College Football Recruiting: Florida State Seminoles in the Mix for CB Jalen Tabor

By B.L. Lippert on July 1, 2013

Four star cornerback Jalen Tabor recently listed his top five, and interestingly, the Florida State Seminoles made the cut.  The 6-foot-1 188 pounder from Washington D.C. named the Seminoles along with Florida, Maryland, Alabama, and Vanderbilt.

It was a bit of a surprise to see the Noles on Tabor’s list because he hadn’t mentioned them much previously.  In a conversation with ESPN‘s Derek Tyson over the weekend, he noted Florida State’s tradition and history of producing great players as two reasons they now appear in his top five.  However, he did mention the depth chart at Florida as something that could separate them from the Seminoles at this point.

One other ACC school that could land his services is Maryland.  As the hometown school, Tabor will receive lots of pressure to stay local and play for the Terrapins.

Tabor is one of the best defensive backs in the country (ranked as the 4th best corner by ESPN) and is versatile enough to play in any scheme.  He’s tall and physical for a corner and actually plays man to man best in press coverage.  He has outstanding instincts in the pass game, making him a valuable weapon in zone schemes.  Unlike other high school defensive backs, Tabor is a willing tackler who is excellent in run support.

The odds of him ending up in Tallahassee aren’t great, but the Noles have made an impression on him.  They are also in the running for five star defensive back Adoree Jackson from California.  If they land one of the two, that would be a great get for Jeremy Pruitt‘s defense.

B.L. is an ACC Football writer for Rant Sports and can be followed on Twitter @coachlip.