Noles News: FSU looking to close with two transfer portal prospects

Recruiting

With the rush of transfer portal entries temporarily subsided, teams are now focused on adding talent looking for a new home. This past weekend, Florida State football hosted two major names in Michigan State receiver Keon Coleman and UAB safety Jaylen Key, looking to add further talent to a team that is gearing up for a major 2023.

On Friday, FSU offered 2024 four-star wide receiver Taz Williams Jr., out of Red Oak, Texas. The six-foot, 175-pound prospect also holds offers from the Alabama Crimson Tide, Miami Hurricanes, LSU Tigers, Texas Longhorns, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs, Auburn Tigers, Tennessee Volunteers and Oregon Ducks, amongst others.

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.

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)

TIGHT END: 5 star Landen Thomas (GA)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Jamorie Flagg (FL)

LINEBACKER: 3 star Jayden Parrish (FL)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 4 star CJ Heard (GA)

KICKER: 3 star Jake Weinberg (FL)

Florida State of Recruiting: The Three Stars podcasts

(4/27/23): Who could be next to join FSU’s class?

(4/24/23): Spring Transfer Portal comings and goings for FSU

(4/23/23): Reviewing recent spring commitments

(2/15/23): Florida State of Recruiting: 10 recruits to know for Tribe24

(1/21/23): Florida State of Recruiting: Discussing the latest FSU visitors

(1/20/23): Florida State of Recruiting: Breaking down new defensive players from #Tribe23

(1/19/23): Florida State of Recruiting: Discussing offensive newcomers from #Tribe23

Football

PFF listed four Florida State offensive players on its watch list for the 2024 NFL Draft — quarterback Jordan Travis, wide receiver Johnny Wilson, running back Trey Benson and tight end Jaheim Bell:

Travis’ 91.7 grade ranked third among all quarterbacks in the country and led all in the Power Five this past season. The redshirt junior was the only signal-caller who placed in the top 15 in both big-time throw rate (7.1%) and turnover-worthy play rate (1.9%). Like Penix, he is a sixth-year senior but should be in the spotlight all season as a top Heisman candidate on what should be one of the best teams in the country.

Benson was historically dominant as a tackle-breaker this season. The redshirt sophomore’s 51% forced missed tackle rate didn’t just lead the country, it set the PFF College record. Like Irving, Benson didn’t see as much of a workload as others on this list. The Oregon transfer failed to crack 1,000 rushing yards after only receiving 154 carries.

Even with that low number of attempts, his 79 forced missed tackles were still third in the Power Five to Bijan Robinson and Chase Brown. Both of those players had over 100 more carries than Benson.

Wilson is practically built like a tight end at 6-foot-7, 235 pounds. He’s obviously a load to bring down at that size. Wilson’s 205 receiving yards after contact were the seventh most in the Power Five last season. He was also incredibly efficient, as his 3.36 yards per route run led the Power Five in 2022.

Bell was criminally underutilized by South Carolina in 2022. The junior saw only 28 targets this past season, ranking 91st at the position. He actually played some running back for the Gamecocks, as his 257 rushing yards led all tight ends in the country.

With the ball in his hands, he runs like a running back too. In 2021, his 354 yards after the catch trailed only Bowers among Power Five tight ends. He also led all tight ends with 3.67 yards per route run. Even that year, his 41 targets still ranked 42nd at the position.

Basketball

Huh. How about that.

Baseball

FSU baseball swept Mercer this weekend, earning the team’s first series win since March and first sweep since opening weekend.

Softball

For the 14th time in school history, Florida State Seminoles softball is your regular season ACC champion — and to celebrate the occasion, FSU logged yet another sweep of a conference opponent in 2023, taking down the Louisville Cardinals ahead of this week’s ACC Tournament.

The conference released the full ACC Tournament bracket on Sunday, with FSU earning the top seed:

Florida State clinched its 14th Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title and is the No. 1 seed in the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference Softball Championship, which begins Wednesday, May 10, at Melissa Cook Softball Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

The Seminoles earned their first top seed since 2018 after winning the regular-season championship with a 22-2 mark in conference action. Florida State is set to play its first tournament game in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 11 a.m., when it takes on the winner of Wednesday’s first-round matchup between No. 8 Virginia and No. 9 Syracuse.

The Orange and the Cavaliers will kick off the ACC Softball Championship with a 1 p.m. start on Wednesday, followed by No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech at 3:30 p.m. Georgia Tech earned the last spot in the championship after Pitt swept NC State during the last weekend of play.

No. 4 Louisville will face No. 5 Virginia Tech on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in quarterfinal play. Duke earned its second consecutive No. 2 seed and will play the winner of Georgia Tech and Notre Dame on Thursday at 5 p.m. Clemson, the No. 3 seed, is slated to play No. 6 North Carolina in the final game of the day at 7:30 p.m.

The 2023 ACC Softball Championship will continue with Friday’s semifinals at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., and will conclude with Saturday’s championship game at 1 p.m.

ACC Network and ESPN2 will provide 18 hours of live coverage of the ACC Softball Championship. The first three rounds will be broadcast on ACC Network, and ESPN2 will carry the championship game, with studio breaks in between games.

Ticket books for the full tournament are available for $10-15, which covers tickets to all nine tournament games, including the championship game on Saturday. Single-session tickets will be available at the conclusion of the season, once the seedings are finalized. Single-session tickets also will be available.

Four ACC softball teams are ranked in the top 15 of the latest USA Today/NFCA poll. Florida State is No. 3, Duke is No. 8, Clemson ranks No. 10 and Virginia Tech comes in at No. 21. In the D1 Softball poll, Florida State is No. 3 and Duke is No. 9, followed by No. 10 Clemson. Louisville’s second-straight week in the poll has the Cards at No. 24.

Last year, Florida State won its 18th overall ACC Championship and seventh in the last eight years the event has been held with a four-run rally in the bottom of the sixth inning to erase a one-run deficit and defeat Clemson, 8-6.

2023 ACC Softball Championship Schedule

Wednesday, May 10

Game 1: #8 Virginia vs. #9 Syracuse, 1 p.m., ACCN

Game 2: #7 Notre Dame vs. #10 Georgia Tech, 3:30 p.m., ACCN

Thursday, May 11

Game 3: #1 Florida State vs. Winner Game 1, 11 a.m., ACCN

Game 4: #4 Louisville vs. #5 Virginia Tech, 1:30 p.m., ACCN

Game 5: #2 Duke vs. Winner Game 2, 5 p.m., ACCN

Game 6: #3 Clemson vs. #6 North Carolina, 7:30 p.m., ACCN

Friday, May 12

Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 1 p.m., ACCN

Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 3:30 p.m., ACCN

Saturday, May 13

Game 9: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 1 p.m., ESPN2

All Sports

Florida State women’s golf will begin plain in the 2023 NCAA Raleigh Regional Championship today — the Seminoles are the No. 3 seed in the championship and will play with No. 1 seed Wake Forest and No. 2 seed Arizona State, with tee times for the group beginning at 8:00 a.m.

FSU beach volleyball came up just short of the NCAA Championship final this weekend, falling to the UCLA Bruins in the semfinals.

No. 26 FSU women’s tennis saw its season end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, losing to the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs, with the No. 18 Florida State men’s tennis team also bowing out in the second round of the tournament, losing to No. 8 South Carolina.