Despite some good news on the recruiting trail over the last few days, Florida State has suffered a loss in it’s defensive back class.

Miami (Fla.) Northwestern defensive back Tedarius Hughes flipped his commitment from Florida State to Syracuse around noon on Tuesday. The flip occurred after Hughes had taken an unofficial visit to Syracuse over the weekend.

Despite being committed to Florida State since July 4th of last year, the Seminoles were unable to get Hughes to shutdown his recruitment following his official visit slate in June. The composite four-star continued to evaluate his options over the last few months, including taking unofficial visits to both Syracuse and Nebraska.

It was the latter that felt like it had the most buzz around them in terms of flipping Hughes from Florida State, but it was the Orange that ultimately got it done.

Previously one of the longest tenured commitments in Mike Norvell’s 2026 recruiting class, Hughes committed to Norvell early in his process following a pair of visits in the summer of 2024, including one for an Elite Camp.

Hughes departs a class that is still ranked within the Top-15 classes in both major recruiting services and a defensive back class that also includes five-star Chauncey Kennon, four-star Jay Timmons, and three-star’s Darryll Bell and Sean Johnson.

Hughes is considered to be the No. 391 prospect in the country and the No. 30 ranked safety according to the 247sports composite rankings.