"I am still open, but Florida State is still my leader," Thomas said. "They told me I could come in and compete for a starting job my freshman year. After them it is Alabama, Georgia, USC and Miami."
Thomas, the No. 13 prospect in the country, discussed the other four programs in his top five.
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"I am waiting for my parents to get here to my hotel and we plan to discuss things as far as my commitment goes," Mitchell said.
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"I originally just wanted to make a visit, but I decided to camp anyway," Whitfield said. "It was a great experience being able to showcase my talent out there."
Whitfield has become a hot commodity this summer, picking up offers from Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Ohio State, West Virginia, South Carolina and UCF. A couple programs have emerged for the No. 113 prospect in the nation.
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Last week, ESPN ACC blogger Heather Dinich suggested one of Florida State's primary concerns entering the 2012 season is discipline.
Not surprisingly, the comments section of the post included a few hundred Seminoles supporters who took some exception with that notion -- a reasonable reaction considering the veteran leadership of players like EJ Manuel and Brandon Jenkins, players who far exceed the typical expectations for discipline and maturity among college athletes.
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But there's no denying the raw numbers here. Florida State finished tied for 118th out of 120 FBS teams in penalties last season, and combined with a few offseason, off-field incidents, it's easy to paint a dreary picture. In fact, it's one FSU players are all too willing to paint.
"Last year, penalties killed us in the Clemson game and Wake Forest game," Jenkins said. "Mental mistakes, being in the wrong spot -- it was just two or three plays that kept us from being great."
Jenkins, like most people, view penalties on a micro sense. They remember the ones that came at the worst possible time, and the flags then become an easy scapegoat for poor performance.
In that micro sense, however, odds are, every team can point to at least one or two penalties that came at bad times, flags that have stuck with players and coaches throughout an offseason as a painful "what if" moment. Penalties are like bad putts in golf. Everyone has a few, and they tend to linger.
But do penalties really have a dramatic impact on the bottom line?
Ward, when healthy, sits above 90 miles per hour on his fastball complimented by a curveball and change-up. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound hurler out of Oviedo (Fla.) also drew heavy interest from college-baseball powers such as Florida, Miami, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Vanderbilt and Virginia.
"I was mostly looking at Florida State and Virginia," Ward said about his recruitment down the stretch. "Florida State was at a lot more of my games and stuff, and I talked to the coaches a lot more. I have wanted to go to Florida State for a while and so I committed there."
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Timmy Jernigan
Defensive Tackle, Sophomore, 6-foot-3, 303 pounds
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Corey Holmes (Ft. Lauderdale, St. Thomas Aquinas) is now the latest. On Wednesday, he said, Seminoles running backs coach Eddie Gran delivered the good news after Holmes placed a phone call to him.
"It was awesome," said the 6-foot-1, 172-pound target. "I found out when I called the Florida State coach yesterday. We were talking and it was during the conversation that he told me that I was being offered by FSU. At the time, I was just so excited. It had finally come, an offer from FSU.
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Ben DeLuzio (Orlando, Fla./First Academy) pledged to the Seminoles, becoming their eighth commitment towards the Class of 2013, over the likes of Florida and Mississippi.
"It really came down to Florida State and Ole Miss," DeLuzio said. "When I went up to Ole Miss, their campus was gorgeous. Their coaches, I really thought highly of their coaches and I respect them greatly. At Florida State, I just felt comfortable in that atmosphere and in that environment and I just liked the game-time atmosphere. I think highly of those coaches as well. I just thought it was the right decision for me.
"I called [assistant] Coach [Mike] Martin Jr. today and I am really excited and can't wait to get up there and be a Seminole."
DeLuzio was fresh off a weekend trip to Oxford, Miss., to see the Rebels campus when he made the decision. While it was a great trip, he said, he just felt more at ease in Tallahassee.
His sister, Alexa, is a current player on the Florida State women's basketball team. Having been there to see her play before, DeLuzio already had a solid framework to judge the Seminoles' campus on.
Arkansas, Auburn, Louisville, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Purdue, South Florida, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Virginia and West Virginia also extended scholarship offers to the 6-foot-1, 190-pound four-star talent.
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And having offers from the likes of Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Radford, Tennessee and UAB, it makes sense geographically for the 2014 point guard.
Florida State, the reigning ACC champion, traveled to check out Coleman at a tournament two weeks ago. The 5-foot-10, 155-pound guard says he would definitely be interested in the Seminoles.
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Carrying the Spear: DE Brandon Jenkins 
Brandon Jenkins
Defensive End, Senior, 6-foot-3, 260 pounds
Looking back: When the 2011 season came to an end with a win over Notre Dame in the Champs Sports Bowl -- a game that included a sack and two QB hurries by Brandon Jenkins -- it appeared the FSU junior might be wrapping up his college career and heading to the NFL. Jenkins' stock might have fallen a tad, as did his production as a junior. He saw his sack totals dip from 13.5 in 2010 to eight in 2011 as teams began sending more double teams his way, but Jenkins still figured to be a late first- or early second-round pick in the draft. After much debate, however, the man with 36.5 tackles for a loss in his FSU career decided to return to campus, ensuring the Seminoles would have one of the most dynamic pass rushers in the game for their 2012 championship push.
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The 6-foot-3, 190-pound wide receiver excelled first in passing drills before testing off the charts, proving that he was more than just a big body. Shortly afterwards, a tender from the reigning SEC champions put Dupre firmly on the map as a big-time prospect.
"I went to the camp knowing what I can do," Dupre said. "I don't think too many people knew my talent, but I knew what I could do. I think a lot of people were sleeping on me, and I went out there and was basically beating real, real good defensive backs and when then happened, the coaches liked me. Then my vertical, I jumped a 40 1/2 and once I did that, that was it. I was extremely excited to get that offer."
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Four Noles earn preseason All-ACC honors
- Brandon Jenkins, defensive end: The senior is on preseason watch lists for four national awards: Nagurski, Bednarik, Lombardi and Walter Camp.
- Lamarcus Joyner, safety: The junior is on three watch lists: Nagurski, Bednarik and Thorpe.
- Dustin Hopkins, kicker: The senior needs 68 points to set the conference scoring record.
- Greg Reid, kick returner: The senior cornerback, who was arrested earlier this month and awaits a decision from coach Jimbo Fisher on any team punishment that he might face, ranks fifth in punt-return yardage in conference history and needs 180 yards to set the record.
To tell NoleNation which player you think is most likely of the four to earn this season FSU's MVP honors this season, go to the Tomahawk Talk forum to vote in our poll.
Clemson and North Carolina also had four players each named to the preseason team -- including Joyner's former teammate at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., St. Thomas Aquinas: Tar Heels sophomore RB Giovani Bernard.
Click here to see the entire team.
The ESPN 300 defensive end, who has Florida State and Vanderbilt as his finalists, is approaching a public decision. A choice that could be made next week.
"For now, it is August first," said Bellamy of his announcement date. "I did talk to my coach and August 11th is Chamblee High School football's media day. After I talk to him and make sure that we won't be doing any full-contact on that day. I don't want to push it back to the 11th and we start full-contact hitting and I get a major injury. Right now, it is the first, but chances are it could get moved to the 11th.
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ESPN 150 RB Alvin Kamara names top five
“Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma State and FSU,” Kamara said in a text to DawgNation. “But I think more Oregon than FSU.”
So maybe it is a top six. Either way the Under Armour All-American says they the schools are equal and not in any particular order.
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ABOUT NOLE NATION
David Hale
David Hale joined ESPN.com in 2012 after covering the Philadelphia Phillies for The News Journal in Wilmington, Del., and the University of Georgia for The Macon (Ga.) Telegraph. Hale has written about college and professional sports since 2004. He currently lives in Tallahassee, Fla., and can be reached at davidmhale@gmail.com.
Corey Dowlar
Corey Dowlar joined ESPN.com in 2012 after covering Florida State and South Florida athletics for 247Sports.com and Rivals.com. Dowlar has written about Florida State sports and recruiting since 2007. He currently lives in Clearwater, Fla., and can be reached at cdowlar@gmail.com.