Florida State Football

Florida State University president John Thrasher denied school officials have communicated with the SEC about aligning with the conference.

"I want to be clear that persistent reports that Florida State has been in contact with the Southeastern Conference are untrue," Thrasher said Tuesday. "We have had no communication with the SEC or any representatives of the SEC."

Marc Ryan of ESPN Upstate reported Monday that both FSU and Clemson had made contact with the conference.

SEC member schools voted unanimously to admit Texas and Oklahoma into the conference ahead of the 2025-26 school year. The decision is likely to have a massive ripple effect, with a possible super-conference era on the horizon.

In the event the SEC isn't content to add just the Longhorns and Sooners, Florida State and Clemson would be obvious targets. They're within the conference's geographic region and have the kind of name recognition that would likely enhance a media rights profile.

Two big factors could prevent this from happening, at least for the foreseeable future.

In July 2016, the ACC and ESPN agreed to a media rights deal through 2035-36. Unless Clemson and/or Florida State is willing to challenge that contract in court or pay through the nose to break it, they might be staying put for a while.

There's also ESPN's perceived role in Texas and Oklahoma's move to the SEC.

The Athletic's Bruce Feldman and Sam Khan Jr. spoke to one AD, who said their exits had been months in the making and that "ESPN has been right in the middle of it."

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby also sent the company a cease and desist letter and alleged ESPN was "intentionally interfering with our business operations by encouraging other conferences to poach the members of the Big 12 and providing incentives to them to do so," per USA Today's Paul Myerberg and Steve Berkowitz.

Burke Magnus, ESPN's president of programming and original content, responded to say the allegations "are entirely without merit."

Still, ESPN benefits from the Big 12 losing its two biggest schools to the SEC, a conference that's a primary partner for the network. ESPN in December spent $3 billion to assume what's now the SEC's broadcast rights deal with CBS.

The financial advantages of Clemson and Florida State in the SEC might be negligible for ESPN because it would significantly weaken the drawing power of the ACC and ACC Network, the latter of which is an ESPN channel.

All of the hurdles standing in Florida State's way and Thrasher's comments are unlikely to quell the speculation about the Seminoles perhaps leaving the ACC behind.

Former Florida State head coach and college football legend Bobby Bowden announced he has been diagnosed with a "terminal medical condition," per Jim Henry of the Tallahassee Democrat.

"I've always tried to serve God's purpose for my life, on and off the field, and I am prepared for what is to come," he told the Tallahassee Democrat in a statement. "My wife Ann and our family have been life's greatest blessing. I am at peace."

A number of figures around football shared their best wishes and what Bowden meant to them and the sport after learning of the news on Wednesday:

Henry reported that Bowden's health "deteriorated" after he tested positive for COVID-19 in October. He was also hospitalized in late June and has "struggled to regain his strength." 

"I feel fine but I can't do much," he told the Tallahassee Democrat on July 5. 

The 91-year-old Bowden went 377-129-4 in his coaching career, trailing only John Gagliardi (489), Joe Paterno (409) and Eddie Robinson (408) in all-time wins among college football head coaches. He won two national championships with Florida State (1993 and 1999), won 12 ACC titles at the school and went to 31 bowl games. 

He started his head-coaching career at Howard College (1959-62) before spending six years with West Virginia (1970-75). He joined Florida State in 1976 as the head coach, a position he held until 2009.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Former Georgia and Miami football head coach and current ACC Network football analyst Mark Richt announced on Thursday that he has Parkinson's disease.

Per the Parkinson's Foundation website, the disease is defined as "a neurodegenerative disorder that affects predominately dopamine-producing ('dopaminergic') neurons in a specific area of the brain called substantia nigra."

Possible symptoms include tremors, bradykinesia, limb rigidity, and gait and balance problems. Parkinson's is not a fatal disease but can cause serious complications.

Richt, 61, led the Bulldogs from 2001-15 before returning to his alma mater, Miami, from 2016-18. He went 171-64 over his coaching career and won 10 bowl games.

Richt is a two-time SEC Coach of the Year and one-time ACC Coach of the Year who also won the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award in 2017. His teams finished in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll seven times.

He retired after the 2018 season and joined ACC Network in 2019. On October 21 of that year, Richt announced that he had suffered a heart attack earlier that morning but was "doing fine."

Well-wishes poured in on Twitter following the news about Richt, with some examples below from various media members:

Prior to his Georgia stint, Richt was a backup quarterback at Miami from 1978-82. He was a graduate assistant at Florida State from 1985-88 before moving onto East Carolina as its offensive coordinator in 1989.

Richt then headed back to FSU to work as its quarterbacks coach (1990-93) before adding offensive coordinator duties from 1994-2000. He coached two Heisman Trophy winners (quarterbacks Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke) and was on the staff of a pair of national champions in 1993 and 1999.

Richt has a book, Make the Call: Game-Day Wisdom for Life's Defining Moments, is set to be released on August 31.

A Florida State University task force voting against recommending a name change to Doak Campbell Stadium on Wednesday.

According to Byron Dobson of the Tallahassee Democrat, the presidential task force focusing on anti-racism, equity and inclusion voted against the measure by a 12-7 margin.

FSU was a segregated school under Campbell's presidency from 1941 to 1957.

The measure to potentially move Campbell's name from the football stadium was moved to the presidential task force after the Historical Legacy Subcommittee had a 3-3 deadlock in its vote.

While the task force did not recommend removing Campbell's name, it did recommend that the athletic department move forward with "high-profile" recognition of Black and underrepresented minority student athletes at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Per Dobson, Historical Legacy Subcommittee chief Maxine Jones researched Campbell's past actions after former Florida State linebacker Kendrick Scott created a petition to remove Campbell's name from the stadium last year.

Jones found that Campbell made decisions in lockstep with segregationism.

Campbell discouraged both support for desegregation in the campus newspaper and social protests involving students from FSU and Florida A&M, which is a historically Black university.

Jones did note, however, that Campbell had a good relationship with Florida A&M presidents William Gray and George Gore, and that he was appointed to be part of a race relations advisory committee by Gov. LeRoy Collins.

Florida State's football stadium has been known as Doak Campbell Stadium since opening in 1950, and it has played host to three teams that went on to win national championships.

Since 2004, the stadium has been referred to as Bobby Bowden Field at Doak S. Campbell Stadium in full as a means of honoring legendary coach Bobby Bowden, who won 304 games and two national titles during his 34 seasons at FSU.

Former Miami football head coach Randy Shannon is joining Florida State as a senior defensive analyst, per an FSU announcement Monday.

"Randy Shannon is a tremendous addition to our staff," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said, via Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. Norvell added:

"I have all the respect in the world for the person and coach Randy Shannon is. His unique perspective will be valuable to [defensive coordinator Adam] Fuller and the rest of our defensive staff, while his relationships in Miami and throughout the state of Florida will be a great benefit for our entire program."

Shannon, 55, was most recently UCF's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Shannon has spent the majority of his coaching career in Florida.

He coached at Miami from 1991 to 1997 and then 2001 to 2010, with a three-year stint on the Miami Dolphins staff in between.

He was the Hurricanes' defensive coordinator during the team's undefeated 2001 national championship season and took over as head coach in 2007. Shannon went 28-22 in four campaigns.

Since then, he has coached on the TCU, Arkansas, Florida and UCF staffs. He was Florida's defensive coordinator in 2017 and took over as the Gators' interim head coach for their final four games, going 1-3.

He joined UCF in 2018 as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Shannon briefly took over as the team's interim head coach in January 2021, when head coach Josh Heupel left for Tennessee, but ex-Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn was hired in February and brought in a new staff.

Shannon will look to help turn around an FSU program that went 3-6 during Norvell's first year as head coach. Florida State's defense ranked 107th out of 127 FBS squads.

Florida State just got a major boost by way of 5-star recruit Sam McCall.

McCall, who is ranked as the No. 5 athlete and No. 35 player in the country in the class of 2022 in 247Sports' composite rankings, announced his commitment to the Seminoles on Sunday. 

The Lakeland, Florida, native was originally committed to Florida, but he reopened his recruitment on Jan. 1. 

A true two-way player, McCall had 18 tackles and four interceptions as well as 52 receptions for 903 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior last fall. The 6'0", 180-pounder helped his team to a state playoff run in an 11-2 season. 

According to Andrew Ivins of 247Sports, McCall has the resume to play at defensive back, cornerback or safety at the collegiate level: 

"Does a nice job of feeling out routes around him and is able to take advantage of the mistakes that quarterbacks make. Superb ball skills also result in takeaways. Smooth in the backpedal with the ability to plant and drive. Doesn’t lack foot speed in any way. Can mirror opposing pass catchers, although man coverage techniques still being developed. Willing tackler, but that’s another area of his game that he can improve."

In addition to FSU and Florida, McCall had offers from 12 other programs, including Alabama, South Carolina and Penn State. 

Asante Samuel Jr. is following in his father's NFL footsteps.

The Florida State cornerback announced he is opting out for the rest of the 2020 season to prepare for the upcoming NFL draft.

"I have made the decision to enter the 2021 NFL Draft," he wrote. "I will forever bleed Garnet and Gold. Thank you, Florida State University, for everything!"

Samuel arrived at Florida State as a highly regarded 4-star recruit in the class of 2018, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

The 5'10", 184-pound Florida native was a secondary contributor as a freshman before tallying 49 tackles, 14 passes defended and one interception as a sophomore. The junior posted 30 tackles, six passes defended, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble through eight games this year before opting out.

His play in the defensive backfield had been a rare bright spot for the Seminoles, who are an abysmal 2-6 on the year.  

Brendan Sonnone of 247Sports noted Samuel partially made this decision to "make sure a shoulder issue is fine for the pre-draft process."

Living up to his father's name in the NFL will be a daunting task. The elder Samuel played for the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons during a career that lasted from 2003 through 2013, and he was a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion.

The 39-year-old finished his NFL career with 51 interceptions and led the league in picks two seasons.

The ACC announced Saturday that the scheduled college football game between Florida State and Virginia has been postponed because of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing within the FSU program.

Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports tweeted the ACC's official statement:

The game had been scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

This marks the second consecutive week that Florida State's game has been postponed on gameday. Last week, the Seminoles did not agree to face the No. 3 Clemson Tigers after a Clemson player tested positive for COVID-19 the day before.

The ACC has yet to announce a potential makeup date for either FSU vs. Clemson or FSU vs. Virginia, and it is unclear when or if those games will be played.

Florida State is in the midst of one of the worst seasons in school history, as it owns a 2-6 record and is likely to miss out on a bowl game for the second time in three seasons.

In Mike Norvell's first season as head coach, the lone bright spot has been a 31-28 upset win over a North Carolina team that was ranked No. 5 in the nation at the time. That remains FSU's only win over an FBS foe in 2020.

Saturday's game would have been much bigger for Virginia since the Cavaliers are 4-4 and still have a shot to play in a bowl game.

Virginia lost four in a row after a season-opening win over Duke, but it is in the midst of a three-game winning streak with victories over North Carolina, Louisville and Abilene Christian.

As of now, both Florida State and Virginia are scheduled to play one week from Saturday on Dec. 5.

The Seminoles are supposed to face Duke on the road, while the Cavaliers are penciled in for a home game against Boston College.

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell said COVID-19 was "absolutely" the reason his team's game against Clemson was postponed Saturday, per David M. Hale of ESPN. 

The game was moved shortly before its scheduled starting time after "both teams' medical personnel were unable to mutually agree on moving forward with the game," per the ACC's official release. Florida State's medical staff determined it was unsafe after a Clemson player showed symptoms of COVID-19 but was allowed to practice and travel with the team.

"Football coaches are not doctors. Some of us might think we are, but there's a reason why medical advisers make decisions based on the information that is provided," Norvell said Monday. "It's unfortunate that opportunity has been delayed, but there's a reason people making those decisions have that responsibility."

This comes after Clemson coach Dabo Swinney accused Florida State of postponing the game for competitive reasons.

"This game was not canceled because of COVID," Swinney said Sunday, per Hale. "COVID was just an excuse to cancel the game. I have no doubt their players wanted to play and would have played. And same with the coaches. To me, the Florida State administration forfeited the game."

Swinney maintained Clemson followed all required protocols. He also said that the coaches were not a part of the call Saturday morning on which medical staff made the decision not to play.

The 7-1 Tigers were heavy favorites to beat the 2-6 Seminoles, although Clemson is looking for every opportunity to impress the College Football Playoff committee, which releases its first rankings Tuesday. 

Clemson suffered its first loss of the season earlier this month to Notre Dame while Trevor Lawrence was unavailable after testing positive for COVID-19. The team now has just two scheduled games left in the season if the matchup against FSU is not made up: next Saturday against Pittsburgh and Dec. 5 at Virginia Tech.

The squad is No. 4 in the latest Associated Press poll and is looking to solidify a spot in the playoff for the sixth straight season.

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell gave an update on defensive tackle Marvin Wilson, wide receiver Tamorrion Terry and quarterback James Blackman on Wednesday regarding their respective futures with the program. 

According to Brendan Sonnone of 247Sports, Norvell said Wilson will miss the remainder of the 2020 season with the leg injury that kept him out last week against Pittsburgh.

Sonnone also reported that Norvell said Terry is "no longer with the program" and Blackman has opted out of the remainder of the 2020 season with an eye toward transferring after he graduates.

Norvell also said graduate transfer offensive lineman Devontay Love-Taylor will miss the rest of the season after suffering an apparent knee injury against Pitt, per Sonnone. Norvell is optimistic that Love-Taylor will be granted an extra year of eligibility in 2021 by the NCAA, however.

Wilson was widely viewed as FSU's best player entering the 2020 season after he registered 44 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and five sacks as a junior last season.

The talented defensive lineman is expected to enter the NFL draft, and Bleacher Report draft expert Matt Miller projected him to be a second-round pick in a 2021 mock draft he posted in September.

After making 35 catches for 744 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman in 2018, Terry truly broke out last season with 60 grabs for 1,188 yards and nine scores.

Expectations were high entering the 2020 campaign, but Terry has been limited by a knee injury and has just 23 catches for 289 yards and one touchdown this season.

According to Sonnone, a source said Terry is weighing all of his options, including returning to Florida State in 2021, transferring elsewhere or entering the NFL draft.

In his 2021 NFL mock draft, Miller had Terry coming off the board early in the third round.

Blackman was Florida State's primary starter at quarterback in 2017 and 2019, and he backed up Deondre Francois in 2018.

He began 2020 as the Seminoles' starter as well, but after making two starts he was replaced by Tate Rodemaker and then Jordan Travis.

In four appearances this season, Blackman completed 56.6 percent of his passes for 366 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Blackman's best statistical season was in 2017 as a freshman when he completed 58.2 percent of his attempts for 2,230 yards, 19 touchdowns and 11 picks. He also threw for 2,339 yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season.

Florida State is off to a difficult 2-5 start this season, but it will look to get back on track Saturday against NC State.