Noles News: Noel Noles! It’s officially Orange Bowl week (2024)

Recruiting

The start of the Early Signing Period kicked off last week, with FSU pulling in the No. 9 ranked class in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and No. 11 in the On3 Industry Rankings.

What’s there to takeaway from FSU’s 22 signees (and transfer portal take, in Marvin Jones Jr.)?

First up, we’ve got the Florida State of Recruiting, hosted by the Three Stars themselves Josh Pick, Tim Alumbaugh and NoleThruandThru, where the trio break down overall thoughts on the class, as well as:

• Favorite offensive and defensive players
• Who has the highest NFL potential
• Which overlooked player fans should get familiar with
• Who sees the field the quickest

Jordan Silversmith also offered his thoughts on the class, from props for the best class of the Mike Norvell era to also touching on some narratives surrounding the staff:

This class is the best of the Mike Norvell era. The Patrick Surtain hire gave FSU their best recruiter, which led to one of the best secondary classes in the country, even with the loss of K.J. Bolden. Their blue-chip percentage is the highest they have had, and this will be the highest number of players to sign their LOI since Norvell’s first class, giving a roster with plenty of eligibility-exhausting seniors an infusion of youth. On top of all this, the class seems to love Florida State and what Mike Norvell is building. Many of these commitments have been pledged since the summer, some even earlier, like Kam Davis, who committed over two years ago! With negative attention outside the program, I think this may be the most underrated part of this group.

If FSU wants to get back to the level it expects to, it needs to start landing elite talent, and they have not been able to. Now, the coaching staff develops as well as any, which takes away some of the pain from not signing high-level high school prospects. But, eventually, the inability to get the best of the best in Tallahassee will slow the program’s progress.

Football

It’s officially Orange Bowl week — though the level of enthusiasm around the matchup seems to be equal with the level of enthusiasm surrounding, say, a routine dental cleaning. FSU is currently a 15-point underdog to the Georgia Bulldogs, with the over/under set at 44.5.

Defensive back Akeem Dent, who has been a key part of Florida State’s resurgence, has officially declared for the NFL Draft but didn’t mention his Orange Bowl status:

Christmas came early (or Hannakuh came late?) for FSU fans this year, with the Florida State Board of Trustees announcing on Friday that they will be suing the ACC over the conference’s “mismanaged media rights and ‘draconian’ exit fees:”

“The underperformance by the ACC has ramped up dramatically in just the last few years,” FSU Board of Trustees Chairman Peter Collins said in a statement. “The ACC has also unfairly — and we believe illegally — sought to prevent members from exploring their fundamental right to withdraw by threatening to impose an astounding and pernicious half-billion-dollar penalty. It’s simply unconscionable.”

“This filing became necessary due to an unwillingness by the ACC and some of our fellow conference members to seriously consider remedies for this situation,” Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said. “It is with great regret that we enter this phase, but it has become clear that we have no other recourse.”

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips statement about FSU being left out of the playoffs: 52 words

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips statement about FSU suing the conference: 192 words

You are sure to have plenty of people ask you today — and over course of the next few weeks — why exactly FSU is trying to leave the ACC and how we even got to that point.

Don’t worry about putting thought into it: we’ve got your back.

Here's a little Yuletide throwback for you — a Tomahawk Nation flashback taking a look at FSU’s only Christmas-adjacent bowl game: the 1966 Sun Bowl on December 24:

Before they were in the ACC, before the ‘Noles football dynasty had begun, the independent Florida State Seminoles (6-5) came off a two-game win streak taking their holiday hopes down to the West Texas town of El Paso for the Sun Bowl.

T’was the night (day) before Christmas, 1966. Florida State’s legend Ron Sellers laced up his cleats as head coach Bill Peterson prepared his football team to take on the 15th ranked Wyoming Cowboys.

Soccer

Florida State women’s soccer forward Onyi Echegini, named the ACC Offensive Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP as well as a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist, was named the Honda Sport Award winner for women’s soccer on Friday:

Echegini is just the third Seminole to win the award, joining Natalia Kuikka (2018) and Jaelin Howell (2021).

“It is truly an honor to receive this award. To be mentioned among some of the greatest college soccer players in sports history is something I’ll never take for granted. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without my coaches, teammates, family and friends who have supported me throughout this journey,” Echegini said.

The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 48 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2024 Honda Cup, which will be presented on a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on Monday, June 24, 2024, at 7 PM ET, from its new home in New York City.

Echegini was chosen by a vote of administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Finalists included Jasmine Aikey (Stanford), Hannah Anderson (Texas Tech) and Brecken Mozingo (BYU).

The senior from London, England, had another spectacular season for the season as she posted a career-high and ACC-leading 16 goals for the 2023 National Champions. Her 16 goals were tied for the eighth-most in school history and the most goals since Deyna Castellanos in 2017.

Basketball

A win is a win, right? FSU men’s basketball strung together its second-straight victory on Friday, squeaking by the Winthrop Eagles in a low-scoring 67-61 clunker to move back over .500 on the season.

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