Posted by: Pete Roussel on June 11, 2012

Jimbo Fisher and his staff expect to spend an estimated $525,000 on recruiting in the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

To give you an idea just how much Fisher is committed to recruiting, the Florida State football program spent only $280,000 on recruiting during Bobby Bowden's final year as head coach.

Fisher told the Tallahassee Democrat, "I don't understand people who think you're gonna make money on a company and you don't invest in it. The investment is recruiting. If we get the right players and we win games, the school makes more money, we make more money, the community makes more money, and we're all happy.

"Recruiting is the lifeline."

According to the report, Fisher and his staff spent over $200,000 on private chartered flights last year, most of which were in the six weeks leading up to national signing day.

Since Fisher took over as head coach, Florida State has finished with records of 9-4 and 10-4.  This off-season, Fisher was 1 of 16 coaching staffs in the country to keep his entire staff intact.

On New Year's Day 2012, I predicted Florida State will play USC for the 2013 national championship.  Recently, Phil Steele released his college football preview magaine, which lists Florida State as the #1 ranked team in the country.

With an abundance of talent, don't be surprised if defensive coordinator Mark Stoops becomes a finalist for the Broyles Award.

Fisher recently told Sirius XM's College Football Playbook, "I said it in a couple of our alumni meetings, I think we're going to be a really good football team.  I really believe that.  I've never said it since I've been here because I know we're becoming a program because we're developing depth and I feel very good about it."

"But like I told folks the other day, I said if going into a season that you lost 4 of your top 8 offensive lineman, you lost your quarterback for two-and-a-half games, your top two tailbacks never played all year except for about three games, you lost your best receiver before the year started --- he never played a down, your next best receiver got hurt in the second game for five games, then you had a freshman who was phenomenal in Rashad Green and then he got hurt for five games --- was MVP of the bowl game, and in the bowl game you play 7 true-freshman and 8 on the field at a time with a redshirt freshman in Christian Green, and finished 9-4, who you really be disappointed?  That's what happened."

Here's a look at the team recruiting rankings under Fisher:

2011 final team recruiting rankings:

1st (Scout), 2nd (Rivals), 2nd (247Sports)

2012 final team recruiting rankings:

2nd (247Sports), 6th (Rivals), 11th (Scout)

2013 current team recruiting rankings:

14th (Rivals), 16 (Scout), 18 (247Sports)

---------------------------------------------------------

Pete Roussel is a valuable resource for coaches, athletic directors, NFL front-office personnel, and college football enthusiasts. A former college football coach, Roussel shares insight on coaches 365 days a year and is recognized as the most trusted expert on coaching transactions. Follow @CoachingSearch on twitter and send your feedback to pete@coachingsearch.com