Florida State Football: Seminoles Land 2014 QB Commit; 2013 QB Competition Begins

Sep 17, 2011; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Clint Trickett (9) throws the ball despite pressure from Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Tom Wort (21) during the second half at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Pittsburgh-area product and 2014 quarterback prospect J.J. Cosentino commits to Florida State football, via his Twitter account on Monday afternoon.

Cosentino had offers from Florida State and USF, and garnered interest from Virginia, Penn State and Michigan State. He is the seventh verbal commit in the Seminoles’ 2014 recruiting class, which currently ranks No. 9 per Rivals.com.

Head coach Jimbo Fisher will wait another season for the arrival of the 6-foot-5 J.J. Cosentino. In the meantime, Florida State faces a quarterback quandary with 2013 spring practices commencing on Wednesday.

Fisher must replace E.J. Manuel, who is a fast riser on NFL draft boards after a strong performance in February’s scouting combine. Manuel completed over 68 percent of his pass attempts in 2012 for 3392 yards and 23 touchdowns, while rushing for another 310 yards and four scores.

At 6-foot-6 and nearly 250 yards, Manuel leaves both a literal as well as figurative void in the Seminole offense. Seminoles.com managing editor Brandon Mellor reports the competition to replace him is “wide open.”

Clint Trickett has an experience edge, having seen action in each of the last two seasons. He started a few games in reserve of Manuel during the 2011 seasons, throwing 72 attempts for 675 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions.

Florida State football enters its fourth season under Fisher, showing gradual progression each season. Last season’s ACC title and BCS bowl appearance were the program’s first since 2005. The next step is returning to national championship contention.

Strong recruiting classes, like the group J.J. Cosentino committed to join for 2014, give Fisher a solid foundation. But seeing highly touted recruits’ progression on the field is critical for FSU making that transition back to college football’s apex.

Jameis Winston was the most highly touted of the four competing to take over for Manuel in 2013, scoring five stars as a 2012 prospect out of Hueytown, Ala. Trickett, Jacob Coker and Sean Maguire were all three-star prospects.