Tag: Florida State Seminoles

Kenny Dillingham sees Oregon as an SEC school on the West Coast

The best college football atmosphere on the west coast. That’s what drew OC Kenny Dillingham to the Oregon Ducks.

In the world of college football, there are two types of atmospheres. Some are in small college towns like Pullman or Corvallis where it’s intimate and the football team is a big part of the community.

Then there are schools like those in the SEC that are in small towns, but have a big city feel to them because an actual big city is very close by. These are the teams that have an NFL feel to them and win championships most of the time.

Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham says the Ducks have the best of both worlds. Eugene has a small-town feel to it, but Oregon has the big-time atmosphere to win championships.

“This place cares about football. I say this is the only place west of Texas that has a mindset of the South when it comes to football,” Dillingham said. “This is a southern school. When it comes to football and when it comes to sports, it’s a true college town that can win championships. And if you’re out west, this is the only real college town that can win championships. It’s pretty cool.”

Dan Lanning and his staff have definitely been a part of small-town schools, but they also know what it takes to win championships in major SEC institutions. Lanning has had stints at Sam Houston State, but has also been at Alabama and Georgia.

Dillingham started out on the high school level before going coaching on the college level such as Arizona State and Memphis. Dillingham then went on to schools that have championship banners hanging in the stadium such as Auburn and Florida State.

The Ducks have proven they can make it to the championship game and play on the biggest stage. Now Lanning, Dillingham and the rest of the staff are out to prove Oregon can win on the biggest stage.

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2022 NFL draft: Jermaine Johnson II scouting report

Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Florida State edge defender Jermaine Johnson II

A Georgia transfer who put up impressive numbers at Florida State last year, Jermaine Johnson will bring his production and potential to the next level as one of the top edge defenders in the 2022 NFL draft.

Here is everything you need to know about FSU’s dynamic defender:

Florida baseball: Joshua Rivera’s hot streak stays ablaze in victory over FSU

Florida shortstop Joshua Rivera went three-for-four with three RBIs in his team’s 6-3 victory over Florida State.

Florida shortstop [autotag]Joshua Rivera[/autotag]’s bat has caught fire since the Gators started SEC play versus Alabama on March 18 resulting in a team-leading .375 batting average. Rivera stayed ablaze at the plate versus Florida State on Tuesday in Jacksonville, finishing 3-for-4 with three RBIs and just a triple shy of the cycle, to help the No. 14 Gators upset the No. 5 Seminoles, 6-3.

Florida State got the lead-off man on base when he doubled down the left-field line and eventually scored for the first run of the game.

Third baseman [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] beat the shift, singling through the right side in the bottom half. Rivera then tied the game up 1-1 with his left-field double to cement a two-out rally.

Head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] pulled starter [autotag]Garrett Milchin[/autotag] after 2 1/3 innings after allowing five hits and one earned run. [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] relieved him but didn’t fare much better, struggling with his command. He only went an inning, giving up a hit, an earned run and three walks.

Left fielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] made a pair of web gems in the top of the third inning. FSU third baseman Logan Lacy blasted what seemed to be a three-run shot, but Langford ascended the wall and made the snag to rob Lacy. He also finished the inning, making a sliding grab in foul territory to keep the game tied.

Then Langford pushed across the go-ahead run in the bottom half when he beat out the throw to first base to break up the double play. He scored center fielder [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] who walked earlier in the frame.

Ficarrotta walked a batter with the bases loaded to even the game once more. Subsequently, O’Sullivan signaled for pitcher [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag], who struck out back-to-back hitters to end Florida State’s threat.

Langford hammered a lead-off triple in the fifth and cruised home later when designated hitter [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] grounded out to second base to give Florida back the lead, 3-2. Rivera put the exclamation mark on the contest when he blasted a two-run homer to make it 5-2.

Florida and FSU each traded a run in the late innings to get to the final score of 6-3.

The Gators posted 11 hits in their six-run victory over the Seminoles, and right fielder [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] recorded three hits in the game like Rivera. Florida’s pitching staff also held the ‘Noles to only three runs on nine hits.

It’s a big win for O’Sullivan’s club after dropping two straight at home last weekend to LSU.

Florida travels to Georgia for another weekend series that starts Thursday at 8 p.m. EDT and can be seen on ESPN2.

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Florida baseball meets up with FSU for midweek game in Jacksonville

Florida baseball is hoping to bounce back against FSU after a tough series against the LSU Tigers.

After dropping the weekend series to LSU, No. 14 Florida baseball has a chance to bounce back against the No. 5 Florida State Seminoles on Tuesday.

It’s supposed to be the second meeting of the season between the two clubs, but the March 15 game was postponed due to weather. That means the in-state rivalry will kick off at a Financial Ballpark in Jacksonville where neither club has home-field advantage. Last year’s two-game series was split with each team earning a win in their home stadium.

[autotag]Garrett Milchin[/autotag] is the starter for Florida. His last start came against Florida A&M when he pitched five solid innings, but this will be a much more difficult outing to navigate safely. It also comes at a time of pressure for UF.

The Gators hit below .200 as a team over the weekend, and they’re at No. 23 Georgia for the upcoming weekend series. This team relies on its veteran lineup to work the young pitching staff out of jams, but it’s becoming clearer and clearer that Florida can’t play that style with a shaky starting staff aside from [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag].

Milchin’s experience against Florida State (four starts against the Seminoles in his career) should come in handy. He’s given up a 7-spot and also cruised through six innings of one-run ball against FSU, so he knows he’s capable of taming them.

If he can get some run support early, Florida could take the momentum and use the few solid pieces it has in the bullpen to close it out. The Gators haven’t dropped three games in a row all year, so look for them to give their all to avoid it happening on Tuesday.

The first pitch is at 7 p.m. EDT.

Sooners latest offer goes out to four-star NC running back Daylan Smothers

Oklahoma offers 2023 four-star running back Daylan Smothers out of North Carolina.

The Sooners don’t have many players from North Carolina on their roster, but they may be looking to change that as they continue their quest to establish recruiting roots in the Southeast. Their latest offer goes out to Charlotte, NC where they offered four-star running back Daylan Smothers.

Smothers plays at Chambers High School where he’s been a part of two 4A state champions in the last three years. As part of the 2023 class, Smothers is also being recruited by Penn State, Florida State, Tennessee, and the NC State Wolfpack.

Smothers shows excellent patience and vision, near-flawless start and stop ability, and a willingness to run behind his pads and fight for extra yards. The Sooners may be late to the party but Smothers is a rising prospect and they currently don’t have a running back committed for 2023.

Brent Venables, Jeff Lebby, and DeMarco Murray were likely in attendance for the Rivals Camp held in Charlotte where Smothers won the running back MVP award so they were able to see Smothers up close and personal before extending an offer to him.

Smothers also runs track when not in football season where he ran an 11.58 100m as a freshman. The Sooners will try and make up some ground with Smothers over the coming months and look to get a running back on board after landing two in 2022.

Daylon Smother’s Recruiting Profile

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
ESPN — — — —
Rivals 4 231 4 10
247Sports 4 — 13 25
247 Composite 4 327 10 21
On3 Recruiting 4 162 8 8
On3 Composite 4 281 9 16

Vitals

Hometown Charlotte, NC
Projected Position Running Back
Height 6-0
Weight 180

Recruitment

  • Offered on March 20, 2022

Notable Offers

  • Oklahoma
  • Florida State
  • Penn State
  • Alabama
  • Miami
  • Michigan
  • Michigan State
  • NC State
  • Ohio State

Film

Hudl

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Florida baseball awaits top-10 showdown with Florida State Seminoles

Can Florida bounce back against Florida State on Tuesday?

Florida baseball climbed up a pair of spots to No. 9 in the D1Baseball Top 25 poll after its series victory over Seton Hall last weekend. However, the Gators dropped their final game in the series, 6-4, to give the Pirates their first win of the season. Coach Kevin O’Sullivan and his team will now look toward their midweek showdown with No. 8 Florida State at Florida Ballpark at 6 p.m. EDT on Tuesday after the disappointing loss.

Second basemen Colby Halter may have lost his 16-game hitting steak during the first game on Saturday but still leads Florida with the best batting average at .391. However, he exited the second half of the doubleheader with an injury and didn’t return to the lineup on Sunday. Catcher Mac Guscette during the first game also came up limping to first base and didn’t return for the rest of the series.

Center fielder Jud Fabian used a pair of homers in the doubleheader to take the team lead with six. The Gators still sit top five in the nation for most home runs with 31.

Since Florida and the Seminoles are playing only a midweek series, fans won’t see either team trot out its ace. Sullivan could elect to call on pitcher Garrett Milchin or Tyler Nesbitt to toe the rubber first Tuesday.

Florida State currently sits at 10-5 with most of its losses occurring in extra innings. The Seminoles took the last two games versus Wake Forest to steal the series.

It’s also important to note the weather as publishing there is a 60% chance of rain with the waterworks expected to arrive later on Tuesday evening.

Duke is a lock for the ACC semis after Syracuse’s best shot at an upset got himself suspended

Bad form, Buddy.

Syracuse was going to have its hands full as it was.

If the Orange were able to get past a higher-seeded Florida State team in the ACC tournament quarterfinals, a matchup with top-seeded Duke awaited them on the other side. The last thing they needed to do was make things harder on themselves. 

But that’s exactly what Buddy Boeheim did when he lost his cool in the heat of Wednesday’s blowout of FSU and landed a punch on an unsuspecting opponent.

The refs missed it, and no foul was called. So in the moment, and over the final 30 minutes of the game, the significance of what transpired may have been lost on all involved. But once the ACC announced a one-game suspension for Boeheim hours after the game, it was clear the senior guard made a grave mistake.

Down the ACC’s leading scorer, Syracuse is a 14.5-point underdog Thursday against Duke. It was likely to be a sizable spread even before Boeheim’s suspension. Now, Duke is as close to a lock as you can get this late in the tournament. Its -1200 moneyline odds on Tipico Sportsbook are the third shortest in college hoops Thursday. Syracuse’s season is about to come to an end.

In their previous two games against the Blue Devils, the Orange lost by a combined 45 points. The 97 points they allowed in the second matchup two weeks ago was the second-most they allowed all season in non-overtime games.

It was never going to be easy to upset a team among the favorites to win a national championship, but if they were going to do it, they were going to need Boeheim and his hot shooting.

He averaged 19.3 points per game this season and as recently as last Saturday scored 30 in a game, his second time doing so this season. He scored 23 the last time Syracuse played Duke, and that was on an off shooting night where he went just 3-of-10 from deep. For his career, he’s a 36% 3-point shooter.

He had a chance to improve on that, and perhaps give his team a little hope in a game no one outside of Syracuse faithful expect them to win – a fighter’s chance to perhaps win the whole thing and clinch an NCAA tournament bid. Instead, Syracuse’s season — and likely his career — is about to end on a more sour note than it needed to, and they have that punch to blame.

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Springing around the ACC: Florida State

Clemson will begin spring practice Wednesday, but the Tigers aren’t the only ones in the ACC taking the field over the next couple of months. With early preparations for the 2022 season on the horizon for teams throughout the conference, The Clemson …

Clemson will begin spring practice Wednesday, but the Tigers aren’t the only ones in the ACC taking the field over the next couple of months.

With early preparations for the 2022 season on the horizon for teams throughout the conference, The Clemson Insider is going around the league to take a look at where other teams stand going into the spring starting with the eight teams on the Tigers’ schedule. Next up is Florida State.

Head coach: Mike Norvell (third year)

2021 record: 5-7, 4-4 ACC

Key personnel losses: RB Jashaun Corbin, WR Andrew Parchment, DE Jermaine Johnson, DE Keir Thomas

Key returners/additions: QB Jordan Travis, OL Darius Washington, OL Kayden Lyles, WR Ontaria Wilson, WR Winston Wright Jr., WR Mycah Pittman, WR/TE Johnny Wilson, DT Robert Cooper, DE Jared Verse, LB DJ Lundy, LB Kalen DeLoach, DB Jammie Robinson

Spring gleaning: Florida State made incremental progress last season, increasing its win total from three to five in Year 2 of the Mike Norvell era. The Seminoles did it with a strong running game and a defense that, while not great statistically, put a ton of pressure on quarterbacks with a disruptive front four. The spring figures to be a time for the Seminoles to try to keep their strengths intact while improving on their weaknesses, though that will be easier said than done.

FSU returns multiple starting offensive linemen, but the conference’s fourth-best rushing attack will need a new lead back with their leading rusher (Corbin) gone. Johnson led the ACC in sacks a season ago while Thomas chipped in 6.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss, so FSU has massive holes to fill at defensive end. And while Travis returns to direct FSU’s offense for the second straight season, the Seminoles’ offense could use more balance after finishing ninth in the league in passing. FSU has added an influx of transfer receivers, including Wright (West Virginia), Pittman (Oregon) and Wilson (Arizona State), to help with that. FSU will host Clemson on Oct. 15.

Spring game: April 9 at Doak Campbell Stadium

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Auburn adds former Florida State and Tennessee assistant to the staff

Auburn adds former Tennessee and Florida State assistant to the support staff.

After it was reported by Matt Zenitz of On3 that Jeremiah Wilson was expected to join the Auburn Tigers staff, he confirmed it on Twitter.

Wilson comes from Akron where he served as the defensive backs coach last season. He will likely assist secondary coach Zac Etheridge for the upcoming season in an analyst role.

Prior to Akron, Jeremiah Wilson served as a quality control coach for the Tennessee Volunteers in 2019 and 2020. His other top assistant job came at Florida State University where he was an off-field assistant for the Seminoles staff from 2013 until 2017. He joined Tennessee-Chatanooga’s staff in 2018.

His role with the Seminoles revolved around the secondary and recruiting. During his time with the Noles there were several key secondary players drafted into the NFL under his watch, including Super Bowl champion Jalen Ramsey.

  • Jalen Ramsey
  • Lamarcus Joyner
  • Terrance Brooks
  • PJ Williams
  • Derwin James

This could prove to be another key hire for Bryan Harsin and the Auburn staff.

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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB

Florida-Florida State game moving to Friday night in 2022

Florida’s annual matchup with Florida State will be played on Black Friday in 2022 before reverting back to Saturday in 2023.

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Florida’s Thanksgiving weekend matchup against the Florida State Seminoles is one of the great traditions in college football, but that tradition will be altered a bit this year it seems.

The rivalry game which is traditionally played on the Saturday following Thanksgiving will be moved to Black Friday, FSU announced in its schedule release for the 2022 season on Monday. This will mark the first time Florida has played a game on a day other than Saturday since playing Mississippi State on a Thursday night in 1992.

According to GatorCountry’s Ethan Hughes, the game is likely to be nationally broadcast in prime time by either ESPN or ABC. Since the 2022 matchup is in Tallahassee, the ACC television contracts decided the time and date. Florida announced that the 2023 game in Gainesville will return to Saturday.

Given the diminishing significance of the rivalry in recent years, this seems like an attempt to reestablish interest in the game and put it in front of a bigger audience. Florida has won the last three games in the series, which it holds a 37-26-2 all-time lead in.

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