Florida State got back on track with recruiting when four-star offensive lineman Da’Ron Parks committed over the weekend. However, their first commit of the 2026 class, four-star safety Darryl Bell III, is still interested in another school.
“Recruiting has slowed down drastically, but it’s still Florida State and Auburn in the mix right now. It’s just those two schools,” Bell told Rivals.
FSU and Auburn have done quite a bit of battling for recruits during this cycle. The aforementioned Parks had Auburn as well as the Ohio State Buckeyes in his final schools. Four-star cornerback Jaylen Scott flipped from Florida State to Auburn in June. Two weeks later, four-star wide receiver Devin Carter returned the favor by flipping from Auburn to FSU.
Bell was offered by Auburn back in February and they hosted him for an official visit in May. He also visited Florida State two weeks after that, and it gave him the feeling that he was already donning the garnet and gold.
“Just being back home,” said Bell. “Norvell is a great guy. Always keeping me in the loop with the team on how they practice, warm up, and eat. I’m a Seminole already.”
For the Seminoles sake, hopefully that feeling continues and they can keep one of their top commited prospects of the 2026 cycle.
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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: FSU battling SEC school to keep elite safety commit
Reporting by Matthew Lenix , FSU Wire / FSU Wire
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