Sunseri also appears on the Sopranos (not really).

Sanders is excited to work with Florida State's quarterbacks.

Kelly has known coach Fisher and Pruitt for a while.

On Day 1 of Florida State's spring practice, the offensive tackles were Jonathan Wallace, a walk-on, and Trey Pettis, who appears to still be out of shape even by offensive lineman standards.

The announcement that red-shirt seniors Garrett Faircloth (medical DQ) and Henry Orelus (graduating and moving on), both of whom had some experience at offensive tackle, is causing some FSU fans to panic about the offensive line depth for the 2013 season.

And perhaps rightfully so. In light of both players not being back, the failure of Jimbo Fisher's staff to bring in another offensive line body, even of questionable talent, looks even worse. Not so much for actually using in a game in 2013, but rather to make practices go more smoothly, and perhaps in a game down the road.

FSU's second-string offensive line (for spring) consists of Jonathan Wallace (who is actually pretty good after adding 60 pounds in the weight room since he came on campus), Sterling Lovelady, Austin Barron, Ruben Carter and Trey Pettis. Meh? Meh. It does not include signees like Ira Denson and Wilson Bell, or injured players like Jacob Fahrenkrug.

But how many of those players could actually play in meaningful situations in the fall? And where were Faircloth and Orelus actually on FSU's depth chart? Is the second string we see in practice really Florida State's true second string?

To answer these questions, I simulated the 24 injury situations for Florida State involving one, two or three injuries to starters on the offensive line. I did not simulate what would happen if FSU lost four or five offensive line starers, because it's pretty much a fruitless effort. If (almost any) team loses all or all but one of its five offensive line starters to injury, it should adjust its expectations downward in a major way.

Takeaways

Lorenzo Carter is one of the best football recruits in the class of 2014. Carter stars for Norcross (Ga.) High School.

Carter is a weak-side defensive end recruit and stands tall at 6'5, and weighs in at 230 pounds.

As of March 22, Carter is rated as a five-star recruit by 247 and Rivals, a three-star recruit by Scout, and is not yet rated by ESPN. Carter has a huge number of offers, most notably Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Miami, Mississippi State, Notre Dame and South Carolina.

You can find Carter on Twitter @LCarter_25.

Bud Elliott, National Recruiting Analyst: Carter is a special prospect. He has the ability to play defensive end, with a frame that can eventually hold 250 or 260 pounds. But he also has the athleticism to play rush linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.

Carter's greatest asset is his pass rushing. He gets off the ball and converts speed to power well, can bend under the reach of the offensive tackle, and finishes, which is an important attribute in a pass rusher.

Carter also has excellent length, and in time with college coaching, could use them as an excellent weapon in his arsenal against the pass and the run. Carter does a pretty good job against the run given his frame, and is better at controlling opposing blockers than the typical long, thinner defensive end type prospect. Once he fills out, he could be a plus run defender in college.

I wish Carter had more film of him dropping into coverage and defending the pass. If he did, I wouldn't have to guess at his ability to transition to outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense.

Carter is one of the best players in the country and his various high ratings are well deserved. He should be a multi-year starter at the BCS level.

Look through SB Nation's many excellent college football blogs to find your team's community.

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The state of Georgia has always been good at producing excellent talent, particularly on the defensive side of the football (arguably the top four prospects the past two seasons from Georgia have all been on defense). Linebacker Raekwon McMillan figures to be one of those top blue-chippers who could make a big difference.

McMillan is considered a consensus four-star recruit. McMillan weighs in at 236 pounds and stands tall at 6'3. The inside linebacker hails from Hinesville (Ga.) Liberty County High. McMillan reports top offers from Clemson and Ohio State, with schools like Alabama, Georgia, USC, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Stanford and others also getting into the mix.

As of March 22, McMillan lies right on the border of getting that elusive fifth star. McMillan is ranked as the 16th best overall national prospect by Rivals. 247Sports has McMillan ranked 13th overall and the second-best inside linebacker and the second best recruit in the state of Georgia. Scout has McMillan ranked as the second best middle linebacker on their list and he is also a member of the ESPN Watch List.

Bud Elliott, National Recruiting Analyst: McMillan attacks downhill in a hurry and really gets after the ball carrier. He is adept at quickly reading the play and shooting through the gap before the blocker has a chance to get after him. McMillan is clearly very strong, both in taking on blocks and in exploding through the ball carrier. He brings his legs on contact and gets his man on the ground.

McMillan is probably fairly close to the size at which he will play in college, though he could add 10 or so pounds.

Two questions remain about McMilan. First, I am unsure how long his arms really are. In college, he'll need them to keep blockers off his body. Second, I would like to see him more in pass coverage. McMillan could very well be a good pass defender. But due to the lack of tape, I cannot be sure of this.

McMillan is going to be a dominant starter as a middle linebacker who attacks downhill, and should be so with a quickness. He reminds me some of Reuben Foster and Jeff Luc -- former middle linebacker prospects who were close to their physical peak in high school. Anything else is just gravy.

Look through SB Nation's many excellent college football blogs to find your team's community.

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What should define recruiting success for the 12 new head coaches in college football's major conferences during their first contracts? The answer varies for each school.

For each, I tried to establish a reachable recruiting goal, relative to a school's conference foes. To do this, I considered resources, location, tradition, recent history and the coaches' reputation as a recruiter. When some of these coaches are fired in the coming years, I'll try to remember to look back and measure their recruiting against these goals, to determine whether it was their efforts on the recruiting trail or what they did with the talent once it arrived on campus (or both) that led to their pink slips.

SEC

Keep in mind that recruiting in the SEC is absolutely ridiculous. Many of the bottom-tier SEC classes would be among the best in other conferences. That creates unrealistic expectations from fans, which leads to more pressure on coaches.

Butch Jones, Tennessee

Tennessee has the facilities and the fan support to match the other three major programs in the division. What it doesn't have, however, is the available in-state talent.

Priority No. 1 is to out-recruit Vanderbilt by a wide margin, as the Commodores, while not beating Tennessee in recruiting, have been closing the talent gap relative to the previous decade.

I think it is reasonable to ask Jones to recruit on the level of South Carolina within a year or two. Catching Georgia or Florida, both of which have considerably more in-state talent from which to draw, is a tougher ask.

The Tennessee brand must be rebuilt in the eyes of recruits, who were in preschool the last time the Vols won the SEC crown (1998), and so far, it seems that Jones has the ability to do just that. Tennessee also really needs to find a quarterback to run Jones' spread system. If it does, it could win more games than expected early on, which will only help recruiting momentum (see also: Ole Miss' unexpected run to a bowl game and the resulting recruiting class).

For more on Tennessee football recruiting, head over to Rocky Top Talk.

Bret Bielema, Arkansas

Along with Mississippi State, Arkansas is consistently one of the two worst recruiting programs in the SEC West. Worst is a relative term, of course, as no teams in the SEC are bad at recruiting compared to the rest of college football.

But Arkansas expects to be in contention for SEC titles, and that's a tougher ask than ever with the addition of Texas A&M and the emergence of Ole Miss on the recruiting trail. Texas A&M is particularly troublesome, because the Aggies have taken away the come-play-in-the-SEC recruiting pitch previously used on recruits from Texas, as those recruits can now stay closer to home and play for A&M.

Arkansas needs to stick with its plan of running the football, like its new staff did for years at Wisconsin. The running back is already there in Alex Collins, and the Hogs shouldn't have any trouble attracting offensive linemen, due to Bielema's reputation for getting them drafted while at Wisconsin.

But from where will the defensive players come? There isn't much talent in Arkansas, and the SEC programs in surrounding states defend their turf extremely well.

Inside Gus Malzahn's Auburn

Before Gus Malzahn reinstalls his hurry-up, no-huddle offense at Auburn, he's already won something he's never had in the SEC: total support of a veteran defensive mind.

Gus Malzahn, Auburn

The buzz word for Malzahn is fit. In What Auburn needs in its next football coach, I said that it needed to hire Malzahn and Ellis Johnson, and it wisely did both. Auburn needs to make sure the players it covets fit its system, and by doing so, it can reduce the number of head-to-head battles it has with the Goliath that is the Crimson Tide.

Auburn should not expect to pull in better recruiting classes than Alabama, LSU or Texas A&M, but it should expect to recruit better than Ole Miss, Arkansas and Mississippi State. If Auburn gets out-recruited by Ole Miss, as it did in the class of 2013, it would then have roster talent in the lower half of the SEC West, and Malzahn will not last long as Auburn expects to compete for the SEC.

And like with many spread systems, QB play is extremely crucial. Malzahn needs to identify and sign the future signal caller for his offense.

Mark Stoops, Kentucky

Kentucky's recruiting has been pretty comparable to those of East rivals Vanderbilt and Missouri in the years before Stoops arrived at Kentucky. It's on-field results, however, as a result of coaching and player development, have not.

Realistically, Kentucky cannot be expected to out-recruit any of the four major football programs in the East Division, beating Vanderbilt and Missouri on the recruiting trail remains the goal. Stoops must also battle Charlie Strong at Louisville, which is picking up recruiting momentum thanks to much improved play and a move from the Big East to the ACC. Louisville is arguably the No. 1 football program in the state right now, and Stoops must recruit well enough to stop that designation from being cemented in the minds of future recruits and fans.

Stoops is already off to an excellent start, as he made the most of his two months in Lexington before National Signing Day and hauled in one of Kentucky's best classes in quite some time.

One important area to watch with Stoops will be Ohio. The Stoops name is legendary in the state, particularly around Youngstown, where the family coached and grew up. While Kentucky won't be beating out Ohio State for players any time soon, it can make the SEC recruiting pitch to many of the talented players in the state.

Big Ten

Gary Andersen, Wisconsin

Realistic expectations is the term for Anderson.

Ohio State and Michigan, in some order, are going to have the top two classes in the B1G until further notice. Those two are lapping the field. But I don't think it is out of the question to ask Wisconsin to consistently have a class rated fourth or better in the league.

Fit is also important, as the Badgers transition from Bielema's system to Andersen's. He will need to identify which high schools in the area can provide players capable of playing in the systems he plans to run. Wisconsin doesn't have a lot of in-state high school talent, but it's important to keep the talented players who fit the system from leaving the state.

For more on Wisconsin football recruiting, visit Buckys 5th Quarter.

Darrell Hazell, Purdue

For Purdue, it's all about consistently staying out of the Big Ten cellar. New additions to the conference, Rutgers and Maryland, both consistently recruit better than Purdue, and make this job tougher than ever before. And that's to say nothing of Indiana's resurgence on the recruiting trail, and Northwestern finally turning on-field success into a higher level of recruit.

I'll define recruiting success for Purdue as consistently recruiting better than at least two Big Ten teams and note that Hazell is off to a great start, signing 28 recruits in the 2013 class after hitting the ground running since his December 5 hire. He'll need to tap the relationships built while in the MAC to uncover players missed by other Big Ten programs.

Big XII

Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech

Texas Tech is not as easy to recruit to as it once was. The profile of the conference has changed some. Baylor's on-field success has led to a higher level of recruiting in Waco, Oklahoma State is much better now than it was during Tech's heyday under Mike Leach, and TCU's entrance to the Big XII has also made this a tougher job.

And out of conference, Texas A&M's recruiting has taken off since joining the SEC, which matters because A&M and Tech compete for many of the same players. But that doesn't mean that Tech cannot compete against these schools and come out ahead in some battles. But there is considerable work to be done in turning around the disaster that was the tenure of departed coach Tommy Tubberville.

New coach Kingsbury will look to duplicate the success had as offensive coordinator at Texas Tech. Tech fans should expect the personable Kingsbury and his staff to bring in classes that consistently rank in the upper half of the Big XII. Finding the quarterback of the future, preferably the next Johnny Manziel, would be ideal.

(Thanks to SB Nation Texas recruiting analyst Wescott Eberts for his input.)

Pac-12

Sonny Dykes, Cal

There's no hiding the fact that the recruiting buzz around Cal has dropped off some in recent years, likely as a result of the loss of Tosh Lupoi and other key coaches. But Cal is still a strong player in recruiting, finishing with top-six Pac-12 classes in the last two cycles.

Most of the improvement at Cal will have to come in coaching and player development, as there is not a whole lot of room for the Bears to move up in the Pac-12 recruiting rankings. If Cal can consistently finish with a top-six Pac-12 class, or better, Bears fans should be pretty happy.

Identifying and signing more receivers to run Dykes' spread offense will be key, and Cal should be the destination for speedy receivers in the Bay Area, as Stanford carries very few on its roster, preferring to run more multiple-tight end sets.

SB Nation interviews Mike MacIntyre

SB Nation interviewed the man who's been tasked with making magic happen for a second time.

Mike Macintyre

For Mike MacIntyre, it's all about a return to respectability. Colorado could be the worst recruiting team in the Pac-12 and still show a lot of improvement on the field simply because it hired someone who knows how to run a college football program -- something it failed to do a few years ago in Jon Embree. But a closer look shows that Colorado has not been the worst recruiting team in the Pac-12 over the last few years, though it is second to last.

While most of the improvements should come on the field, there is room for some on the recruiting trail. MacIntyre can do a better job than Embree of making sure the recruits fit Colorado's culture and scheme, and if he can consistently bring in classes that rank among the Pac-12's 10 best (perhaps better than Washington State and Oregon State), Colorado fans should be really happy, as this is a huge rebuilding job.

ACC

Dave Doeren, N.C. State

The Wolfpack did not recruit very well under Tom O'Brien… according to the recruiting rankings, that is. However O'Brien and his staff did a good job of finding players who fit the system, and N.C. State, while never a division champion, did compete for the crown consistently. The Atlantic Division is tough, and the Wolfpack cannot be expected to out-recruit Florida State or Clemson, but there is no reason why N.C. State cannot out-recruit three of the other four teams in the division (Louisville, Syracuse, Wake Forest and Boston College) during his five-year deal.

N.C. State must do a better job securing in-state talent, and that's a major reason why Doeren was brought in. Doeren will have to go about changing the roster from the former pro-style offense to one more suited to run his spread system.

Steve Addazio, Boston College

Boston College's recruiting was on a steady decline under Frank Spaziani, and Addazio has a decent reputation as a recruiter. That's a good start.

Boston College shouldn't be expected to beat Florida State, Clemson, N.C. State or Louisville for much talent, due to a number of factors including in-state resources, but BC absolutely should be able to top Syracuse and Wake Forest. And if it does that, going to a bowl game more often than not is doable.

Two important areas for Boston College will be running back and defensive end. Addazio has shown that he will ride one running back if the player is good enough, and that should attract a good prospect or two for Addazio's run-heavy offense. Pass rush is an obvious need, and playing time can be a major selling point here.

Podcasting with Scott Shafer

Cuse's new coach hopped on with SB Nation to talk about his winding road to Syracuse, what he expects to see during spring ball and whether or not we'll ever see him on Twitter.

Scott Shafer, Syracuse

Shafer is in an interesting position. Syracuse is coming off a nice multi-year run, but lost a ton to the NFL, including, obviously, coach Doug Marrone.

A rebuilding year is not exactly the time to be entering a much tougher conference, but that's exactly what he is faced with at Syracuse. Realistically, Syracuse should not expect to rank ahead of Florida State, Clemson, N.C. State or Louisville. It should probably strive to be a better recruiting team than at least one of Boston College and Wake Forest, and if it can be better than both on the recruiting trail, that would be a big success.

Big East

Willie Taggart, USF

USF has the highest ceiling of the teams not in the major conferences. The hire of Taggart has been universally lauded by those who understand the recruiting landscape in Tampa and the surrounding area. Taggart wants to run a smash-mouth offense and a fast, aggressive defense. And his knowledge of and reputation in the area should help him find and pull the necessary pieces. The question is whether he can find enough.

Florida is not known for producing offensive linemen or tight ends. Worse yet, at a school like USF, which depends on players faling through the cracks and not picking up offers by Florida, Florida State or Miami, it will be tough, because all three big schools run pro-style systems, meaning it's unlikely that all three will miss on high-caliber players who could also fit USF's system.

One thing Florida does produce, however, is speed. And lots of it. I'll be interested to see how Taggart adapts his style to the resources available to him. Might he run more spread-option, like former mentor Jim Harbaugh did with Colin Kaepernick and the the San Francisco 49ers? Taggart's goal - and USF should accept nothing less - is to be head and shoulders above the rest of the Big East in recruiting. There isn't a program in the Big East that should be able to hang with the Bulls on the recruiting trail.

Follow @SBNationCFBFollow @SBNRecruiting

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Florida State has signed offensive line coach Rick Trickett to a contract extension through the 2015 football season, worth a reported $455K annually.

The contract runs through 2016, but it is January of 2016, so it does not cover the 2016 season. I believe that makes it so that all of FSU's coaches are extended for at least two more seasons, and assistants landing multi-year deals is the norm now in major college football. Interestingly, according to Bob Ferrante, Trickett's contract reportedly does not contain a buyout. I'll get to that in a moment.

I think Florida State is in a bit of a catch-22 here. Trickett has done a very nice job coaching the offensive line. Did did a very good job in 2008 (with the youngest offensive line in the country), and again produced high quality lines in 2009, 2010 and 2012. 2011, the year in which FSU led the country in offensive line starts lost to injury, sticks out as a bit of a sore thumb.

The main issue with Trickett is his recruiting (FSU fans seem to confuse this with his coaching, of which there are few legitimate criticisms). Getting players is of vital importance in college football, and Trickett hurts FSU's ability to get players in a few ways.

First, Trickett is not a great recruiter himself. Current recruits, born in 1996, like to be told how good they are and have constant adoration strewn upon them. That's not exactly Trickett's style. It's fair to question if Trickett, 65, relates to teenagers as well as other college coaches, even offensive line coaches specifically.

Second, Trickett's coaching methods are a constant target for negative recruiting by other teams, including a certain rival. Trickett could stand to practice about 15 percent less berating/yelling/slapping kids in the helmet with his hat/rhetoric and about 10-15% more instruction. He's a good coach, but his reputation as an extremely tough, old-school coach precedes him, and is in some part perpetuated by Trickett himself. And while his antics turn some people off, his reputation likely does more damage, particularly with parents.

Florida State's recruiting targets hear a constant stream of "if you don't go to the SEC you're a p*$$#***." It's the reality of being an ACC school, and no amount of playing and beating SEC teams will change that. SEC schools sell the league. You're in the league, or you're not.

But offensive line recruits hear that, and one more line as well. They, along with their parents, are inundated with the additional "Rick Trickett will mistreat you (or your son)" line. And while it is impossible to gauge the exact amount of trouble this line of negative recruiting causes Florida State, you'd be foolish to think it is insignificant.

I don't see how the extension combats that issue.

There is another issue of negative recruiting, however, which it does somewhat help to counteract. That issue? Schools telling recruits that Trickett, who is 65, will soon retire and won't be there for their career. This is similar to what head coaches who do not have a four-year extension face (though often, with head coaches, competing schools claim he "will be fired"). And in today's world of college football, this is apparently extending to assistant coaches, which I guess is the natural progression of the game as assistants at major schools all carry multi-year contracts.

While this doesn't ensure that Trickett will be here for a recruit's entire career, it probably makes sense to extend it through the 2015 season as opposed to the 2014 year. Why? Because it's easy for schools to tell a kid, or his parent(s) that Trickett will be gone after 2014, when quarterback Clint Trickett is out of eligibility. This extension is a way of telling recruits that the offensive line coach's tenure at Florida state is not tied to his son. In fact, it suggests that he could be in Tallahassee longer than Clint Trickett.

The real question I have here is about the raise.

What has Rick Trickett done to deserve roughly a 14-percent raise?

He previously received a raise in January of 2011 from $325K to $400K, an increase of roughly 23-percent.

No doubt. RT @chaddscott: He's done a great job RT @iraschoffel FSU OL coach Trickett gets raise & new 3-year deal. Now earning $400K per.

— Ira Schoffel/TDO.com (@IraSchoffel) February 11, 2011

And considering the run he had from 2008-2010, I was fully in favor of it (as was pretty much everyone).

Raises are to prevent someone from moving to another position, to reward past performance that was above the compensation level received, with the hope that it will be repeated, or in exchange for increased duties.

Have other schools approached Rick Trickett and tried to hire him away? Not to my knowledge.

Has Trickett become a better offensive line coach or recruiter since January of 2011? It's hard to answer that in the affirmative. And failing to do so is not a slight against Trickett.

Is Trickett taking on more duties, perhaps lightening the load from an overtaxed Jimbo Fisher? This one, I cannot answer.

Taken in a vacuum, the raise is not a smart move by Florida State. Rick Trickett has likely peaked as a coach and a recruiter, and FSU is overpaying, considering its budget.

But this isn't in a vacuum. The lack of a buyout is very important here. Florida State is paying roughly 14% more on the front end, but avoids a buyout on the back end if things go South.

Still, is there any reason to believe that Trickett would not have signed for his previous salary of $400K? The lack of a buyout doesn't totally make this OK, it simply lessens the amount of overpayment.

Now back to the recruiting.

As we've noted before, much of Florida State's offensive line recruiting issues are not on Rick Trickett, but on Jimbo Fisher. Everything comes back to the head coach, but I'm not talking about that. Here, I am specifically discussing, again, Jimbo's failures in the past to take enough offensive line recruits, which I have on good authority that Trickett has wanted to do. Instead, scholarships were given to other positions. This failure is even worse than many realize, because offensive line recruiting is the position with which recruit star ratings have the weakest correlation. The solution is numbers, and FSU's head man has not thrown numbers at the issue, despite claiming at a previous press conference that he would like to have around 17 offensive linemen on scholarship each year (this year FSU has 14).

It's Fisher's job to know that he has someone who is quite good at coaching, but not good at player procurement. And to that end, he failed in not allowing FSU to take more offensive linemen in previous years, instead of favoring other positions.

The counter to this, of course, is that in at least one year, Fisher's decision to allocate scholarships elsewhere was justified. FSU arguably needed defense in the worst way, specifically in the class of 2010 (FSU's 2009 defense was the ACC's aside from Duke), and it made sense to sign, sign and sign some more on defense. But that doesn't excuse subsequent years.

And there has been a certain amount of bad luck on the recruiting trail, specifically on the offensive line, that I cannot attribute to either man. It just happens. And it's unfortunate that it has happened on the offensive line more than other positions. I don't believe this bad luck was caused by Rick Trickett or Jimbo Fisher. I think it's simply bad luck. But I don't expect casual fans to understand that.

This year, as has been well documented, FSU is offering offensive line recruits left and right. Considerably more than normal at this time of year. It needs a large haul (6-8) players, and it is being very aggressive about going out and getting that. With roughly 300 days until National Signing Day, we have a while to see how this recruiting class unfolds.

When you have a good chef who doesn't bring home enough groceries, it's up to the proprietor to know this and get him the ingredients and allow him to do his work. Trickett is, at least in contract, FSU's offensive line coach for the coming three seasons, and that is what Jimbo must do.

On National Signing Day 2012, Notre Dame fans were quite happy. Coach Brian Kelly's third recruiting class looked very strong. It included 17 players -- one a five-star, and another eight of whom were rated a consensus four-stars.

But now, just 13 months after signing, almost half of those star recruits are gone, including the top three signees from its 2012 recruiting class.

Gone is Gunner Kiel, who sat behind three other quarterbacks in 2012. He announced in early March that he would transfer after the semester. According to numerous sources, Kiel seemed to bristle at having to compete for a job. He was, after all, a five-star recruit and the No. 1 rated pro-style passer in the country. Kiel, an Indiana native, had previously committed to Indiana and to LSU. He is the recruit LSU head coach Les Miles famously described as lacking "the chest and ability to lead a program."

Tee Shepard is also gone, having lasted less than three months. The four-star cornerback transferred back to a community college in California, and will soon enroll at Oklahoma.

Wednesday, the school lost two more transfers, Kelly announced.

Davonte' Neal, an undersized offensive skill player who mostly contributed on punt returns, plans to transfer. He was Notre Dame's third-rated signee in the class, and originally from Arizona. And Justin Ferguson, a four-star receiver from Florida, will also transfer.

It is interesting to note that three of the high profile transfers are originally from warm weather states, with climates vastly different than South Bend, Ind.

Notre Dame also lost two star members from its 2011 class to transfers, in five-star defensive end Aaron Lynch, and four-star offensive tackle Jordan Prestwood, both originally from Florida.

For more on Notre Dame football, visit One Foot Down.

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Florida State's DeMarcus Walker was a consensus four-star defensive end recruit and a long-time Alabama commitment before he switched his commitment to Florida State and enrolled this January. The move was in large part prompted by the move of Jeremy Pruitt, formerly Alabama's secondary coach, and Walker's area recruiter, to Florida State to become defensive coordinator.

Walker is about 6'3 and 260 pounds, with obvious college-ready side and skills. Florida State is counting on him to play a non-zero number of snaps this season, as it lost three defensive ends to the NFL, including two potential first rounders in Bjoern Werner and Tank Carradine. Walker took part in the off-season conditioning program in January, February and early March, and was enrolled in classes.

But Walker hasn't been practicing with the team. And he's not listed on the roster as of March 28. Walker is at practice, but not participating.

The reason? An issue with the NCAA Clearinghouse -- the arm of the NCAA that approves transcripts and academic profiles of incoming freshmen. Specifically, it appears that there is an issue with one of Walker's classes.

How do we know this? Jimbo Fisher told the media about the Clearinghouse issue, and late Wednesday night, Walker dropped some more details on Twitter. The image at right is a screenshot captured at 11:51 p.m. Wednesday. It shows a conversation between Walker and two other Twitter users.

Walker appears to call out an elephant for tipping the NCAA

For the Twitter illiterate, or those on a mobile device, I'll set this up for you.

Walker (@livinglegend_44), clearly frustrated, tweets:"NCAA, please hurry up and clear me."

Twitter user "@EthanVaughan7" tweets to Walker:"what happened?"

Walker (@livinglegend_44) tweets in response:"a team said I took a fake class which is not true."

Twitter user "@TonyFeola" tweets to Walker:"which team? Was it the U those slime balls!," an obvious reference to the Miami hurricanes.

Walker (@livinglegend_44) tweets to in response to both:"no [inserts image of an elephant]" Alabama, obviously, has the elephant as its mascot.

Twitter user "@EthanVaughan7" tweets to Walker:"I figured that's who it was. They lost out on getting a star like you. Who wouldn't be mad." This is almost certainly a reference to Alabama, particularly when taken in context, as a reply to Walker's tweet of an image of an elephant, the animal that just to happens to be Alabama's mascot. Walker then re-tweets this, which is a common twitter way of endorsing a tweet as your own, or at the very least, a way for other people who follow a twitter user to see what was said to him.

This raises a lot of questions, none of which seem to have answers at the moment.

The biggest of which is the legitimacy of the "fake class."

If not, did Alabama turn Walker in out of spite or sour grapes? How does Walker know Alabama turned him in? Did someone tell him? If so, how did that person know? Did the NCAA tip the person who told Walker, or perhaps a person who told the person who told Walker? It's not unheard of for the identity for an accuser in an NCAA matter to be revealed (see Phillip Fulmer and the Alabama case in the early 2000s).

If it is true, there is a whole other can of worms about to be opened.

Where did the class in question take place? Walker's Jacksonville (Fla.) Sandalwood High School, or perhaps it was an online course? Did he know it was fake? Did he actually take the class?

Logically, if Walker's assertion that Alabama is the accuser is to be believed, the Crimson Tide had to know about it. How would Alabama know about it? Did Alabama set the class up in order for Walker to graduate and enroll early? And that would perhaps imply that new FSU defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, his recruiter at Alabama before coming to Florida State, also could have known. If Pruitt knew, then by association Florida State also could be implied to have known.

Again, there are far too many questions and not enough information to draw any conclusions at this point.

But I also have another question: How long has the NCAA known about this?

Was it just notified? It seems incomprehensible that this issue could be ongoing for almost 12 weeks, but then again, this is the same horribly run organization that so badly fumbled a case against Miami in which a booster gave hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts to players that it now may be forced to drop the case entirely. With the NCAA, assume incompetence.

We'll continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds, and hopefully Walker can soon do what he skipped out on graduation and senior prom to do -- play football.

Ohio State football recruiting is going strong for the 2014 class, which currently includes five commitments. Head coach Urban Meyer and staff are trying to keep the momentum going from the strong class they put together in 2013. That class was the best in the Big Ten, and ranked among the nation's top 10. One major area of focus in the 2014 class will be the lines, and the Buckeyes already have three recruits at the position.

Commitments since National Signing Day: Kyle Trout, Parris Campbell, Dylan Thompson

Decommitments since National Signing Day: Lawrence Marshall

Current Verbal Commitments

Kyle Trout, Lancaster (OH) Lancaster High School: Trout is a consensus four-star offensive tackle recruit who stands 6'6 and weighs 285 pounds. He holds offers from West Virginia, Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois and Pittsburgh, among others.

Parris Campbell, Akron (OH) St. Vincent-St. Mary High School: Campbell is 6'0 and weighs 179 pounds, and he does not yet have a consensus recruiting rating. He also has offers from Michigan State and Tennessee.

Damon Webb, Detroit (MI) Cass Technical High School: The 5'11, 180-pound cornerback prospect is considered a four-star recruit and one of the top 15 players at his position. He has other offers from LSU, Michigan, West Virginia, Michigan State and Wisconsin, to name a few.

Marcelys Jones, Cleveland (OH) Glenville High School: Jones is a consensus four-star offensive guard prospect and a top-10 player at his position according to 247Sports. He is 6'5 tall and weighs 325 pounds and holds scholarship offers from Florida State, UCLA, Michigan State and Kansas State as well as several others.

Dylan Thompson, Lombard (IL) Montini Catholic High School: Thompson is a consensus four-star defensive end, and the newest Ohio State commitment. At 6'5 and 270 pounds, he'll likely play an inside-shade technique if he remains at end. Luckily for him, Ohio State plays such a defensive alignment.

National Signing Day is nearly a year away. Verbal commitments are non-binding and change frequently.

For more on Ohio State Buckeyes recruiting, visit Land-Grant Holy Land's recruiting page.

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Adam Choice is one of the best running back recruits in the Southeast. Out of Thomasville (Ga.) Thomas County Central High School, Choice stands 5'9 and weighs in at 196 pounds.

Choice is a consensus four-star recruit and is widely considered one of the 20 best running back recruits nationally.

He holds offers from Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Kentucky, N.C. State, USF, Tennessee and Wisconsin, and is receiving interest from many others as well.

Bud Elliott, National Recruiting Analyst:Choice is a very solidly built running back recruit out of a storied South Georgia program. Well, I should say projected running back, because he actually plays quarterback in high school in the Flexbone offense. Watching this film is a lot like watching Georgia Tech, even down to the uniforms. But even though he plays quarterback, there is plenty of film of him running the football to evaluate, and at the college level, he is all running back.

Choice is a very tough, physical runner. He runs low to the ground and runs through contact, giving defenders very little to tackle, and refusing to go down to arm tackles. He is very productive and runs with good instincts.

Choice appears to have good vision, which he pairs with solid change of direction. He also has excellent balance.

There are a few questions about Choice's game. First, he is quicker than he is fast. I don't see an extra gear. I also think that at 5'9 and 196 pounds, he is somewhat close to his physical ceiling. And I have no idea if he can be an asset in the passing game.

But despite that, I am a big fan of Choice's game. He could start for a lot of college teams right now, and shows the potential to be very productive at the BCS level. His running style reminds me somewhat of Maurice Jones-Drew, formerly of UCLA and currently a member of the Jackvonville Jaguars. He is also a similar runner to Michael Dyer, formerly of Auburn.

In addition to being a smart player, Choice is also a good baseball player.

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Tyler Harris is one of the top pro-style quarterback recruits in the Southeast. He stars for Blackshear (Ga.) Pierce County High School, in the Southeast corner of the state. Harris checks in at 6'3 and 210 pounds.

Harris claims offers from Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Troy, and is receiving interest from numerous other programs.

Harris was named the First-Team All-Region 1AAA quarterback and holds five school passing records. He threw for 2,500 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Bud Elliott, National Recruiting Analyst: Harris looks like the classic pro-style passer. He's built well at 6'3 and 210, and can probably hold another 10 pounds of muscle once he gets in a college weight program.

Like many high school quarterbacks, Harris plays in a spread, air raid-style offense, which is perfect for showing off his skills. It's no surprise that three of his four offers, as of March 27, run spread offenses that throw the football a lot.

Harris has a big arm and can sling the ball all over the field. His delivery is not great, and should be sped up and made more fluid by virtue of better college coaching. He also shows the ability to take velocity off the football on touch throws, and can float balls over defenders at the second level.

Harris isn't immobile, and has the ability to extend plays with his feet, but any damage he does is going to be with his arm. He is not a threat to run and will not hurt defenses with his legs beyond the line of scrimmage.

Harris is a smart player both on and off the field, making quick, sound decisions, and carrying a 4.0 GPA.

There are remaining questions about Harris' game. I have no idea how his footwork will be should he play in an offense that doesn't operate solely from the shotgun. It's also worth noting that quarterback is a tough position to project, because there is such a mental aspect to the position, as well as a leadership aspect, and those are tough qualities to project.

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Notre Dame football recruiting is off to a strong start for the 2014 class, which currently includes five commitments. Head coach Brian Kelly and staff are trying to keep the momentum going from the strong class they put together in 2013. That class was one of the best in the Midwest, and ranked among the nation's top 10. One major area of focus in the 2014 class will be the lines, where the Irish already have three commitments.

Commitments since National Signing Day: Andrew Trumbetti

Decommitments since National Signing Day: None

Current Verbal Commitments

Andrew Trumbetti, Demarest (NJ) N Valley Reg School: Trumbetti is a powerful defensive end commitment with a big frame (6'5, 250). He seems like a perfect fit for Notre Dame's 3-4 defense at the five-technique end position. The Demarest product is a consensus four-star player and chose the Irish over numerous SE and Big Ten offers.

Jay Hayes, Brooklyn (NY) Poly Prep School: Hayes is another top defensive line recruit for the Irish. At 6'5 and 260 pounds, he might currently be a bit undersized, but he has the frame to eventually play at either the five-technique end position, or potentially line up at nose down the line. Hayes is a consensus four-star recruit.

Greer Martini, Woodberry Forest (VA) High School: Martini has an awesome name. But he's more than that. Martini is an athletic linebacker with a great build (6'3, 232) and plenty of room to grow and mature. He could play inside or out for the Irish, and chose Notre Dame over numerous other offers. Greer is a consensus four-star recruit.

Justin Brent, Indianapolis (IN) Speedway High School: Brent is another consensus four-star recruit in Notre Dame's class. He offers a good blend of speed, size and instincts at the receiver position, and chose Notre Dame in July of 2012.

Jimmy Byrne, Cleveland (OH) St. Ignatius School: Byrne is pretty athletic for a 6'4, 290-pound high school offensive line recruit. He is a consensus four-star who projects to play at 300 or more pounds at the college level. He chose the Irish over offers from Ohio State and Michigan State.

National Signing Day is nearly a year away. Verbal commitments are non-binding and change frequently.

For more on Notre Dame Fighting Irish football recruiting, visit One Foot Down.

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Vanderbilt football recruiting is off to a fast start with its 2014 class, currently numbering five commitments. Head coach James Franklin and staff are trying to keep the momentum going from the strong class they put together in 2013. That class was one of the best in Vanderbilt history, and the Commodores are looking to take the next step and contend for an Eastern Division title. To do so, it will likely need to bring in more four-star recruits.

Commitments since National Signing Day: Dallas Rivers, Bryce Lewis, Emmanuel Smith

Decommitments since National Signing Day: None

Current Verbal Commitments

K.J. Carta-Samuels, San Jose (Calif.) Bellarmine Prep: Samuels is a very promising quarterback prospect. I had the chance to see him in person at the IMG Invitational in the summer of 2012, and he showed well. Samuels has a nice blend of arm, athleticism, and feel for the game. He's not the biggest QB at 6'2 and 210 pounds, but the consensus four-star already holds an offer from Arizona as well.

Dallas Rivers, Stone Mountain (GA) Stephenson High School: Rivers committed to the Commodores in late March. The 6'0, 200-pound athlete also claims offers from Arizona, Boston College, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and West Virginia. Stephenson is a strong program and the consensus three-star Rivers is a good pull for Vanderbilt.

Jashon Robertson, Nashville (TN) Montgomery Bell Academy: Vanderbilt has some rebuilding to do along the offensive and defensive lines, and the 6'3, 280-pound Robertson should help with the former. The local product does not list any other offers, and has been committed to Vanderbilt since June of 2012. Robertson is a consensus three-star recruit.

Bryce Lewis, Lilburn (GA) Parkview High School: Lewis is a 6'1, 170-pound cornerback recruit. He is considered one of the best 75 corner prospects in the country, and chose Vanderbilt in late March over offers from Boston College and Georgia State. Lewis is a consensus three-star recruit.

Emmanuel Smith, Murfreesboro (TN) Oakland High School: Smith is a consensus three-star safety recruit. He checks in at 6'2 and 200 pounds, and chose Vanderbilt over claimed offers from Louisville, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State, Oregon State and Tennessee.

National Signing Day is nearly a year away. Verbal commitments are non-binding and change frequently.

For more on Vanderbilt football recruiting, visit Anchor Of Gold.

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More from SB Nation:

• Exclusive with Tommy Tuberville

• SB Nation reports Sun Belt expansion

• SB Nation’s Garnet & Black Attack interviews Marcus Lattimore

• SB Nation’s Maize n Brew interviews Denard Robinson

• College football's most penalized teams and flag-happy refs

• What if March Madness had football ... | ... Or football had Madness

Rutgers football recruiting is off to a fast start with it 2014 class. The Scarlet Knights already have five commitments. And with the move to the Big Ten conference, they'll be looking to add a higher quality class than in recent years. Coach Kyle Flood really is in a good spot with this program, and his staff should be able to take advantage of this golden opportunity.

Commitments since National Signing Day: Sidney Gopre, Justin Nelson, Zack Heeman, Saquan Hampton

Decommitments since National Signing Day: None

Sidney Gopre, Newark (NJ) Weequahic High School: Gopre committed to Rutgers in early March. He plays both running back and linebacker for his school, but is probably a linebacker at the college level. Gopre is a consensus three-star recruit and stands 6'0 and 200 pounds. He chose Rutgers over an offer from Temple.

Josh Hicks, Palmetto (FL) High School: Hicks is a smaller back at 5'10 and 180 pounds who should be a threat in the passing game as well. He's productive for Palmetto High, and also claims an offer from Miami. Hicks is a consensus three-star recruit.

Justin Nelson, Wayne (NJ) De Paul Catholic: Nelson is a big middle linebacker type at 6'1 and 245 pounds. He should fit in well in the classic Big Ten style. Nelson does not claim any other offers as of April 1 and carries a consensus three-star rating.

Zack Heeman, Flanders (NJ) Mount Olive High School: Heeman is a massive offensive tackle prospect at 6'8 and 270 pounds. He should, obviously, eventually play North of 300. Heeman does not claim any other offers as of April 1 and carries a consensus three-star rating.

Saquan Hampton, Trenton (NJ) Hamilton North-Nottingham School: Hampton is a lightly rated cornerback recruit, receiving only a consensus two-stars from the industry. But Rutgers has a history of scouting defensive backs well, and Hampton does have good size at 6'2 and 185 pounds.

For more on Rutgers football recruiting, visit On The Banks.

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More from SB Nation:

• Exclusive with Tommy Tuberville

• SB Nation reports Sun Belt expansion

• SB Nation’s Garnet & Black Attack interviews Marcus Lattimore

• SB Nation’s Maize n Brew interviews Denard Robinson

• College football's most penalized teams and flag-happy refs

• What if March Madness had football ... | ... Or football had Madness

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State’s first scrimmage of spring came at the right time, just in time for the Seminoles to spend their final two weeks continuing to work on execution on both sides of the ball. The Seminoles ran through a 130 plus play situational scrimmage Monday afternoon inside Doak Campbell Stadium.

"There were some good and bad signs for both sides (of the ball)," FSU head football coach Jimbo Fisher said. "I think plays were made on each side because the other side didn’t execute. That’s kind of typical for this time in the spring. We did some good things. All of the quarterbacks rotated in evenly. Each had their chances with the 1’s and 2’s in different situations. Guys did some nice things, but we have a long way to go."

FSU rotated its first, second and third team offenses and defenses for the first half of the scrimmage, before spending the second half working on third down, redzone, goal line, two-minute and other situations. No statistics are scheduled to be released.

FSU returns to the practice field Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday for three more practices. The next closed scrimmage is slated for next Monday. All practices are closed to the public. Fans are just now 12 days away from the spring football weekend which will be capped off with the annual Garnet and Gold Spring football game at 2 p.m. at Doak Campbell Stadium on Apr. 13. The game will be carried on ESPN3 and replayed on ESPNU.

MORE FROM JIMBO FISHER AFTER FIRST SCRIMMAGE

Some of the young backs did okay. Defensively, we had some really good moments at times. Other times, we gave up some really big plays… but that’s from both sides making plays. (Both sides) were very competitive. We’ll look at the film to judge – it’s hard to when you are going that fast. One thing that really stood out to me – I thought Roberto (Aguayo) really kicked the ball unbelievably well today. I mean he was killin’ those field goals … long distances…ranges...I was very proud of him. I thought Cason Beatty and our punt team did a really nice job today on our assignments and Cason hitting the ball where he needed to. I’m very pleased with those two guys. The rest of them, we’ll wait till we see the film before we make the judgment."

On giving more weight to the scrimmage format when grading quarterbacks

"It’s because you aren’t out there with the coach. You have to be out there doing it on your own. It’s still live in the stadium. I can’t say if there is much more (of a difference), but it kind of confirms things I’ve been seeing at practice. I’m not unhappy at all. We’ve made a lot of progress. We made some really great plays. We need to be more consistent. I kind of imagined that right now. We had some nice plays in the game."

On any standout players that jumped out at him

"Not really. I thought (Lamarcus) Joyner flashed a couple of times in the nickel situations playing corner. He made a nice stop on a short yardage. It’s hard to see unless they really flash. Nobody in particular. We’ll watch the film and maybe somebody did more than what we saw. Offensively, I didn’t think anybody jumped out at me either. But great competition, you have both sides making plays."

On the offensive line

"Short-yardage, goal line offense played well. I thought we did well in those opportunities. We put them in some tough things. We didn’t move the pocket a lot. We wanted to see pass blocking and we wanted to see the quarterback set in the pocket versus a lot of blitzes…put them in some tough scenarios…third-and-long, people are coming at them…making them stay in the pocket and making the line have to block."

On junior offensive lineman Austin Barron

"He’s fine. He’ll be back. He just has a strained back. He didn’t do anything today. In another day he’ll be fine."

On junior offensive lineman Bobby Hart

"I thought Bobby had a nice day. I will look at film and see. I know there had to have been some protections he missed. He didn’t jump out at me as doing something glaringly wrong. You notice that with offensive linemen first."

On the new defensive scheme

"There are many more looks to develop your offense and your quarterbacks because of blitzes and other scenarios, and fronts and coverages, which is very good because that allows you to prepare and see them every day and get comfortable with them. The defense did some really nice things. You move 2’s and 1’s around, trying to experiment with different people. I thought they had a nice day."

THOMAS RHETT To Kickoff Spring Football Weekend: Florida State Athletics in conjunction with IMG College have announced Thomas Rhett as its headline for the "Friday Night Block Party" in Kleman Plaza on Friday, April 12, 2013 to kickoff Spring Football Weekend in Tallahassee sponsored by SunTrust. This concert event will serve as the official kickoff to what ESPN has tabbed as the "Best Spring Weekend in College Football". More details on the spring weekend will be released in the coming weeks. On Saturday, Seminole fans will get a chance to enjoy the annual barbeque cook-off on Langford Green before heading inside Doak Campbell Stadium for the 2013 Spring Football game scheduled to kickoff at 2 p.m.

Dontavius Russell is one of the top recruits in Georgia and the Southeast. He stars at defensive tackle for Carrolton (Ga.) High School. Russell stands and impressive 6'3 and 300 pounds. He holds offers from Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, N.C. State, South Carolina, Stanford, USC and Vanderbilt. As of this writing, Russell is committed to the University of Georgia. Russell is a consensus four-star recruit. He is widely considered one of the top-100 players in the country and one of the 10 best defensive tackles.

But what makes Russell so highly rated? As with many line recruits, it starts with his rare combination of size and athleticism. There just aren't many humans who have Russell's size and the ability to perform quick-twitch movements. Here are some film clips of Russell.

It's more than that, though. Part of what makes Russell such an intriguing prospect is his potential to continue growing and get even better. Already at 300 pounds, Russell has some sloppiness to him, but in a college weight program, he will be able to shed some of that and add more good weight.

In sports, certainty is a valuable commodity. And in Russell, there is a certainty that he will not be consistently blocked in the run game. He will command a double team.

Russell shows good burst off the ball, though there are a few times when he gets blocked because he comes out of his stance too high. This is a common refrain about even the best of high school linemen. He does not profile as a great pass rusher, but shouldn't be such a liability as to be limited to just two downs. Russell should do a better job using his hands more consistently, but he flashes a strong punch and the ability to move his feet laterally to make plays.

Russell is a very good prospect and profiles as a multi-year starter at the BCS level. He's also a bright young man who should excel in the classroom.

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John Battle IV is a highly covered recruit out of South Florida. He plays defensive back and wide receiver for Hallandale (FL) High School. Battle is a consensus three-star recruit. He checks in at 6'0 and 170 pounds. As of April 2, Battle claims offers from Florida State, LSU, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, North Carolina, Northwestern, Pitt, Rutgers, South Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Battle also holds a 3.5 GPA and scored a 20 on his ACT, alleviating any qualifying concerns.

Scouting Battle: The first question that comes to mind with Battle is his strength. At only 170 pounds, he looks very skinny. How much muscle can he add in a college strength program without losing significant speed or quickness? And what position will he play? Is he a cornerback or a safety? I do not think he will be a receiver.

For being as skinny as he is, Battle really likes to hit. He plays in the box a lot for Hallandale, and is very aggressive against the run. He struggles to bring down tacklers if his first hit doesn't take them down, but that is to be expected with his lithe frame.

Battle has long arms which assist him in making plays, particularly in tipping away passes.

I think Battle's best fit could be as a safety, provided that he can bulk up some and maintain his range from a center-field role. I do not see him as a box (strong) safety at the next level.

Battle could also play corner in the right system, and his length could help him in press coverage, though without seeing more of him in press coverage, I can't determine how good he will be.

Battle should probably redshirt, as he is unlikely to be more than a special teams player early on in his career.

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