Florida State’s coaching staff has received plenty of criticism lately for their strategy to acquire talent out of the NCAA Transfer Portal. Those concerns can now be firmly put to rest after a successful weekend of recruiting in Tallahassee.
After picking up multiple commitments over the last couple of days, Florida State isn’t slowing down. On Sunday afternoon, Indiana athlete transfer Jaylin Lucas announced that he was pledging to the Seminoles as he concluded his trip to campus. He’ll be joining his brother, Ja’Khi Douglas, in garnet and gold.
Lucas joins FSU with two seasons of eligibility remaining after beginning his career with the Hoosiers. He’s expected to contribute to the offense in multiple ways, including as a slot receiver and out of the backfield. Lucas will also play a big role on special teams as he was regarded as an All-American kick returner in Bloomington.
The Louisiana native played for Indiana for two years before entering the portal after head coach Tom Allen was fired. He’s coming off a season where he rushed 67 times for 275 yards and two scores while catching 34 passes for 247 yards and two more scores. Lucas has recorded 875 total yards and six scores on offense in his college career.
Lucas is also a dynamic returner, evidenced by his three kick return touchdowns in two years with Indiana. He’s returned 43 kicks for 1,163 yards and three scores. Two of those came during his freshman season with the program as he scored against Rutgers and Michigan State. Lucas doesn’t have a long history returning punts but it’s anticipated he’ll compete for the job with Keon Coleman making the leap to the NFL.
The 5-foot-9, 185-pound athlete was regarded as the No. 947 overall prospect, the No. 68 ATH, and the No. 41 recruit in the state of Louisiana in the 2022 class according to 247Sports.
Florida State adds Lucas to a room that includes redshirt senior Kentron Poitier, redshirt senior Darion Williamson, redshirt senior Ja’Khi Douglas, sophomore Hykeem Williams, sophomore Vandrevius Jacobs, and sophomore Destyn Hill, among others.
Lucas is the sixth transfer to join the Seminoles since December. The program has also added former Georgia defensive end Marvin Jones Jr, former Oregon State/Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, former LSU wide receiver Jalen Brown, former Alabama cornerback Earl Little Jr., and former Colorado State defensive tackle Grady Kelly over the last few weeks.
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