Ar’Tavian “Bubba” Brown is already drawing the kind of attention that usually comes with a much older recruit. The Florida State University School junior, a four-star prospect in the 2028 class, has turned into one of the Big Bend’s biggest names on the football trail, and the list of schools pursuing him keeps growing.
At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Brown is listed by 247Sports with 23 football scholarship offers, most of them from Power Four programs. He also has four basketball offers, including one from Florida A&M, which marks his first offer from an HBCU. Brown played for Charlie Ward, the FAMU men’s basketball coach and FSU’s 1993 Heisman winner, when Ward was the boys basketball coach at Florida High.
“It’s going great,” Brown told the Tallahassee Democrat when asked about his recruiting process. “All the coaches that I feel like really mess with me, they’re reaching out to me, talking to me, calling me, FaceTiming me.”
Brown said Florida State, South Carolina, and Texas are recruiting him well, but Florida is the team that has separated itself for now. The Gators’ first-year head coach Jon Sumrall has been a regular FaceTime presence, and Brown said he has built strong connections with offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and outside wide receivers coach Marcus Davis.
“As a whole staff, they’re doing a good job,” Brown said. “I’m liking Florida right now. I like the way they communicate with me.”
He’ll be in Gainesville on Saturday for the top 25 UF-Ole Miss Southeastern Conference game, another stop in a busy travel schedule that’s only getting busier. Brown said he has visits lined up for Tennessee, Memphis, Texas, South Carolina, and Miami during the 2026 season.
He also opened the fall at FSU’s Labor Day game against Southern Methodist University, was in Tuscaloosa last weekend for the FSU at Alabama game, and is scheduled to be back in Doak Campbell Stadium for the Oct. 31 Clemson game and the FSU-Florida matchup on Nov.
Brown said his previous trips to Florida have left a strong impression, especially because of the way he’s been treated around the program.
“Every time I go up there, it feels like family and home. The coaches, they’re not just coaches.
They treat me like a younger brother. The players bring me in, teach me stuff, and treat me like one of theirs.”
The Tallahassee native is halfway through his junior season after transferring back to Florida High this year from Valdosta’s Lowndes High School. Through five games for the unbeaten Seminoles, he has 23 catches for 363 yards and five touchdowns, while also adding six tackles on defense.
Brown has lined up at receiver and free safety, and he has caught passes this season from quarterbacks Brisyn Brown and Connor Tigarina. Starter Jayme Miller is expected back for Friday’s Week 6 game against Lafayette, which comes in at 2-4.
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FSUs Coaching Future May Come Down To One Brutal Money Reality
Florida States football future is no longer just about wins and losses, because any serious conversation about Mike Norvell now runs straight into the money. The Seminoles have poured heavily into facilities and support around the program, and that commitment has made the coaching seat feel even more expensive to touch. Firing Norvell would not be a simple reset, but a major financial decision layered on top of the pressure that comes with trying to keep pace in a demanding era.
Jimbo Fishers name naturally surfaces in that kind of talk because of his history in Tallahassee and the strange economics attached to his situation at Texas A&M. The idea is tempting in a nostalgic, budget-conscious sort of way, but it also underscores how tightly Florida States next move could be tied to buyout math as much as football logic. For a program trying to chart its next step, the real issue may be whether it can afford a change before it can even decide what kind of change it wants. [Read more 🡒]
Florida States Bowl Path Already Comes With Mike Norvell Intrigue
Florida States early season has already put its bowl hopes in a tough spot, with the Seminoles sitting at 1-2 and needing to win five of their final nine games just to get back to the postseason. Avoiding another year without a bowl game is now part of the weekly conversation, and the path will likely be shaped as much by what happens in Tallahassee as by what the rest of the schedule looks like.
ESPNs Kyle Bonagura has already penciled Florida State into the Frisco Bowl against Memphis, which would add an extra layer of intrigue because the Tigers were once coached by Mike Norvell. Memphis is off to a 3-1 start under first-year coach Charles Huff and remains a program with a recent habit of reaching the postseason, so if that projection holds, it would give Seminoles fans a familiar name on the other sideline in a game with a bit more personal texture than usual. [Read more 🡒]
Norvells QB Backing Puts Florida State Under Pressure This Week
Ashton Daniels left Florida States opener with plenty of volume and even more to sort through after a 50-36 loss to Alabama, but Mike Norvell was quick to point out the positives as the Seminoles turn the page. Daniels threw for 377 yards and accounted for four total touchdowns, and even with three interceptions, Norvell highlighted the quarterbacks confidence and decision-making as reasons to believe the performance was more encouraging than the final score suggested.
Now the challenge shifts to what comes next, because Central Arkansas is the kind of opponent that can test a team in a different way. Florida State has the talent to move past the Alabama loss quickly, but it also has to show it can stay sharp and locked in against a lower-ranked team, especially with the season still in its early stages and the margin for a slow start already in the rearview mirror. [Read more 🡒]