Miami and Florida State have battled on the field for decades, and the rivalry on the recruiting trail is fierce. Miami currently has the 15th-ranked class in the 2024 cycle, while Florida State is reaping the benefits of a ten-win season, ranking third nationally.

Here's a look at how Mario Cristobal and Mike Norvell have fared against each other in recruiting to land South Florida talents and some elite national prospects.

The 2022 season was a transition year for Cristobal and his staff, as he accepted the job in December 2021. However, he was able to land top local talents Wesley Bissainthe, Nyjalik Kelly, and Ahmad Moten.

Bissainthe was considered a significant win for Cristobal, as Florida State, plus former Miami head coach Manny Diaz, not the defensive coordinator at Penn State, were fighting to steal the Miami Central linebacker.

Looking back at Kelly, he was a former FSU commit (August 2020 to March 2021) and also had the Seminoles among his final five schools a week before committing to Miami. Both players have had an early impact at Miami and have developed into core players along Miami's front seven.

Nationally, Miami was able to sign five other players with Florida State offers. Offensive lineman Matthew McCoy, tight end Jaleel Skinner, safety Markeith Williams, wide receiver Isaiah Horton, and cornerback Chris Graves all had interest from Miami's biggest rival. Skinner took an official to Tallahassee.

FSU was able to land legacy commit Julian Armella and Daughtry Richardson over Miami in this year. The Seminoles also landed local talents Omar Graham Jr., Daniel Lyons, and Dante Anderson.

FSU would finish with the 20th-ranked class, while Miami ended with the 34th-ranked class.

With a complete recruiting cycle under his belt, Cristobal firmly planted his recruiting flag in South Florida. The Hurricanes landed local standouts Rueben Bain, Mark Fletcher, Damari Brown, Nathaniel Joseph, Christopher Johnson Jr., Frankie Tinilau, and Bobby and Robby Washington.

Bain, Fletcher, and Brown were all major targets for FSU in this cycle. Brown's brother Davonte had Florida State in heavy consideration before transferring to Miami, which kept them in the race for his four-star younger brother. The Seminoles did not sign a single cornerback ranked higher than Brown in the cycle, marking this as a win in more ways than one.

Bain had the Noles among his top six and did visit multiple times before ultimately choosing to stay home. Once again, Florida State did not sign a single player ranked higher at the position and did not even touch a higher-ranked defensive player than Bain in the cycle.

Blue-chip Miami signees Malik Bryant and Tommy Kinsler also visited Florida State, while more than half of the 23 players Miami signed held offers from the Seminoles during their recruitment.

Florida State won out for local blue-chip prospects Conrad Hussey, Edwin Joseph, and legacy Lamont Green this year, however. Miami was interested in Hykeem Williams but backed off toward the end of his recruitment.

Miami would finish with the 8th-ranked recruiting class, its best since 2018, while FSU would end the cycle just outside of the top-25 with the 26th-ranked class.

Miami was able to go into Florida State territory to get Artavius Jones and Deryc Plazz and currently has several South Florida players committed: Joshisa Trader, Chance Robinson, Romanas Frederique, Ryan Mack, Daylen Russell, Chris Wheatley-Humphrey, and Vincent Shavers.

FSU added Jamorie Flagg from traditional local power Miami Booker T. Washington and did win out for Palm Beach talents Ricky Knight from Cardinal Newman and Jayden Parrish from Atlantic Delray. Still, there seems to be a trend of fencing off the primary targets from its bitter rival.

The Seminoles are attempting to steal Zaquan Patterson from Miami, as his decision should be coming soon. The five-star's decision will loom large to how recruiting between the two schools is viewed.

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