Longtime Kicker Commitment Jake Weinberg Visit Florida State For Final Time Before Signing
Florida State has built one of the top recruiting classes in the country throughout the year. The Seminoles have pulled in 14 of their 23 commitments since July but there has been a large crop of recruits who have been with the program since the beginning.
Top kicker Jake Weinberg made his pledge to FSU nearly a year ago when he was offered a full scholarship by Mike Norvell and John Papuchis. Since then, he's been one of the Seminoles' biggest supporters while taking multiple trips to Tallahassee and watching the season-opening win over LSU in Orlando.
Over the weekend, Weinberg and his family returned to Florida State for his official visit in what marked his final time on campus before he officially signs with the program.
"It was a lot of fun," Weinberg said to NoleGameday's Dustin Lewis. "Last time before I sign, I wanted to bring my family up. Being around the team and the commits and being with coach Norvell was a lot of fun."
The Florida native has been able to see #Tribe24 flourish over the last couple of months. Coupled with the success on the field, Weinberg is excited for what is still to come.
"I was just excited, especially with how much success they've had this year," Weinberg said. "In our class, we have a lot of commits and there's a lot to come. It's been a lot of fun and I'm just excited for everything."
Throughout his recruitment, Weinberg has built a strong bond with special teams analyst Carter Barfield, redshirt junior kicker Ryan Fitzgerald, and redshirt junior punt Alex Mastromanno. Fitzgerald was his player host throughout the weekend.
"I'm lucky to have someone like Ryan, especially who has been through it all," Weinberg said. "I told him I'm just going to come here and be under your wing, give me all the advice for everything in terms of football and the lifestyle here."
It wasn't that long ago when Fitzgerald was struggling on the field, only making 12/20 attempts during the 2022 campaign. After making the game-winning kick in the Cheez-It Bowl against Oklahoma, Fitzgerald responded this past season by connecting on a career-high 18/20 attempts while making all 58 of his extra-point tries.
That was something that Weinberg paid a lot of attention to.
"It definitely meant a lot to him, the culture in the locker room," Weinberg said. "Coach Norvell, he was like 'I've believed in Ryan and that's how it is here. We're not going to let anyone lose here.' Ryan, they believed in him, they trusted him, and they knew he was going to bounce back."
Weinberg's favorite part of the trip was spending time at Norvell's house on Saturday night. He knew from the first time he met the head coach that he was going to play for the Seminoles.
"Just the way how he's just like a players coach. I mean, every time I talk to him, the energy he has. There is no other head coach I've met like him. Right when I met him, I knew I was going to come play here."
Prior to departing on Sunday afternoon, Weinberg sat down for one last meeting with Norvell in his office where they went over what's coming next.
"We were just talking about what's going to happen from here. The goals that he wants to set with me and just what's going to happen in the long run. Obviously, I can't come in the spring so we're just going to stay in touch and just continue doing the same."
Weinberg will sign with the Seminoles on December 20 and will enroll over the summer. He'll be able to have a year to learn behind Fitzgerald and acclimate to the college level.
The 5-foot-10, 160-pound kicker is regarded as the No. 2210 overall recruit, the No. 6 K, and the No. 287 prospect in the state of Florida in the 2024 class according to 247Sports.
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