Seminoles in shambles, lose three top players
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (BVM) — The Florida State Seminoles football team has been in a downward spiral since 2017. That marked the year that longtime head coach Jimbo Fisher left for Texas A&M. Since then, they’ve transitioned through three new coaches and observed a negative trend in their record.
After starting their 2020 season with a 2-5 mark under new head coach Mike Norvell, the going got even tougher this week. The program lost three of its top players for the remainder of the season: one to injury, one to transfer and one to NFL Draft preparation.
The first piece of bad news came when the team announced starting defensive tackle Marvin Wilson was out for the year. Wilson has a leg injury that kept him sidelined in last week’s tilt against Pittsburgh, and ultimately led to a medical procedure.
One of college football’s premier defensive tackles, Wilson had a chance to be drafted as early as the first round in the 2020 NFL Draft but decided to come back to FSU for his senior year. Though he didn’t live up to expectations, he was an integral part of the Seminoles’ defense. The future NFL draft pick has the opportunity to come back for another season of eligibility, but is expected to turn his eyes towards the 2021 NFL Draft.
Not only did the Seminoles lose Wilson, but they will be without star wide receiver Tamorrion Terry. Similarly to Wilson, the Georgia native could have been selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, but came back to FSU to attempt to boost his draft stock.
The redshirt junior also had a shaky year, struggling with injuries on and off. His best game of the year came versus Notre Dame where he had one touchdown and 146 receiving yards, but he followed that up by getting a knee procedure. Terry returned last week and had just two catches for 14 yards.
In lieu of finishing the year, Terry has opted out to focus on preparing for the 2021 NFL Draft. Regardless of how this season went, Terry leaves FSU with 2,221 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns.
But when it rains it pours, and FSU has also lost quarterback James Blackman. Blackman opened the season as the starter, but was replaced by true freshman Tate Rodemaker in its third game of the season. Since then, Rodemaker has been replaced by sophomore Jordan Travis, but nothing seems to be the correct fix.
Blackman was once a prolific offensive player for FSU, but a lack of opportunity and inconsistency has led to his decision to enter the transfer portal. Blackman leaves FSU with 5,445 passing yards and 43 passing touchdowns. The redshirt junior will now have the chance to display his offensive prowess elsewhere.
One positive this year for the Seminoles, though, is that they have played their entire schedule thus far. The team has done a fantastic job of containing the COVID-19 pandemic, with no game cancellations or postponements necessary. This is a rarity in the 2020 college football season.
FSU has four games remaining on this season’s schedule.
