Deion Sanders and Jackson State made history on national signing day, signing the first five-star high school recruit at an FCS program.
Cornerback Travis Hunter, the No. 2 recruit in the 2022 class, decommitted from Florida State and chose Jackson State in a shocking decision.
Hunter's choice to attend Jackson State has a ripple effect on the entire college football world and the recruiting landscape.
What this means for Deion Sanders
Sanders has been reported to be connected to past FBS jobs, and his ability to recruit will only amplify those rumors.
In two recruiting classes at Jackson State, Sanders has now added five ESPN 300 prospects, which is four more than the program had ever had. He has brought national media attention to the university and, maybe most importantly, he has won in a hurry.
Jackson State went 11-1 this season, beating Prairie View A&M for the SWAC championship after the team went 4-3 last season. The biggest question around Sanders was whether this was more of a publicity stunt for Jackson State or whether it would really work.
It's OFFICIAL #jsu #gotigers 🐅 @jacksonstatefb pic.twitter.com/UTyzMPgVH6
— Travis Hunter (@TravisHunterJr) December 15, 2021
What he has done in two short years is proving that it is working, and Sanders has proved to be a good coach. Not every school will have interest, but it's hard to argue with his results at an FCS school.
Since he is able to succeed at Jackson State, what could he do at a bigger school with more resources and opportunities? Some FBS schools might be willing to test those waters and try to lure Sanders away from his current job.
The focus has not been on Sanders poaching a recruit from his alma mater, but rather on how Mike Norvell could let that happen at Florida State, which won a national championship in 2013. Is Sanders now a persona non grata at Florida State for this? Or might he be a potential coaching target there if it doesn't work out with Norvell?
How Hunter's commitment impacts Jackson State
It was a viral moment when Hunter spurned premier programs in Florida State, Georgia and Auburn to attend Jackson State. Hunter helped Jackson State moved into the top 50 of the recruiting class rankings, a first for the school. But based on the way Sanders is operating, it might not be the last.
THE NATION'S NUMBER ONE RECRUIT TRAVIS HUNTER JUST MADE HISTORY!!!!!!!! JACKSON STATE!!!!!!!!! @DeionSanders @JacksonStateU pic.twitter.com/WOXdqj2auy
— Maria Martin (@Ria_Martin) December 15, 2021
Sanders previously persuaded his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, to join him at Jackson State in the 2021 class. He also signed three other ESPN 300 prospects in defensive tackle Katron Evans and wide receivers Quaydarius Davis and Trevonte Rucker.
At the time, it was considered a mammoth feat for Sanders to persuade top-level recruits to come to his school and turn away the opportunities that come with a Power 5 program. He has upped the ante with Hunter in this class and has opened the door for other elite-level prospects to do the same.
Shedeur Sanders saw success in his first season at quarterback, winning the Jerry Rice Award for the top freshman in FCS football. He became the first HBCU football player to win the award, another milestone for the school and its reputation. Sanders threw for 3,056 yards, 29 touchdowns and six interceptions this season and showed other recruits that they can not only have success at a smaller school but also still garner national attention.
Sanders brought in name, image and likeness deals given his father's notoriety and the attention he was bringing to the school. There's no reason to think that won't happen now that Hunter has signed on as well.
If Hunter goes on to have a successful first season and garners national attention along the way, it will only increase Deion Sanders' ability to recruit on a national level and bring in even more highly sought after prospects.
What it means for Florida State
The Seminoles were sitting at No. 12 in the class rankings and had built up some momentum in this recruiting class. With Hunter's departure, Florida State dropped to No. 20 overall.
Norvell and his staff had worked year-round since March 2020 to try to keep Hunter in this class. They weathered his visits to Georgia, and Hunter even said in October he wasn't decommitting.
To have a last-minute switch in this fashion, with so much exposure and attention, is a tremendous hit to Norvell's recruiting. Add in that Florida State offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham took the same job at Oregon on Wednesday, and it did not make for an ideal day for Norvell.
It isn't all doom and gloom for Florida State, which is coming off a 5-7 season in 2021 and a 3-6 season in 2020. The coaches still have quite a few significant commitments in the class. One of the more important is ESPN 300 quarterback A.J. Duffy, the No. 39 recruit overall. Adding Duffy to a quarterback room that could use the depth and competition will pay off in the near future.
Norvell also has ESPN 300 athlete Sam McCall, the No. 32 prospect, safety Azareyeh Thomas, ranked No. 133, athlete Rodney Hill, ranked No. 235, and ESPN 300 offensive lineman Jaylen Early, the No. 296 recruit. Having two top-50 commitments is a great start to rebuilding the roster, but the staff now needs to figure out how to pick up the pieces from losing Hunter so publicly and move forward.
Since Hunter is from Georgia, it had showed promise that Norvell & Co. could fend off top competition in the state. His recruiting efforts there aren't a glaring trend that Norvell needs to address just yet.
The bigger problem is that the FSU staff has only three ESPN 300 commitments from Florida. There are a total of 38 ESPN 300 in-state recruits. The program signed only three in the 2021 class as well.
Losing Hunter isn't the end of the world, but it certainly would have helped to add a plug-and-play corner who could provide immediate help. A 6-foot-1 defensive back with elite skills would have given Norvell a foundational piece on defense, and now they'll have to replace that elsewhere.
How does this impact the recruiting landscape?
It's hard to say whether Hunter's decision will cause other five-star recruits to take the same path, but it is safe to say other four-stars and highly sought after recruits will take notice and give Jackson State a serious look in recruiting.
Given the landscape of NIL deals and players being allowed to accept money, this could be the first situation in which a recruit sees an opportunity to be the big fish in a small pond and capitalize off the media fanfare that will come along with that
Hunter very well could have bet on himself knowing that he will always have the option to transfer if it doesn't work out. He can try to improve his skills with Sanders as his coach and try to achieve his goals while he's there, while also potentially capitalizing on NIL opportunities.
Quarterback Quinn Ewers reclassified from the 2022 class to 2021 to sign with Ohio State, and Ewers immediately signed a $1.4 million contract for autographs, among other NIL deals. He entered the transfer portal after this season and announced he would head to Texas just this week.
This isn't to say that Hunter will transfer -- he hasn't even gotten on campus yet. But NIL contracts and deals are factoring into the recruiting process as we speak.
Texas now has two separate programs for NIL opportunities, one that will pay offensive linemen $50,000 and another that will afford the linemen to make up to $150,000. Even if that's not used as a recruiting tool, it's something that prospects will factor in to their decisions.
Some thought NIL would only make the rich richer and give the bigger-name programs more leverage with prospects given that they have more money. But maybe Hunter's decision tells us the opposite: that this could create a more even market for prospects, and combined with the transfer portal and a second-chance opportunity, we might see more recruits bet on themselves and try to create their own path.