to life as a college football player before their first season begins in the fall semester.
They will also get to show their capabilities when FSU ends spring practice with the Garnet and Gold spring game on April 8 in Doak Campbell Stadium.
FSU opens the season against Alabama in Atlanta on Sept. 2.
"All seven of those young guys did a nice job," Fisher said after practice Monday. "They don't look like freshmen anymore. They're all mature. Physically, they look like part of our team already."
