Florida State secures two visits with OL Chris Otto ahead of Early Signing Period
There aren't many spots remaining in Florida State's 2023 recruiting class with December's Early Signing Period right around the corner. The Seminoles are focusing on their final few targets with an eye on the numbers to fit in the prospects that they covet.
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Over the last few weeks, four-star offensive lineman Roderick Kearney flipped his commitment from Florida State to Florida while fellow four-star offensive line DJ Chester committed to LSU. That leaves four-star offensive tackle Lucas Simmons as the lone pledge up-front in the class with the Seminoles re-evaluating their options.
A name that has been rising up FSU's board since the summer is three-star offensive lineman Chris Otto. Following a standout workout on both sides of the ball at the Seminole Showcase, the Seminoles have been showing him a lot of love. Vanderbilt, Syracuse, and Stanford have all also offered Otto since May.
"FSU's definitely recruiting the most right now," Otto said to NoleGameday's Dustin Lewis. "The ones that are standing out are obviously FSU, Vanderbilt's been really pushing it, Syracuse has a little bit, and Stanford just started getting in there now too."
It's not just FBS programs, Otto also holds interest from multiple Ivy League schools such as Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and UPenn. He officially visited Princeton over the summer.
"It's just a great honor. I'm really happy that I've gotten those," Otto said. "Princeton's shown me a lot of love lately. I feel like it's a great prestigious award for me."
Otto is planning to major in film at the college of his choice. It's something that is very important to him and Florida State is trying to optimize his schedule.
"With Florida State in general, they're trying to work to get the most optimal time that I can do to get into film," Otto said. "I'm not going to be able to do the film school all my years, I'm going to have to do a different type of program which kind of sucks but I realized what they're doing right now is just trying to find the best schedule for me so I can be the best football player and filmer at the same time."
The Florida native submitted an entry to the Palm Beaches Student Showcase of Films earlier this year. His video ended up capturing first place at the largest student film competition and award show in the state.
"I entered for the high school division for the PSA [Public Service Announcement]," Otto said. "It's basically just like a student film showcase competition. So, they give you a certain subject to film on and they give you a certain amount of time to film it in. I went for a PSA on water safety with debris and it got me first place."
Offensive line coach Alex Atkins and Director of High School Relations Ryan Bartow have been communicating with Otto the most. He says that Atkins keeps it real, which is a common sentiment we've heard from multiple recruits about the young coach.
"He just feels like natural to talk with," Otto said. "He keeps it real as everyone says. Not only that though, it just feels like a great connection."
Florida State has secured two visits from Otto with the end of the season quickly approaching. He has scheduled an unofficial visit to Tallahassee for the Seminoles' regular-season finale against Florida and will return for an official visit on December 9-11. Otto was supposed to attend FSU's contest with Wake Forest earlier this season but Hurricane Ian forced him to change his plans.
While he's not ready to name a leader, Otto acknowledges that the Seminoles sit in a good place to land his eventual commitment.
"They're up there," Otto said. "They're definitely really up there."
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive lineman is leaning towards not being an early enrollee after talks with his family and is still thinking about a commitment date.
Otto is regarded as the No. 1226 overall prospect, the No. 103 OT, and No. 175 recruit in the state of Florida in the 2023 class according to 247Sports.
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