Florida State Football

The College Football Playoff selection committee made the tough decision to leave Florida State out of the four-team playoff last season despite the team having an undefeated record at the time.

Per Ryan Morik of Fox News, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers said he believes last year's snub of Florida State was a prime example of why the expansion to a 12-team playoff this year was necessary.

"It leaves a little bit more room for error. I think it's what college football has needed," Ewers said.

Last season's College Football Playoff consisted of Texas, Alabama, Michigan and Washington. Alabama defeating back-to-back national champion Georgia in the SEC Championship Game was enough for the committee to give the Crimson Tide the final spot over the Seminoles despite their 13-0 record and the ACC title.

Ewers said he believed the committee made the right call, pointing out that Florida State lost star quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending ankle injury late in the year.

"It's definitely a tough choice to make, especially with how the SEC Championship Game went, and Florida State and Jordan Travis getting hurt—in their minds, they were just picking who was playing the best football right now," Ewers said.

Ewers added that he's looking forward to seeing how things play out under the new system this year.

"I think it's gonna give a lot more teams opportunities to win a national championship, and I think it's gonna be great for the fans to see their teams making college football runs," he said. "Even for a smaller program that hasn't had the opportunities, that hasn't had some of the opportunities that some of the bigger programs have had, I think it's gonna be awesome for those guys to get a shot at it for sure."

Ewers and the Longhorns will begin their chase for the national championship when they open the 2024 campaign on Aug. 31 at home against Colorado State.

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell said his team had a "good first day" of practice while preparing for their season-opening game against Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland next month.

"One of the things you come out in the first practice, especially within the last few years and the rule changes that allow you to go on-air in the summer—the rhythm, the timing," Norvell told reporters (h/t 247Sports' Chris Nee.)

Norvell continued: "We haven't been able to work with guys when they've gone against each other, but a lot of the things just operationally, that is what I was looking for. I wanted to see communication. I wanted to see alignment. I wanted to see guys being able to work to execute with tempo within the offensive and defensive schemes. Being able to take some of the lessons that we have taught throughout the course of the summer, seeing them applied today.

"And I did."

Norvell said that some of his younger players were "still working to figure some things out just here at the very beginning of it, but that can be expected."

"Good meetings yesterday, starting it off, and then obviously jumping into today, I thought it was a good start to our fall camp," Norvell said. "So, pleased with what I saw."

Norvell has gone 31-17 through four seasons at the school. He previously went 38-15 in four years at Memphis.

Norvell's tenure in Tallahassee got off to a rocky start in 2020, as the Seminoles went 3-6 during the shortened season before going 5-7 in 2021. Their 0-4 start was the first time since 1976 they started a season so poorly.

"This football team's not going to quit," Norvell said after an embarrassing loss to Jacksonville State in 2021. "We have to build and get better, and we're going to. This will be something we look back to. Nobody wants to have the experience, nobody wants to have the feelings, but it's our opportunity to respond to it, and it's our opportunity to go get better."

Since then Florida State has recovered to post a 23-4 record over the past two seasons, including a 13-1 slate, an ACC Championship win and an Orange Bowl appearance in 2023.

Despite the Seminoles' College Football Playoff snub, the conference championship win brought Florida State back to national relevancy, arguably for the first time since Jimbo Fisher left for Texas A&M after eight seasons in 2017.

Even without former quarterback Jordan Travis, Norvell and the Seminoles are looking for a spot in the newly expanded CFP this winter. The first test of the season for quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and his anticipated top target, former Alabama receiver Malik Benson, will take place on August 24.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey took a fairly pointed dig at Florida State last week while discussing the College Football Playoff, telling reporters that "Georgia was one of the best four teams (in the nation) and didn't get in (the Playoff). But you didn't see us jumping up and down and complaining and hanging national championship banners."

On Monday, Florida State head coach Mike Norvell offered his own take on the situation:

I don't disagree that Georgia was one of the top four teams if you're judging off talent and ability but they also earned their loss. That was part of the result of what happened on the field. When you look at our team and what it was, we controlled the things we could control, we unfortunately had an injury, but we had a team that responded to it. Everybody can have an opinion of what happened. I don't disagree they were one of the four best teams, but what happened on the field kept them out of the playoff.

Last year's College Football Playoff selection was one of the most controversial in its history. Michigan came out of the Big Ten undefeated and was an easy choice as the No. 1 overall seed, given the schedule it faced, but chaos reigned after that.

Washington, Texas, Alabama and Georgia each had one loss, and the first three were conference champions with signature wins (Washington beat Oregon twice; Texas beat Alabama; Alabama beat Georgia). Georgia's lone loss, meanwhile, came against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game after it spent most of the season ranked No. 1.

And then there was Florida State.

The Seminoles finished the season undefeated, but played a far easier schedule than the schools listed above and were without starting quarterback Jordan Travis down the stretch. The team's offense suffered as a result, and the CFP Committee chose to leave them out of the Playoff.

That was highly controversial, dividing fans between two factions: Those who didn't feel like Florida State was one of the four best teams in the country and didn't deserve a bid, and those who felt it was irrelevant because the Seminoles went undefeated in a Power-5 conference and deserved a Playoff berth.

The former camp felt vindicated after Georgia absolutely steamrolled Florida State in the Orange Bowl, 63-3, though over 20 FSU players decided not to play in the game.

Such debates will be far less frequent going forward, as the playoff is expanding to 12 teams this season and could be stretched to an even bigger number in the years to follow. In the new format, a major conference champion isn't going to be left out of the mix.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey doesn't seem to be interested in potentially adding Florida State to the conference amid the school's current legal battle with the ACC.

"We're not going to take our pie and slice it into more pieces," Sankey said on The Next Round Live podcast (h/t On3.com).

Greg Sankey on the SEC potentially adding Florida State:

"We’re not going to take our pie and slice it into more pieces."

(via @NextRoundLive) https://t.co/nKhUu8KFtW pic.twitter.com/CeKvHRywzW

— On3 (@On3sports) July 18, 2024

Florida State is currently involved in a lawsuit against the ACC, the school's current conference, to challenge the conference's grant of rights. The ACC has since countersued.

The SEC has expanded in the past, approving Texas and Oklahoma to join the conference in 2021. Both teams are making their conference debuts beginning in the 2024 season, although Sankey explained that adding both programs wasn't a reactionary move and took some time before it was finalized.

"We've not been reacting," Sankey said (h/t On3.com). "We've not been in a position of trying to figure something out in short order, we were able to make a decision and there were other calls before Oklahoma and Texas reached out."

If Florida State ends up leaving the ACC, a potential move to the SEC or the Big Ten would be difficult. Brett McMurphy of Action Network revealed on Tuesday that the two conferences are "unlikely" to add the Seminoles if they depart from their current conference.

Sankey has made it clear that he currently isn't interested in expanding the field of 16 teams in the SEC, telling reporters on Monday that "we're focused on our 16" (via ESPN's Andrea Adelson).

"I'm not a recruiter," he said. "My job is to make sure we meet the standard of excellence that we have for ourselves on a daily basis."

While the Seminoles have thrived under head coach Mike Norvell and racked up 23 wins over the past two seasons, a possible move to the SEC doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon.

Florida State may not want to push too hard to exit the ACC after all.

Brett McMurphy of Action Network reported the Big Ten and SEC are "unlikely" to add the Seminoles to their conference should Florida State and Clemson win their legal battle to explore an exit from the ACC.

"There is no appetite among the presidents unless there is some catastrophic development with the ACC and it forces [the Big Ten] into a decision," a source told McMurphy.

"If the ACC blows up, who picks first [between the Big Ten and SEC]? Who picks second? If there is a need and desire to expand, you take inventory so your competitors don't get it. But the presidents and chancellors are looking for stability. Despite what the social media geniuses are suggesting, no one — the leagues, the networks — is driving expansion."

The Big Ten expanded to 18 teams this year by adding Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington from the decimated Pac-12. The SEC is up to 16 member schools after Texas and Oklahoma joined from the Big 12.

Florida State and Clemson are both suing the ACC over the conference's grant of rights agreement. The deal makes it prohibitively expensive—to the point of being nearly impossible—for either school to leave until at least 2036. Both schools argue the ACC's current television contracts make it difficult to compete financially with other high-powered programs.

One source told McMurphy that Florida State's tact in its attempt to exit the SEC makes it an unlikely partner.

"Look what they did: getting the attorney general involved, accusing [former ACC commissioner] John Swofford of rigging the television rights to help his son, filing a suit to expose ESPN's TV deals — something the other three power leagues are against, by the way," the source said. "They're not a good partner. There's no congeniality. No one wants that.

"It's not about FSU getting out of the ACC's Grant of Rights. They're not a fit."

College football is slowly but surely coalescing into super-conferences, and it's fair to wonder whether the Big Ten or SEC could actually turn down powerhouses like Florida State and Clemson if given a real opportunity. Both universities bring national cache and regular competition at the highest level.

The SEC would be the more natural partner, with Florida State (Florida) and Clemson (South Carolina) already having natural rivals within the conference. If the ACC splinters in a similar fashion to the Pac-12, the Big Ten would be a strong fit for Virginia and potentially North Carolina in moves to strengthen their basketball league.

As it stands, the future of college football will play out in the courts rather than on the field.

The SEC is set to enter a new era with the impending additions of Texas and Oklahoma this season, but it sounds like there aren't any plans for further expansion anytime soon.

While speaking to reporters at the start of SEC Media Days on Monday, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said he's not recruiting any other schools despite the speculation that the SEC could be a landing spot for Florida State and Clemson if they depart the ACC.

"We're focused on our 16," Sankey said, per ESPN's Andrea Adelson.

Florida State and Clemson are both involved in lawsuits against the ACC to challenge the conference's grant of rights. The ACC countersued both schools, and the cases are being heard by judges in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The SEC helped usher in the unprecedented conference realignment seen in recent years when it voted to add Texas and Oklahoma in 2021. Since then, the Pac-12 effectively disbanded after USC and UCLA opted to join the Big Ten, with Oregon and Washington later following them. The Big 12 added Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah, while Stanford, Cal and SMU are headed to the ACC. All of these changes begin with the 2024 season.

While Sankey is aware of the situations involving Florida State and Clemson, he made it clear that the SEC is focusing on its current members and he's not making overtures to any other universities.

"I'm not a recruiter. My job is to make sure we meet the standard of excellence that we have for ourselves on a daily basis," Sankey said. "That attracts interest. It's done that with the two universities that we have added this year. They're not the only phone calls I've ever had, but I'm not involved in recruitment."

Sankey continued: "Our presidents have been clear that I am not going to entangle us in litigation around expansion. So I pay attention, but I'm not engaged in those conversations. The broader implications, obviously if things change, then there's a new level of uncertainty. It already creates speculation that I think is counterproductive, but I don't spend an enormous amount of my time thinking about it. I certainly don't spend any time engaged in that recruiting activity because we're focused on our 16."

Florida State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei said he turned down an invite to represent the Seminoles at the 2024 ACC Kickoff event, citing a desire for the 2023 team to be represented.

#NoleFamily🍢🍢 pic.twitter.com/iVxDUl4dwx

— DJ Uiagalelei (@DJUiagalelei) July 9, 2024

Uiagalelei transferred to Florida State from Oregon State during the offseason.

Uiagalelei transferred to Florida State from Oregon State during the offseason. Florida State will be Uiagalelei's third school overall after he began his career at Clemson.

Uiagalelei struggled with his consistency over his three-year career at Clemson before turning things around last season at Oregon State. He threw for a career-high 2,638 yards and 21 touchdowns against seven interceptions while adding 219 yards and six scores as a runner. ESPN's QBR metric ranked Uiagalelei as the No. 12 quarterback in the country.

Florida State enters the 2024 season expected to compete for a national championship after being left out of the College Football Playoff following the season-ending injury to quarterback Jordan Travis. The Seminoles, who were one of only three undefeated teams in the regular season, were trounced 63-3 in the Orange Bowl by Georgia.

While Uiagalelei's stance is admirable, Florida State does not have a bevy of high-profile players returning who could take his place. The Seminoles had 10 players selected in the 2024 NFL draft, highlighted by Travis, running back Trey Benson and wide receiver Keon Coleman on the offensive side. Defensive end Jared Verse and defensive tackle Braden Fiske led the defensive selections.

The ACC has not announced any players who are participating in the four-day event, which gets underway July 22. Florida State joins SMU and Georgia Tech among the teams participating on the first day.

Florida State is petitioning the NCAA for reduced penalties levied on the school for NIL rule violations related to football recruiting efforts that took place in spring 2022, according to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.

The penalties, as announced by the NCAA in January, included a fine as well as a reduction in scholarships, official visits and recruiting communications.

In a three-page letter to the NCAA D-I Committee on Infractions, a law firm representing FSU petitioned the NCAA to reconsider these penalties as well as a three-year disassociation from a booster, Dellenger reported.

FSU has agreed to other parts of the negotiated penalty, including a three-game suspension for the involved assistant coach, Dellenger noted.

The school is arguing that the program has been unjustly impacted by their case taking place a month-and-a-half before the NCAA announced in March it would pause all investigations into collective deals.

That pause followed a federal judge decision to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the NCAA from enforcing NIL rules in Tennessee and Virginia.

FSU argued that disassociation from the collective and booster "cannot be enforced by FSU or the NCAA at this time" due to the judge's decision, according to the letter obtained by Dellenger.

"FSU should not be the only institution penalized simply because it was first in the queue, the violations for which it is responsible were more limited, and it cooperated fully to resolve the case," FSU's representatives wrote.

The rule violation initially occurred when FSU offered a player in the transfer portal an NIL opportunity "as a recruiting inducement," according to the NCAA.

The NCAA said it then levied penalties on the assistant coach who drove the prospect to the meeting, the booster who met with the recruit, the NIL collective that offered the opportunity and the FSU football program as whole.

These penalties marked the first time the NCAA attempted to stop a school and NIL collective from collaborating as a penalty for rule infractions, according to ESPN's Dan Murphy.

FSU's pushback against the NCAA's penalties comes as the future of the organization's enforcement of NIL rules remains in flux. Murphy and Pete Thamel reported for ESPN that the NCAA is currently considering a multibillion-dollar antitrust settlement of several pending NIL cases that could reshape how schools share revenue with student-athletes.

HEIGHT: 6'0"

WEIGHT: 186

HAND: 8⅛"

ARM: 31¼"

WINGSPAN: 74¾"

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40-YARD DASH: 4.49

3-CONE: N/A

SHUTTLE: 4.28

VERTICAL: 37.5"

BROAD: 10'10"

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POSITIVES

— Twitchy player with great makeup speed and change of direction, which allows him to stay in phase and break well on routes.

— Willing tackler who isn't afraid to get in the mix. Shows very good physicality when tackling.

— Explosive athlete with positional versatility. Can add instant value as nickel.

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NEGATIVES

— Can be too handsy when working down the field. Struggles to get head around and locate the ball at times.

— Lack of size can be a concern in run support and when matched up against bigger receivers.

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2023 STATISTICS

— 13 G, 43 TOT, 2.5 TFL, 0.5 SK, 1 INT

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NOTES

— Born Nov. 9, 2000

— 30 career starts

— 3-star recruit in the 2019 class, per 247Sports

— 2023 All-American honorable mention (Phil Steele)

— 2023 second-team All-ACC

— 2023 Thorpe Award semifinalist

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OVERALL

Renardo Green is an experienced cornerback with positional versatility. He started 13 games last season and led Florida State with 13 pass breakups.

Green had a good start to the season, matching up well against top receiving prospects such as Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. while coming away with an interception from future Heisman winner Jayden Daniels. At the end of the season, he was named to the All-ACC second team.

Green is a pure press-man corner who is very physical in coverage, though he panics with the ball in the air at times and becomes too handsy. Green does have great makeup speed and change of direction, which allows him to stay in phase and break well on routes.

When playing the run, Green does a very good job of identifying and coming up to support his position. Green's average size could be a concern in run support in the NFL, but it hasn't given him too much trouble to date. When taking on blocks, he often uses his quickness to beat blocks in space but can run into trouble when taking on bigger, stronger blockers.

Overall, Green is an explosive athlete with positional versatility, but will look to make his impact in the NFL as a nickel to start. In the early years of his career, he likely will have to show value on special teams before being a full-time nickel cornerback.

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GRADE: 6.0 (High-Level Developmental Prospect — 5th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 167

POSITION RANK: CB23

PRO COMPARISON: Nate Hobbs

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Cory Giddings

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