Blue-chip safety Mekhi Williams reopens his recruitment as the Seminoles’ 2027 class falters, leaving Mike Norvell to fight off rivals LSU and Wisconsin amidst mounting coaching pressure.
After giving a long-time pledge to the Florida State Seminoles, 4-star safety Mekhi Williams has decommitted from the Seminoles before his official visit that was scheduled for June 5.
Williams will now explore other options for a college football destination. He is the No. 10 safety nationally in the class of 2027, according to 247 Sports.
Williams made an official visit to the Wisconsin Badgers this weekend and will also visit Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers on June 19. With ace recruiter Ed Orgeron now on the LSU staff, Coach O could persuade a commitment flip.
In 2025, Williams recorded 33 tackles with four pass breakups and two interceptions. In three years of high school ball, Williams has intercepted 10 passes as he enters his senior season.
At 6-foot-2, 160 pounds, Williams has good length and range to cover receivers and contest the ball at the high point. He will need to gain weight to go with his elite height for the position, so he can be a stopper of opposing players in their tracks at the next level.
Could Norvell and his staff have developed Williams to be an elite college safety? Maybe.
Florida State now has just seven commitments for the 2027 class, five of which are on the defensive side of the ball. None of the seven are four-or-five-star players.
That is telling when you consider the history of dominance that Florida State football showed on the football field during the Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher years, regardless of the fact they were recruiting the State of Florida against both the Florida Gators and the Miami Hurricanes.
The Seminoles 2027 class currently ranks No. 48, according to 247 Sports. By contrast, Miami (16 commits) and Florida (17 commits) are No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
Williams would have been an excellent addition to a Florida State team that saw 38 players exit the program via the transfer portal and/or graduation. The fan base is already restless about the state of the Seminoles under Mike Norvell, and this latest defection just adds more fuel to the fire that has engulfed Norvell’s coaching seat.
Among those players no longer with the Seminoles football program include receiver Lawayne McCoy and safety Earl Little Jr. McCoy will now play for conference rival Louisville, and Little took his talents to Columbus to play for Ohio State. Little was second-team All-ACC last season.
The Seminoles have won just seven games the past two seasons (7-17), so that has a negative impact on overall recruiting. Not to mention, other schools use that inconvenient truth to their advantage on the recruiting trail to cast Florida State in a negative light to persuade recruits.
A look at the Florida State football schedule shows New Mexico State, SMU and Alabama in the first three weeks. With their performance over the past two seasons, it is not necessarily a given that a week 1 victory over the Aggies is set in stone. The Mustangs are considered one of the top teams in the ACC this season, and the Crimson Tide is tough to beat in Tuscaloosa.
Not only does Norvell and the Seminoles need to win in recruiting, they need to win on the field. Both go hand in hand.
Any missteps at the beginning of the season and that aura of negativity glows brighter with each passing loss, and Norvell becomes a lame duck coach waiting for a pink slip. Winning solves everything.
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