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Florida State picked up a commitment from ESPN 300 quarterback Sam Howell on Monday night. The No. 289-ranked prospect overall is the first quarterback to commit to the Noles under new coach Willie Taggart and adds to an already strong 2019 class. Howell, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound pocket passer out of Sun Valley High School in Monroe, North Carolina, chose Florida State over offers from Florida, Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan, Ole Miss, Oregon and plenty of others. A big reason for his commitment to Florida State was new Seminoles offensive coordinator Walt Bell, who recently joined Taggart after leaving the same position at Maryland. "Coach Bell went [to Florida State] and it felt like everything was falling into place," Howell said. "It just felt right." Bell had recruited Howell while at Maryland since Howell was 15 years old, and the two have established an excellent relationship throughout the process. The Florida State coaches tried to land a few quarterbacks in the 2018 class, including James Foster, who signed with previous Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M. But the short amount of time Taggart and his coaches had to recruit before February's signing day prevented them from landing a signal-caller in the class. Landing Howell now gives Bell and Taggart an excellent prospect to add future depth behind Deondre Francois, James Blackman and Bailey Hockman. With Howell in the mix, the staff can take its time evaluating other quarterbacks, if the Seminoles were to add a second to the class. Florida State now has five ESPN 300 commitments in the 2019 class with Howell, defensive back Akeem Dent, and defensive linemen Michael Morris Jr., Tru Thompson and Quashon Fuller.
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