Rivals national analyst Greg Smith has thoughts on the Florida State-Miami rivalry that takes center stage this weekend, whether Nick Saban is doing his best coaching job at Alabama this season and KingJoseph Edwards' ongoing recruitment.
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1. A rivalry renewed - on and off the field.
This historic rivalry game is about as close all-time as it gets. Miami leads the series 35-32, but the last two matchups have been won by Florida State. The stakes are huge in this one, with the ‘Noles checking in at No. 4 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.
Since it’s such a big game, coach Mike Norvell and his staff are going all out with recruiting visitors this weekend. Two of the biggest flip targets anywhere in the country will be on campus as Ohio State wide receiver commit Jeremiah Smith and Texas A&M wide receiver commit Cam Coleman are both slated to be in Tallahassee. They will be tough pulls, but Norvell and company keep swinging and it doesn’t hurt to get them on campus.
Armondo Blount, a recent five-star flip to Florida State, is also scheduled to be back on campus. There is still a lot of buzz about Miami trying to win back his pledge, so getting him around the staff and recruits is big.
Florida State will also host a bevy of 2025 prospects that are coveted players. Defensive ends Zion Grady and Amaree Williams will be in town, as will Alabama wide receiver commit Jaime Ffrench. A number of these players are also targets for the rival Hurricanes. It’s a unique situation that Florida State finds itself in. It can improve its own position with several key recruits while also damaging a key rival. That can be accomplished with a good weekend and the third straight win in the series.
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2. Are we witnessing Saban’s best coaching job?
It’s pretty difficult to parse through which year is Nick Saban's best exactly, but this season is in the running. Quarterback Jalen Milroe is becoming a dark horse Heisman contender, but he’s not at the level of Tua Tagovailoa or Jalen Hurts just yet. There isn’t a Derrick Henry in the backfield or a DeVonta Smith out wide.
There are still plenty of five- and four-stars walking around Tuscaloosa, but the Tide don’t have the same level of superstar players across the board they once had. The job Saban has done with this group from what we saw early in the season has been remarkable.
It’s now a yearly tradition to wonder how long Saban will be able to keep this up, but if the recruits who were on campus for the big win against LSU are any indication the talent will keep rolling in. The Tide hosted three-star Missouri defensive line commit Elias Williams for an official visit. But it was the underclassmen on hand that stole the show.
CB Na'eem Offord, CB Devin Sanchez, QB George McIntyre, OL Micah Debose and RB Alvin Henderson are just a handful of the blue-chip talent that was on campus from the 2025 class. In the 2026 group, five-star DL Jahkeem Stewart and four-star DE Hezekiah Harris were on hand. At this rate, Saban may have four more years left in the tank to see this talent thrive in Tuscaloosa.
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3. Is the top uncommitted 2024 player in Georgia leaning Colorado?
There has been no secret that as coach Deion Sanders builds his program in Boulder that more help is needed in the trenches. Well, a lot more help. What better place to turn for that help than the deep South, where many top defensive linemen reside?
Last weekend, the Buffs hosted Mill Creek (Ga.) defensive lineman KingJoseph Edwards for an official visit. The visit could not have gone better, according to sources, and the four-star defensive end seems pretty enamored by everything that Sanders is selling. There is ample opportunity for early playing time and the exposure opportunities will be there.
Edwards is another recruit heading to Tallahassee this weekend, but things have seemed to cool considerably between the two. Perhaps a big visit will sway that, but right now all signs point to Colorado being the pick for the talented defender.
