Noles News: Trey Benson ranked as top running back in 2024 NFL Draft

Recruiting

After the commitments of four-star wide receiver Elijah Moore and three-star defensive back Rydarrius “Red” Morgan, FSU now has the No. 13 class in the country, with 15 total commits (1 five-star, 10 four-stars and four three-stars) averaging a 90.30 rating.

You can catch up on all the latest Florida State football recruiting news and pick the brains of our recruiting staff in the latest edition of our recruiting thread.

Florida State 2024 recruiting class

QUARTERBACK: 4 star Luke Kromenhoek (GA)

RUNNING BACK: 4 star Kam Davis (GA)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Camdon Frier (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Tawaski “TJ” Abrams (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Lawayne McCoy (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star BJ Gibson (GA)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Elijah Moore (MD)

TIGHT END: 5 star Landen Thomas (GA)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star DD Holmes (DC)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Jamorie Flagg (FL)

LINEBACKER: 3 star Jayden Parrish (FL)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 4 star Ricky Knight III

DEFENSIVE BACK: 3 star CJ Heard (GA)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 3 star Rydarrius “Red” Morgan (AL)

KICKER: 3 star Jake Weinberg (FL)

Football

Some major props for Florida State running back Trey Benson coming by way of PFF, who placed him at the top of their top running backs in next year’s NFL Draft:

Benson’s 2022 season was fantastic. After transferring from Oregon, he became the Seminoles’ starter for the Seminoles and had a dynamic season. He finished the year with a 91.3 rushing grade and an impressive 0.51 missed tackles forced per attempt. The latter figure is the highest average that PFF has recorded in the past 10 years.

He’s a back who has the vision, patience and footwork to consistently find open space, and then the playmaking mentality to make guys miss when he gets there. With adequate long speed, as well, Benson presents an alluring skill set and RB1 potential.

Nick O’Leary, Pat Carter, Lonnie Johnson and Melvin Pearsall were voted as the four Seminoles worthy of Florida State’s tight end Mount Rushmore.

Previous results

Quarterbacks: Charlie Ward, Chris Weinke, Jameis Winston, Jordan Travis

Running Backs: Warrick Dunn, Dalvin Cook, Greg Allen, Amp Lee

Wide Receivers: Peter Warrick, Fred Biletnikoff, Rashad Greene, Ron Sellers

Basketball

Baseball

As first reported by D1 Baseball, FSU RHP Carson Montgomery has entered the transfer portal — you can keep up with all the latest off-season movements and shakings in our Florida State baseball off-season news thread.

All Sports

Florida State women’s soccer has added graduate transfer Leah Pais to its 2023 roster:

Pais comes to Tallahassee after spending the last three seasons at the University of Pittsburgh. Pais played in 56 games and made 25 starts for the Panthers in three seasons. Pais scored 17 goals and added 10 assists during her time at Pitt while tallying 2,848 minutes. In 2022, Pais appeared in all 22 games while making four starts. Pais led the team with eight goals and recorded the game-winning goal against Buffalo to give the Panthers their first NCAA Tournament win in school history. It was Pais’s second game-winning goal of the season.

Pais excelled off the field too as she was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2020 and in 2022 while also being named to the All-ACC Academic Team in 2022.

FSU women’s golf has added Mirabel Ting to its roster:

Ting, who earned All-American Second-Team Honors from the WGCA as a freshman at Augusta University in 2023, has signed a Grant-In-Aid to attend Florida State and play golf for Head Coach Amy Bond and her coaching staff. Ting was named as the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, to the Southland Conference Championship Team, and led the Jaguars to a fifth place finish at the NCAA Athens Regional. The fifth place regional finish vaulted the program into the NCAA Championship Finals for the first time in program history.

Ting was also named to the Southland Conference Spring 2023 Commissioners Academic Honor Roll.

Ting averaged 71.73 strokes in 16 rounds during six tournaments as she led the Jaguars in stroke average. She earned her first career win at the spring 2023 Moon Invitational and finished in second (+2) at the Southland Conference Championship as she led Augusta to the 2023 Southland Conference Championship. Ting earned seven top-15 finishes including her Moon Invitational championship, a second place finish at the Southland Conference Championship tournament, a fifth place finish at the Lady Gator Invitational and in a tie for sixth place finish at the Chattanooga Classic.

Ting played her future home course – the Seminole Legacy in Tallahassee – for the first time at the 2023 Florida State Match Up. She earned scores of 73-75-74 and finished in a tie for seventh place (+5) in her first career trip to Tallahassee.

Ting was one of five golfers named to the Division I WGCA Freshman of the Year Watch List presented by StrackaLine. Current Seminole Lottie Woad was named as the National Freshman of the Year (co) in 2023.

“Signing with Florida State and officially becoming a Seminole is a dream come true,” said Ting. ”I think Florida State could be my second home, and my new teammates are great. I love every single bit of the team and my new school.”

Currently the No. 58 ranked women’s amateur golfer in the world, Ting has eight wins and 18 top-10 finishes during her amateur career. Most recently, she won the TSM Golf Challenge (June 23) in her home country of Malaysia with scores of 67-66-70 and a three-round total of 203.

Ting was named as the winner of the 2023 Kim Moore Spirit Award by the Women Golf Coaches Association. This award is dedicated to Kim Moore, who played golf for the University of Indianapolis (1999-2003) and the award recognizes and honors a student-athlete or coach who exemplifies a great spirit toward the game of golf, a positive attitude on and off the golf course, a role model for her team and mental toughness in facing challenges.

The Seminoles finished the 2023 season ranked No. 9 in the final Golfstat poll, advanced to match play and finished in a tie for fifth place in the NCAA Championship finals, earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Raleigh Regional Championship, and finished in fifth place in the regional championship.