Four-star QB Nicco Marchiol headed to FSU
THE STORYLINE
In the middle of January, Nicco Marchiol narrowed his list to Arizona State, Florida, Florida State and Rutgers and then the four-star quarterback took two final visits to Gainesville and Tallahassee before making his decision.
On Sunday, the Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton standout picked the Seminoles and it was a major recruiting victory for coach Mike Norvell and his staff since quarterback has been a thorn in Florida State’s side in recent years. The lefty quarterback does not arrive at FSU for a few seasons but his commitment is a step in the right direction.
It’s also a big win for offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kenny Dillingham, who has connections to the Arizona high school football scene since he coached at Scottsdale Chaparral and so getting Marchiol, the No. 11 pro-style QB in the class, from that state was important.
“I had a prior relationship with coach (Kenny) Dillingham because he’s from Arizona and coached at an Arizona high school,” Marchiol said in a recent interview.
“I was close with him and he knew my quarterback coach. He and coach (Mike) Norvell work really well together and they’ve been around and have seen a lot of places where I feel like they have a really good grip on recruiting and building programs up. Florida State will be on top soon.”
WHY IT HELPS FSU
The quarterback position was bad at Florida State this past season. Multiple guys got a shot and no one really stood out all that much as the Seminoles didn’t average 26 points per game and threw only 10 touchdowns all season. Bringing in McKenzie Milton is interesting and then Chubba Purdy, Jordan Travis and Tate Rodemaker return but Marchiol coming in for the 2022 class allows him to start heavily recruiting for that group and building back skill players to join him in Tallahassee. His commitment also keeps him away from Florida where he grew up idolizing Tim Tebow. This is a big victory for the Seminoles.
WHO IT HURTS
Arizona State continues to have a difficult time keeping in-state kids home and even though Marchiol is originally from Colorado he’s been in Arizona long enough. It’s not just a phenomenon for the Sun Devils since Arizona also has a similar issue with elite in-state talent. Marchiol would have been interesting in coach Dan Mullen’s offense since he coached Tebow with the Gators and while Marchiol might not be as talented there are similarities in their games (both are lefty, both have big frames, etc.). Rutgers was a long shot here on the field but the four-star quarterback was genuinely intrigued by the off-field possibilities of going to Rutgers and having New York City so close.