Florida State lands 2026 EDGE Franklin Whitley over host of other Power 4 offers

Prior to this season, Franklin Whitley hadn’t played football since the fifth grade.

It didn’t take long for the Greenville (S.C.) standout to pick things back up though, and he quickly started garnering offers from across the country. South Carolina, Florida State, Auburn, Florida, Alabama, and others quickly joined the mix, and he saw his recruitment take off.

He took multiple visits to see the in-state Gamecocks this fall, and stopped at both FSU and Tennessee last month. With only a month until National Signing Day though, he had to move quickly. And on Tuesday, Whitley gave his commitment to the Seminoles, boosting a top-15 class for Mike Norvell and Co.

BREAKING: Class of 2026 EDGE Franklin Whitley has Committed to Florida State, he tells me for @rivals

The 6’6 265 EDGE from Greenville, SC chose the Seminoles over South Carolina, Clemson, and Alabama

“Felt like home. Let’s go Noles🍢”https://t.co/xXCz5hrYht pic.twitter.com/9728T3yLl0

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) November 4, 2025

FSU hosted him the weekend of October 12 for an official visit, and they made a strong impression on him.

“This is my first official visit, so it’s obviously the best thing I’ve seen so far,” he told Warchant’s Matt LaSerre. “Just the transparency from the coaching staff, just seeing how they coach, seeing how they react off of a loss, it was a great experience.”

He got to spend plenty of time with defensive line coach Terrence Knighton, as well as Norvell, whose no-nonsense approach stood out.

“I feel like it’s a great fit,” he added. “But if I don’t want to work hard every day, come to practice come to show up, don’t come here. I like that transparency from him.”

Seminoles add third commitment in three days

Whitley is the latest pledge for the ‘Noles, who are on a bit of a recruiting run in the past few days. On Sunday, FSU flipped coveted three-star EDGE Chris Carbin away from Georgia Tech. They then followed that up by poaching Arkansas three-star safety commit Daylen Green on Monday, giving them 27 total commitments in the class.

Whitley makes it 28 with his pledge, and he brings a high-upside player into the fold for Florida State’s future. Across 10 games this fall, he has notched 31 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and three sacks for Greenville, despite not playing football for the past half-decade.

The 6-foot-7, 265-pounder is the No. 494 overall prospect in the 2026 class, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services. He also ranks as the nation’s No. 53 EDGE and No. 10 recruit in South Carolina.

This story will be updated.