BREAKING: Legacy offensive lineman signs with Florida State

The Seminoles are keeping at least one legacy home on Wednesday.

The 2022 recruiting class for Florida State just got significantly better as Mike Norvell and Alex Atkins were able to land offensive lineman Julian Armella.

There was some concern earlier in the day when it was reported that Armella would be pushing his decision back. Regardless, he decided later in the day to go through with signing on Wednesday night.

Florida State has done a tremendous job of addressing the future of their offensive line. Throughout the 2022 cycle, Ft. Lauderdale-St. Thomas Aquinas offensive lineman Julian Armella has been a primary target due to his versatility and straight-up nastiness on the field. Regarded as the 5th best interior lineman in the country, Armella can play either guard or tackle spots in college.

Alex Atkins gained a reputation as one of the best offensive recruiters in the nation this year and landing Julian adds to that. With nearly 40 offers, Julian was being recruited by just about every major program in the country. Things took a positive turn for FSU when he visited the Midnight Madness camp once the COVID restrictions were lifted over the summer.

During that visit, Mike Norvell and his staff had their first real opportunity to address Armella in person and show them how he fits their offensive philosophy. After an unofficial visit for the season opener versus Notre Dame, FSU started to feel that they had made up a bunch of ground in Armella’s recruitment.

After coaching changes at LSU, Florida and a few other programs, Armella made his last official visit on December 10th to FSU.

Today’s signing of Julian is a big win as it addresses a need while also showing that FSU is back to recruiting against the nation’s top programs. Armella chose FSU over LSU, Alabama, Florida, Miami and a whole slew of others. Part of building a winning program is bringing in top-tier players along the trenches. That was done in this class and it finished off with a huge bang as Armella is now a Seminole.

NoleGameday will continue to follow Florida State's Early Signing Period finish throughout the day. You can check out our prospect tracker for all of the upcoming announcements HERE.