Florida State hosts OL Jude Foster for extensive Junior Day visit

Foster was on campus for nearly eight hours on Saturday.

Over 50 prospects were in Tallahassee over the weekend for Florida State's final Junior Day of January. The group was made up of a variety of recruits that the Seminoles have already offered or are evaluating.

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Rising senior and offensive tackle Jude Foster picked up an offer from FSU back in September. He returned to campus on Saturday to spend extensive time with the coaching staff. Foster's visit ended up last nearly eight hours as he was the lone remaining unofficial visitor on campus into the evening.

"I thought today was really good. Everyone being open and honest to me," Foster said to NoleGameday's Dustin Lewis. "Just happy to be here, seeing the facilities, seeing the weight room, seeing how everything is done here. I just had a fun time here."

Throughout the visit, Foster had conversations with offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Alex Atkins and offensive analyst Gabe Fertitta. Being a native of Louisiana, one of Foster's primary contacts is Fertitta, who has strong ties to the state.

"The conversations were good," Foster said. "They talked to me about the things that their players go through, the things that the offensive line goes through. The things that they do at practice. Taking the time to develop the younger guys as well as the older guys."

Foster has been building a relationship with coach Atkins. He thinks that the two relate well to one another.

"Really good. He's a funny guy, I can tell. He's just like me, I'm a funny guy," Foster said. "So I think that us two could build a relationship and he's also a pretty good coach. He's going to be open and honest to me about everything because he wants the best for me."

Like most prospects, the message that Foster echoed from the coaching staff was their genuineness. He knows he'll have to put in the work at Florida State to see the field. At the same time, he's impressed by how the staff develops players, no matter where they sit on the depth chart.

"The main message was honesty," Foster said. "They didn't sugarcoat anything, they told me that if I was to come here then I would have to put in a lot of work. I would have to show that I belong here and nothing will be handed to me."

"They're just saying that this would be a good fit for me as an offensive lineman because they have probably the best offensive line in the country," Foster continued. "They just develop their players - no matter if you're first string, fourth string - everybody gets the same treatment."

Prior to leaving campus, Foster sat down with head coach Mike Norvell. Once again, the importance of work was highlighted.

"It went really well, you know?" Foster said. "It was unexpected because I thought he was going to sugarcoat everything but he was open and honest about it, saying I have to work for everything that's going to be here. Nothing is going to be given to me."

Coming out of a lengthy trip to Florida State, the Seminoles are at the top of Foster's recruitments. He'll continue to check out other programs, including Baylor, Ole Miss, and Tennessee.

"They're at the top. I'm going to take some more visits, some more time to think about my decision, things like that. But they definitely made up the rankings."

Outside of Florida State, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Memphis, and Baylor are among teams standing out to Foster.

Foster is planning to return to Tallahassee in March to view a spring practice and see how Atkins works with his position group.

The 6-foot-3.5, 286-pound offensive tackle is unranked at this point of the 2024 recruiting cycle. That will probably change in the near future.

READ MORE: Florida State's full 2023 football schedule released

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