Tag: Florida State Seminoles

The best conference fit for each of the ACC’s ‘Magnificent 7’

We take a look at the ideal fit for each of the ‘Magnificent 7’ out of the Atlantic Coast Conference if they opt to leave.

The landscape of college athletics is changing in terms of teas moving conferences. With money being the big motive, we have already seen USC and UCLA announce a move to the Big Ten as well as Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC soon.

And now it appears as if the Atlantic Coast Conference is next up for changes.

Earlier in the week it was reported that seven ACC programs had explored the option of leaving the conference. The ‘Magnificent 7’ featured UNC, NC State, Miami, Florida State, Clemson, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

While things aren’t official, there’s momentum for changes in the conference with teams pursuing other options. The Big Ten and SEC come to mind right away for a lot of these programs. However, which conference is the ideal fit for the seven?

We took a look at each program and the ideal fit they would have with a conference.

LSU’s season opener against Florida State to air in prime time on ABC

The Tigers will look to avenge last year’s one-point loss to the Seminoles in front of a national audience.

When the Tigers open the 2023 season at Camping World Stadium in Orlando against the Florida State Seminoles, the whole nation will be watching.

On Tuesday, ABC announced that it would be nationally televising the highly anticipated season-opener at 6:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, Sept. 3. It’s not exactly a surprising move given the fact that it’s the only game of the day and will likely pit two teams ranked in the top 10 against each other.

The Tigers also opened their season against Florida State last season on a Sunday in New Orleans. In what was coach Brian Kelly’s LSU debut, the Seminoles won that game by one after a blocked extra point in the final seconds.

LSU will hope for a better result this time around as it begins what many think could be a campaign in which the team contends for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

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Sooners circle back to Tampa Catholic to offer four-star athlete Jameer Grimsley

Oklahoma returned to Tampa Catholic to offer four-star athlete in Jameer Grimsley.

An underrated aspect of recruiting is building relationships with high schools and leveraging those relationships to help you on the recruiting trail in future recruiting battles.

Oklahoma is in the thick of that process. The Sooners recently revisited Tampa Catholic, a Florida school that produced 2023 class signee Lewis Carter, a four-star linebacker.

Carter will join the Sooners in the coming weeks along with the few remaining members of the 2023 class that didn’t early enroll in January.

While at Tampa Catholic, Carter was the most talented player on the team. His departure leaves a void for another talented athlete to fill, and four-star athlete Jameer Grimsely plans to do just that.

Grimsley transferred from Bloomingdale High School after a 2022 season in which he took snaps at wide receiver and cornerback. He caught 25 passes for 356 yards and 3 TDs in 10 games. Defensively, he totaled 10 tackles, one pass broken up and an interception, according to MaxPreps.

The talented athlete stands 6 feet, 3 inches and around 185 pounds. As a junior, he posted 10.96, 11.15 and 11.37 times in the 100-meter dash.

Grimsley has seen his recruitment jump, and he has offers from Michigan, North Carolina, Alabama and Penn State among others. Official visits to the aforementioned schools have been scheduled for June.

Considering Grimsley mentioned Jay Valai, Brent Venables and defensive coordinator Ted Roof in the post announcing his offer, it’s safe to infer the Sooners want him on the defensive side of the ball.

Jameer Grimsley’s Recruiting Profile

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Ranking ACC running backs ahead of the 2023 season

Who stands above the rest in our running back rankings for 2023 in the ACC?

The ACC has really good quarterbacks coming into the 2023 campaign with Drake Maye of North Carolina and Jordan Travis of Florida State leading the pack. However, that is just one part of the backfield duo that could help both teams make a run at the ACC championship.

When it comes to the running back position, it might be undervalued in the NFL but at the collegiate level, they are vitally important to the success of many offenses.

The top returning running back in terms of production will be key in helping the new Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik get up to speed. Will Shipley was a touchdown machine for the Tigers and with the addition of Garrett Riley as the offensive coordinator, that should continue.

As we continue previewing positions by conference, we break down our running back power rankings for 2023.

Oklahoma No. 1 seed: NCAA softball tournament matchups set, outlook for regional round

A look at who’s playing where and teams to watch in the Regional round of the NCAA Softball Tournament.

The growth of collegiate softball has turned the NCAA tournament into must-see television over the last several years. That growth was felt on selection Sunday as anticipation built for the 64 programs and teams on the bubble that awaited their fate from the selection committee.

This next weekend marks the first step in the march to the Women’s College World Series for the Oklahoma Sooners and the 63 other teams that hope to knock off the reigning, defending undisputed back-to-back NCAA champions.

With tournament play beginning this Friday, here’s a look at each of the 16 regional sites.

LSU has several of College Sports Wire’s must-see games in 2023

The Tigers will certainly be tested this fall.

As LSU learned the hard way in last year’s loss to Texas A&M to conclude the regular season, which essentially knocked the Tigers out of playoff contention, you can’t look past any game on the SEC schedule.

Still, some games stand out more than others, and looking at LSU’s list of opponents in 2023, there’s one game that everyone is going to have circled: the rematch against Alabama in Tuscaloosa the first weekend of November.

Coach Nick Saban will certainly be looking for revenge after Brian Kelly’s Tigers beat the Crimson Tide last year to win the SEC West, and College Sports Wire’s Patrick Conn listed that one as the nation’s must-see game in Week 10.

The path to the SEC crown runs through Tuscaloosa with Bryant-Denny Stadium hosting this monumental showdown in early November. LSU won last year’s game with a two-point conversion to avoid overtime in Death Valley. Can Brian Kelly go 2-0 against Nick Saban since joining the SEC in 2022?

LSU turned around their misfortunes from 2021 rather quickly when they stole Kelly away from Notre Dame to replace Ed Orgeron. The Bayou Bengals marched the SEC Championship before running into the Georgia buzzsaw. With another year under his belt, can Jayden Daniels guide them to another SEC West crown?

After losses to Tennessee and LSU, Alabama is ready to deal out some revenge in 2023. There will be a new quarterback in town and Kelly’s former offensive coordinator Tommy Rees will be on the Alabama sideline. This game will be a massive war if last year’s contest was any indication.

Alabama has the overall edge, 55-27-5. These two teams have split the last four games of the series dating back to LSU’s magical season in 2019.

Conn also listed several Tigers games as honorable mention must-see contests. One of those was the season-opener against Florida State, a revenge game for LSU after it dropped last year’s opener to the Seminoles.

If there was a co-game of the week it would be the battle of the LSU Tigers and Florida State Seminoles in Orlando, Florida. These two teams opened last season in the Big Easy where the Tigers were taken by surprise. It turns out that both teams had big years trying to come back to relevance after down seasons in the past. Florida State had more than their fair share.

What does LSU-FSU round two have in store?

He also highlighted the game against Auburn in Week 7, a matchup that proved to be a little too close for comfort for the Tigers last season.

Auburn has really struggled to win in Death Valley over the last two decades. The one bright spot of the Harsin era was breaking the losing streak at Tigers Stadium. However, LSU is a very talented team and Brian Kelly is ready to start a new streak of dominance over Hugh Freeze’s Auburn squad.

LSU is looking to build off last season’s success and potentially even make a College Football Playoff run. If that’s going to happen, the Tigers will certainly be tested along the way.

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Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

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Recruiting Profile: 2024 5-star defensive line target Dominick McKinley

Recruiting profile of five-star defensive line prospect Dominick McKinley who holds offers from Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio State, and others.

Every year within a given recruiting class, different subplots help tell the story about that class. Last year for Oklahoma, it was the pursuit of multiple five-star defenders to improve the overall defensive talent. The Sooners added a big group of blue-chip defensive backs in the 2023 signing class.

This year, defense reigns supreme again, but, more specifically, the pursuit of the best defensive line class Oklahoma has had in years. The Sooners are in good position for five-star defensive line prospects David Stone and Williams Nwaneri. They’re also well-positioned in the recruitment of four-star prospects Nigel Smith, Joseph Jonah-Ajonye and Xadavien Sims.

They’re looking to build a deep defensive line that will carry the weight up front as they move into the SEC.

That starts with winning battles involving five-star defensive linemen such as [autotag]Dominick McKinley[/autotag]. McKinley is a versatile, dominant player from Louisiana who received his offer from the Oklahoma Sooners in January. The Sooners are also pursuing Dominick’s younger brother, Darryus.

Dominick McKinley checks in at 6-foot-5 and hovers around 290 pounds. He also participates in track and field. In his junior season, he posted 86 tackles, 10 sacks, 18 tackles for loss and two interceptions. He returned one of those interceptions for a touchdown.

Per 247Sports, he is the No. 30 overall prospect, the No. 5 defensive tackle, and the No. 1 prospect in Louisiana. He has official visits scheduled with Oklahoma, Ohio State, Texas A&M and Texas.

Like the recruiting battles for the other five-star defensive linemen the Sooners are pursuing, Oklahoma will have its work cut out for it. However, with Brent Venables and Todd Bates’ track record, you can’t count the Sooners out of any defensive line recruitment until signing day.

Dominick McKinley’s Recruiting Profile

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Former Oregon WR comes back to Pac-12, commits to Utah Utes

Former Oregon WR comes back to Pac-12, commits to Utah Utes

It has been an eventful couple of years for former Oregon Ducks’ wide receiver Mycah Pittman.

After starting his career in Eugene with the Ducks and playing for three seasons at Oregon, Pittman decided to skip out early on the 2021 season and enter the transfer portal in November, leaving the team a month before the season was over. Pittman cited a lack of utilization and a need for a change of scenery as the reason for his departure after catching 38 passes in the three seasons.

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Pittman landed at Florida State with the Seminoles under Mike Norvell and played for one season, where he saw a slight uptick in production — Pittman had 32 catches for 330 yards and 3 TD, all career highs — but apparently did not find the fit that he was looking for. At the end of April, Pittman once again entered the transfer portal, and announced on Sunday that he was committing to the Utah Utes, coming back out west to join the Pac-12.

Will the Utes be a fit in his fifth year of collegiate football? Time will tell.

PHOTOS: Highlights from Florida softball’s loss vs FSU at home

Here are some highlights from Florida softball’s gut-wrenching loss to FSU on Wednesday.

The No. 17 Florida softball team hosted the third-ranked Florida State Seminoles on Wednesday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, and unfortunately took the defeat at the hands of their in-state rivals, 8-7.

Sophomore starter Lexie Delbrey—  who threw a one-hitter against the Ole Miss Rebels three days prior — gave up three runs on five hits and four walks. Senior Rylee Trlicek (12-4) gave up six hits and four runs to earn the loss. Fifth-year senior Elizabeth Hightower gave up the game-winner in relief starting with a wild pitch that was so errant that the FSU runner went from first to third. The blunder set up the game-winning sacrifice fly to end things on a sour note.

Take a look below at highlights from Florida softball’s midweek loss to Florida State at home as the season nearly draws to a close.

PHOTOS: Highlights from Florida baseball’s season-sweeping win over FSU

There was no broadcast for the game but we have a gallery of photos from Tuesday night’s in-state rivalry game between UF and FSU on the baseball diamond.

Florida baseball earned its 36th win of the 2023 season on Tuesday night against the Florida State Seminoles at 121 Financial Ballpark in Jacksonville, outlasting their in-state rivals, 7-5.

It was unfortunate that the game was not broadcast live on television as Gators slugger Jac Caglianone cranked his 26th home run of the spring to tie Matt LaPorta for the school record. Nonetheless, Corey Perrine of the Florida Times-Union was on hand to grab a series of photographs of the midweek matchup, which should suffice in lieu of a video stream.

Take a look below at a handful of highlights from Florida’s third and final victory over FSU during the 2023 campaign.