The Seminoles are gearing up for a Junior Day this weekend but the talent on campus wasn’t lacking on Friday.
Top-100 prospect and four-star linebacker Edwin Spillman made the trip down from Tennessee alongside a group that included multiple other recruits. The unofficial visit marked his first time seeing Florida State during his recruitment.
“It was a long drive. It was fun though, it was chill,” Spillman said to NoleGameday’s Dustin Lewis. “I was with my teammates, it was just fun hanging out with them in the car. It was a cool travel.”
After spending the afternoon around the Seminoles’ coaching staff, Spillman was able to learn more about what the program has to offer.
“Just how real the coaches are and how their experience of the game and how they have a lot of things in the background that build their program,” Spillman said. “The history with this school, it’s dope. I didn’t know about FSU that much until I came here, learned a lot.”
The visit happened to coincide with Florida State’s Tour of Duty workouts, which Spillman and his group were able to watch. The intensity inside the IPF was evident.
“We do something similar to that at Lipscomb but it’s not as intense,” Spillman said. “But yeah, it was really intense.”
The Tennessee native noticed how closely connected the coaches and players are within the program. It was an aspect that stood out to him.
“Pretty much just how close the players are with their coaches and how the coaches interact with their players,” Spillman said. “It’s been an amazing experience being here. It’s really dope.”
One of his favorite parts of the visit was meeting with linebackers coach Randy Shannon. Spillman was able to pick up a couple of tips during their conversations.
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“Man it was awesome,” Spillman said. “He taught me some stuff that I had never seen before. Coach’s one of the greatest so it was really fun, getting to meet with him.”
“Just like how to read players off of alignment,” Spillman continued. “If the running back is one side and the tight end or wing is on the opposite side it’s a pass or a run.”
Prior to departing from Florida State’s campus, Spillman sat down with head coach Mike Norvell in his office. The message was clear – if he chooses the Seminoles, he’s going to have to put in the work.
“He’s going to push me and he’s going to give it his all for me and he expects the same from me too,” Spillman said. “He’s going to keep it real and stuff like that.”
Coming out of the trip, it sounds like his first experience at Florida State went well. Spillman is planning to release a top-5 in the upcoming weeks and the Seminoles have a good chance of making the cut.
“I love it,” Spillman said. “It’s dope out here in Florida. I love interacting with coach Shannon and coach Norvell and the staff has been dope, surreal.”
Spillman is planning to return to Tallahassee in March or for the spring game. He’ll visit Miami on Saturday and will make it to nearby Tennessee at some point this spring.
At this time, Spillman is waiting for whenever he feels right to make a commitment. No timeline is at the forefront of his mind.
The 6-foot-1, 216-pound linebacker is regarded as the No. 98 overall prospect, the No. 10 LB, and the No. 1 recruit in the state of Tennessee in the 2024 class.
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