One prominent Seminoles target shared words that point to FSU rising as a the frontrunner in his recruitment.
Florida State football holds no verbal commitment from a 2027 quarterback as of February.
One prominent four-star's recent words, however, paint a picture he could rise as the first.
Champ "Wonderful" Monds IV is a big priority for FSU's '27 class. The Seminoles are doing their part to court the Vero Beach, Fla. talent.
Monds tells Noles247 that he's indeed liking the effort of head coach Mike Norvell in courting the QB.
"FSU, I love coach Norvell. I like him as a person and as a coach," Monds said to Zach Blostein. "I feel like he's a great guy. We bonded really easily every time that I go up there to meet with him."
But here's the next part that'll intrigue FSU fans following his recruitment and hoping FSU can lock in a QB soon.
Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn stunned many by choosing to retire well ahead of spring practice. Tim Harris Jr. is now elevated to the OC role, while Norvell will call the plays ahead of 2026. Malzahn pursued Monds on the recruiting trail before his retirement -- but Monds said his exit doesn't impact his stance on FSU.
"Definitely was shocked. Just talked to coach Malzahn. He was actually my first offer when he was at UCF. That was nice to talk to him. But it doesn't change too much," Monds said.
Yet does Malzahn's departure still have a slight impact on Monds looking at the Seminoles' offense?
"It definitely changes how they're probably going to operate their offense so definitely got to see how they do that during the spring -- which is another reason for going to one of their practices," he explained.
Overall, he still has faith in Florida State amid the sudden Malzahn departure.
"They've got a lot of great people in the building so I don't doubt that they'll be just fine," Monds said.
Landing Monds would become a massive recruiting coup for FSU. The 6-foot-2, 224-pounder already looks the part on the football field with his QB skills. He exploded as a national recruit out of Vero Beach High by scoring 32 combined touchdowns in 2024 (23 throwing) during his freshman season.
Monds also opted to reclassify from the 2028 class -- only speeding up his recruitment from there. He's since landed 34 reported offers as of Feb. 11. But FSU is currently among his list of favorites, with the chance to seal his commitment through a further push by Norvell, Harris and the remaining offensive staff.
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