Noles News: FSU players have earned 13 preseason award watch list spots so far

Recruiting

Florida State has the No. 4 recruiting class in the country according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings (behind the Georgia Bulldogs, Ohio State Buckeyes and Florida Gators), while the On3 Industry Rankings have the Seminoles at No. 5. (behind Georgia, Ohio State, Florida and the Alabama Crimson Tide). FSU, Georgia and Ohio State are the only teams in the country that have three or more five-star commits.

Florida State Seminoles football 2024 commitments

QUARTERBACK: 4 star Luke Kromenhoek (GA)

RUNNING BACK: 4 star Kam Davis (GA)

RUNNING BACK: 4 star Micahi Danzy (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Camdon Frier (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)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Jonathan Daniels (FL)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Tye Hylton (FL)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Manasse Itete (CA)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Jayden Todd (GA)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star DD Holmes (DC)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Jamorie Flagg (FL)

LINEBACKER: 3 star Jayden Parrish (FL)

LINEBACKER: 3 star Timir Hickman-Collins (SC)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 5 star KJ Bolden (GA)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 5 star Charles Lester III (FL)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 4 star Ricky Knight III (FL)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 3 star CJ Heard (GA)

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

KICKER: 3 star Jake Weinberg (FL)

Football

Some unfortunate news released on Tuesday, with Florida State head coach Mike Norvell confirming that defensive tackle Darrell Jackson, Jr. was denied a hardship waiver by the NCAA.

Jackson, who began his career with the Maryland Terrapins, transferred to Florida State this offseason in an effort to be closer to his mother who is dealing with health issues.

“She thinks it’s her fault, but it’s not,” Jackson said on Tuesday. “I’m going to continue to be there for my mom and see how things play out.”

He also claimed that the NCAA did not provide an explanation for the denial of his waiver, saying “I don’t know if they’re trying to prove a point or what?”

“I thought that [his reason for transferring] was shown and presented, but ultimately the NCAA, they have a choice of what they’re going to do and the decision that they made,” head coach Mike Norvell said.

“It’s sad that he’s gonna miss games....obviously, he’s hurt.”

Florida State will miss his presence, but thankfully, the Seminoles bring one of the country’s best defensive line depth to the table in 2023.

The ACC continues to surprise — and not in a particularly exciting way, with the conference reportedly also vetting the SMU Mustangs as a potential expansion target. The news came after reports first surfaced that the conference had begun the process of exploratory talks of adding the California Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinal to try and bolster the league’s standing.

From Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger:

For more than a year now, SMU has held various degrees of dialogue with several leagues in its pursuit to join a power league, including the Big 12, Pac-12 and ACC. A small private school, SMU resides in one of America’s most populous metro areas, Dallas, and in the heart of a talent-rich football state.

Maybe even more important: The university would arrive at a reduced rate. Employing a rich donor base and a healthy desire to advance to the Power Four level, the university is open to forgoing conference distribution pay for their first several years in a new league. SMU officials held similar conversations with Pac-12 administrators.

The financials are the most significant piece to a potential ACC expansion.

In expanding, the league must avoid reducing the annual distribution paid to each team to supplement new schools. That is a “non-starter,” several administrators tell Yahoo Sports.

A perk of the ESPN contract: The network is required to increase its base distribution to the conference in a way that pays each new member the same annual rate as others — what’s termed as a “pro-rata.”

However, financial complications go much deeper. To offset the additional travel costs of acquiring Stanford, Cal and/or SMU, current ACC members will need additional revenue from the network, or Stanford and Cal would have to agree to enter the league for a partial share — conversations of which are ongoing.

Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis has been named one of 35 quarterbacks placed on the Davey O’Brien Award Watch List:

Travis led the ACC and ranked third nationally with his average of 8.35 yards per play, ranked first in the conference and fifth in the country with an average of 9.10 yards per pass attempt, led the ACC and ranked eighth nationally with an average of 14.22 yards per completion and led the ACC and was 14th in the country with a pass efficiency rating of 160.1. His average of 247.2 passing yards per game, 24 total passing touchdowns and 64.0 completion percentage all ranked third in the ACC, while his 194 points responsible for and average of 279.3 yards of total offense per game were fourth in the conference.

Travis gives FSU 13 total watch list spots this preseason. In addition to his two watch lists, running back Trey Benson is on watch lists for the Maxwell and Paul Hornung awards and defensive lineman Jared Verse is on the Bronko Nagurski Watch List, along with defensive back Fentrell Cypress II, and also on the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List. Offensive lineman Jeremiah Byers is on the Outland Trophy Watch List, punter Alex Mastromanno was named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List and both Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson are the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award.

Basketball

All Sports

FSU women’s soccer has added Andrew Hudson as an assistant coach, promoting him from a volunteer coaching position:

Hudson has helped the Seminoles with technical player development as well as working with the Seminoles’ offensive attack. Hudson has also helped with the Seminoles’ video analysis and opponent scouting. Under Hudson, the Seminoles’ offense has consistently been one of the best offenses in the country. In 2021, the Seminoles scored 66 goals on their way to their third national title which ranked fourth in school history. The Seminoles followed that up with 64 goals in 2022 which ranks sixth all-time in school history.

Hudson earned a Bachelor’s in Public Relations and Rhetorical Advocacy from Purdue University before receiving a Master’s in Media and Communication from Florida State in 2013.

The Florida State women’s soccer team begins their season with an exhibition match against No. 24 UCF on Friday, Aug. 11 in Orlando. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.