It was almost certain that 5-star cornerback Charles Lester III was going to go to Florida State.
Every recruiting outlet had him committing to the Seminoles. It’s Lester’s dream school and he even silently confirmed the news to local media during his official visit in mid-June.
However, everyone was still holding their breath.
A day before Lester was set to announce his commitment, he was back out in Boulder, Colorado as Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes’ staff made one last push for the 5-star.
With Lester posting videos from his photoshoot, FSU fans began to sweat a bit. They began to have flashbacks of what had happened in 2021.
5-star cornerback Travis Hunter, who was the No. 1 player in the nation, committed to FSU in March 2020 and seemed like a lock. However, as signing day neared, Sanders came into the picture after becoming the head coach at Jackson State.
On December 15, 2021, Hunter flipped from FSU to Jackson State and signed once he announced. The FSU fanbase was in shock and enraged.
Various Twitter Spaces popped up that day calling for head coach Mike Norvell to be fired. Hunter’s de-commitment only added fuel to the fire following FSU’s 5-7 season, where it started 0-4.
It was almost a turncoat moment for FSU fans.
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Debatably the greatest Seminole of all time, a product of Bobby Bowden and “Prime Time” himself was now a…villain?
Sanders’ presence was around yet again this offseason as defensive lineman Bishop Thomas, defensive back Omarion Cooper, linebacker Brendan Gant and defensive end Derrick McLendon II all transferred out of FSU to Sanders’ Colorado program. Exits from Gant and McLendon have left a sizable gap in the linebacker room.
With all of that being known and Sanders pushing hard for another 5-star cornerback, it was easy for fans to get nervous.
On July 22, Lester tweeted that he still wasn’t sure where he wanted to go, which was followed by the last-minute Colorado visit.
His live stream Friday night was littered with buffalo and Oden (which looks like the Seminole’s spear) emojis. There was one more moment of anxiety when Lester announced.
The live stream froze for a second, but when it reconnected, he was wearing a personalized FSU jersey and holding a lit spear.
It was a win for the FSU faithful over Sanders in what felt like ages. It allows everyone to take a deep breath and move on from all the commotion before. Sanders isn’t going away, and I think most people expect that, but Lester’s commitment shows that the Seminoles aren’t second fiddle to Sanders.
It’s one commitment, but it represents how much the program has changed from 2021 and the added hype for this coming season. There was a little more celebration than usual when Lester committed, for good reason.
However, this was a loss for Sanders. That may not sit well with him, especially with the loss coming from FSU.
Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.