Florida State football, recruiting news: Bobby Bowden returns to FSU practice

Football

The latest FSU legend to return to Tallahassee was none other than Bobby Bowden. The storied Seminoles’ coach made an appearance at the practice facilities for spring practice yesterday morning, where he had not been since he retired eight years ago.

Sophomore defensive tackle Marvin Wilson will miss the remainder of spring practice with a torn MCL, head coach Willie Taggart announced yesterday. Wilson, a former five-star recruit, was seen on crutches on Tuesday at practice, but the extent of the injury was unknown at the time. Read more about Wilson’s injury here.

Curt Weiler and Wayne McGahee III of the Tallahassee Democrat sat down with Taggart and discussed his arrival at FSU, his past as a Seminoles fan, and the beginning of his tenure as head coach. Check out part two of the interview series here.

Our very own Vincent Garcia attended practice on Wednesday morning and shared his news, notes and observations.

Recruiting

Maninoa Tufono, a four-star class of 2019 inside linebacker out of Honolulu (HI) Punahou High School, picked up an offer from Florida State yesterday. Tufono currently holds 34 offers and is the No. 4 player at his position and the second highest rated player in the state of Hawaii, per 247.

The ’Noles also offered three-star 2019 offensive tackle Brandon Cunningham out of Ocean Springs (MS) St. Martin High School. Cunningham is ranked the No. 39 player at his position and the 15th best player in Mississippi. He is currently committed to Miami and has a total of eight offers.

Mataio Soli, a three-star 2019 weak side defensive end out of Douglasville (GA) Douglas County High School, was offered by Florida State yesterday. At 6’4” 225 lbs, Soli is the 67th best WDE in the country and holds 24 offers.

Auburn commit and four-star 2020 strong side defensive end Andy Boykin snagged an FSU offer. From LaGrange (GA) Troup County High School, Boykin holds nine other offers.

While on his unofficial visit to FSU, four-star 2019 cornerback Jeremiah Criddell was offered by “boss man” Willie Taggart. Criddell is a #WestSideNole out of Santa Ama (CA) Mater Dei High School and is the No. 6 CB in the country. He holds a total of 21 offers.

Dontae Lucas announced yesterday there would be “big time announcement coming soon” and one hour later he posted his top eight schools, narrowing down his list from the 20 offers he currently holds. Lucas, a four-star 2019 offensive guard from Miami (FL) IMG Academy, is the No. 8 OG in the nation. He attended FSU junior day in February.

Alumni

Everyone loves a good Jalen Ramsey highlight. Here’s his top 10 from his All-Pro 2017 campaign. #DBU

Former Seminoles safety Nate Andrews voiced his pleasure with the depth of the FSU backfield on Twitter on Tuesday.

Other Sports

The baseball team defeated Jacksonville 6-2 last night to improve to 23-7 overall. Mike Martin is now just nine wins away from the most all-time in NCAA history.

The Florida State men’s basketball team shared a photo of the team’s banner commemorating their Elite 8 run.

Check out the results of the Golden Nole Banquet here. Seminoles from all sports were honored and the men’s basketball team notably earned “Best Upset” honors for the team’s victory over No. 1 seed Xavier.