Noles News: FSU men’s basketball teases trio of new uniforms

Recruiting

Hindsight is 20/20 — but that still requires making sure you’re looking at the issues at hand. With everybody taking a look at what’s led to an 0-2 record for Florida State after an offseason at hype, Jon Marchant (with some help from Matt Minnick and evenflow58) dives into how FSU’s approach in the portal was shaped by misfires outside of evaluation and some brief thoughts on how to course correct:

In the NFL, the only time players will take below-market-rate deals is to return to their current teams, for reasons ranging from familiarity with the scheme, coaching staff stability, or having put down roots in the area, among other factors. However, if they hit free agency, there’s a good chance other teams will have to overpay to land them, part of that being bad teams bidding against themselves for a player they covet. With financial risk coupled with potentially losing talent, teams have every incentive not to let their elite players hit free agency.

Additionally, there’s the issue of NIL inflation, which continues to accelerate. The NFL’s salary cap rises nearly every year, recently by huge margins, much of it driven by growing TV revenue. That’s why you constantly read about league players signing record-setting deals. But those deals often only gobble up the same percentage of the cap as they did before — the slice gets bigger in proportion with the whole pie getting bigger.

It’s clear from reporting by Noles247 that FSU made another mistake in not anticipating the NIL market’s inflation. While FSU has a NIL fund of about $12-13 million per year, programs like Ohio State (and one would imagine Alabama, Georgia, Texas, and a few others) have NIL budgets of approximately $20 million.

Florida State is squarely in the middle tier of programs that can’t compete annually for titles, but can every 5-10 years if they play their cards right. As the Big Ten and SEC — superconferences that have defined the current era of the sport — renegotiate their TV deals in the upcoming years, it seems clear the NIL gap will widen. As a program, FSU is used to having to do more with less. But there comes a point when the gap is so wide that making every dollar go further just won’t cut it anymore.

Florida State Recruiting Class of 2025 Commitments

Football

FSU got back to it on Tuesday, shaking off a lethargic start to the day after the thrill of battling in the trenches got some excitement flowing on the practice field:

For the first time this season Florida State practiced on a regular schedule in anticipation of a gameday, something that Mike Norvell stated he was “very grateful” for at yesterday’s press conference.

With that in mind, the Seminoles needed to fly off the blocks on Tuesday as they prep to take on the Memphis Tigers.

Instead, they started sluggishly.

Maybe this is a big deal, maybe it isn’t, but the race with the defensive lineman against Norvell down the field was the laziest of the 2024 season. Then, during the first 11-on-11 period, the offense looked out of sorts as neither DJ Uiagalelei nor Brock Glenn moved the ball down the field. Part of that came from a pass defense that put on the clamps, but some came from unforced errors.

In need of a spark, the ultra-physical blocking drill between the offensive and defensive lineman got the team going. The Seminoles battled against each other in the trenches with different combinations of players to familiarize themselves with possible rotations during the game. Initially, the OL held their ground and did not allow Odell Haggins’ group to push forward before the defensive lineman ate up blocks, allowing the linebackers to flow freely.

Adam Fuller’s unit carried that momentum into the second 11-on-11 period, where the offense did not get anything going until a Glenn scramble took the lid off the basket.

The quarterbacks’ and wide receivers’ turning point came during one-on-ones against the defensive backs, where Uiagalelei and Glenn (a Memphis native) took turns uncorking deep balls to pass-catchers — including a deep ball to Ja’Khi Douglas that Glenn could not have placed any better.

At the time, that seemed to be the throw of the day but Uiagalelei one-upped his understudy during seven-on-seven with a gorgeous throw up the middle to Kyle Morlock, who made an impressive hands reception that Norvell called “one of the best catches of the season.” A slow start turned into a fiery finish, which the head coach praised after practice.

Florida State Seminoles vs. Memphis Tigers: How to watch

Date

Time

Watch/Stream

Listen

Game notes, via FSU Sports Info:

» Florida State hosts Memphis for the middle game of a season-long, three-game homestand. The Seminoles are playing their first non-conference game of 2024 after opening with two ACC games to start a season for the first time since 2003 (excluding 2020).

» Florida State was the only team in the country to open with two conference games and is the only member of a P4 conference to open with two P4 opponents. Of the 48 other P4 teams that played a P4 opponent in their first or second game, 30 played an FCS opponent in the other game.

» Mike Norvell is 9-2 (.818) in his head coaching career coming off an in-season open date. Including season openers, non-Saturday games and bowl games, his teams are 27-11 (.711) with more than seven days to prepare for a game.

» Florida State is 23-6 since the start of the 2022 season. The team’s 23 total wins and 73.3 winning percentage in that span are the best in the ACC, with the win total ranking 8th nationally and the winning percentage 10th.

» The Seminoles, who won 10 games in 2022 and 13 games in 2023, are the only team in the ACC and one of just 12 nationally to reach double-digit wins in 2022 and 2023.

» FSU will induct its Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2024 this weekend, including Anquan Boldin and Lamarcus Joyner, who won national championships at FSU in 1999 and 2013, respectively. After scoring 21 career touchdowns, the 8th-most in FSU history, Boldin was the 2003 NFL Rookie of the Year, 2015 Walter Payton Man of the Year, a three-time Pro-Bowl selection and won Super Bowl XLVII with the Baltimore Ravens. Joyner was a consensus All-American in 2013 and three-time All-ACC selection. His nine-year NFL career included an appearance in Super Bowl LIII with the Los Angeles Rams.

» The Seminoles’ pass defense ranks 2nd in the ACC and 20th in the country allowing an average of 126.0 yards per game through the air. Last season, FSU led the country in opponent completion percentage (48.3), pass breakups (80), passes defended (90) and passes defended per game (6.43).

» Florida State’s offensive line boasts 366 collegiate games played, the most in the country, with 220 starts, the 2nd-highest total nationally. The line includes returning first-team All-ACC offensive tackle Darius Washington, all-conference center Maurice Smith and starting tackle Jeremiah Byers from last year’s group that blocked for the ACC’s highest-scoring offense for the second straight year.

» FSU earned two ACC Player of the Week recognitions in Week 0 when the conference had three teams start their season. Shyheim Brown was named the ACC’s Defensive Back of the Week after recording a career-high 13 tackles, including 1.0 for loss. His tackles total was the most for a Florida State defensive back since current Carolina Panther Jammie Robinson made 18 stops at Florida in 2021. Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald was named the conference’s Specialist of the Week after scoring seven points, courtesy of two field goals and one PAT. He made a career-long 59-yard field goal that is the longest in a conference game in ACC history and third-longest overall by an ACC kicker. His make from 59 yards was six yards longer than his previous career-long and tied the game at 14-14 on the last play of the first half. Additionally, Fitzgerald connected on a 52-yard field goal earlier in the 2nd quarter for his first career game with two field goals of at least 50 yards.

» Florida State punter Alex Mastromanno was named the Ray Guy national Punter of the Week following his performance against Boston College. Mastromanno, one of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award last year, averaged 52.2 yards per punt on six attempts with three traveling at least 50 yards, including a career-long-tying 65-yard punt that rolled out of bounds at the 4-yard line. His season average of 49.9 yards per punt is the best in the ACC and 3rd-highest average in the country.

Soccer

Basketball

FSU men’s basketball looks to be receiving its first uniform overhaul in well over a decade, with the team announcing on Tuesday that even if they aren’t the Seminoles’ new full-time threads, they’ll at the very least be rocking three different brand-new alternate looks this season:

At first glance, it almost appears that it’s an updated version of this look (as seen in 2005) — potentially a change in line with the university’s effort to emphasize “FSU” as its main identifier rather than “Florida State:”

All Sports

FSU women’s golf, through two rounds, currently leads the standings of the Folds of Honor Collegiate at the American Dunes Golf Club:

Junior All-American Mirabel Ting and freshman Sophia Fullbrook are tied for second in the individual standings, with All-American Lottie Woad close behind in fourth place. The sensational Seminole trio is a combined 5 strokes under par through the first 36 holes of the championship.

Florida State owns the team lead entering the final round with a two-round total of 9 over par 585. The Seminoles lead Arizona by one stroke, Ohio State by two strokes, Texas by six strokes, and Baylor by seven strokes. Carolina Melgrati of Arizona is the individual leader with a 5 under par score of 139.

Fullbrook led the Seminoles in the second round with a 3 under par score of 69 and has a 36-hole total of 142. Ting carded a 2 under par 70 in the second round and also has a 36-hole total of 142. Woad finished with an even par 72 and has a 36-hole total of 143. Fullbrook and Ting are just three strokes behind Melgrati while Woad is in a familiar position in the top five and just four strokes out of the individual lead.

Fullbrook was the star of the day for the Seminoles as she totaled a 69 with a nearly clean scorecard. She totaled one eagle (the first of her collegiate career), two bridies and 17 holes scored at par or better. Her eagle came on hole No. 14. Her only blemish (a bogey) came on hole No. 4 (the Seminoles started on hole No. 10) which she quickly neutralized with her second birdie of the day just two holes later. Fullbrook finished her round with four consecutive holes scored at par.

Fullbrook’s score of 69 was tied with Melgrati for the lowest hole score of the round. Fullbrook’s score of 69 is one of the four scores in the 60s during the first two round of the championship.

Ting finished with a second round score of 72 and is tied with Fullbrook for second place with scores of 142.

Ting also enjoyed a nearly perfect scorecard with one birdie, 17 holes scored a par or better, and just one bogey. She earned scores of par on her first 11 holes, and her final five holes of the round.

Woad, the No. 1 ranked women’s amateur player in the world, finished the day with an even par score of 72. She totaled three birdies and was never above par at any time during the round. Woad has earned par or better scores in seven of her last nine collegiate rounds dating to the NCAA Las Vegas Regional championship in May of 2024.

The Seminoles’ men’s golf team is in sixth place in the team standings at the tournament:

Junior Jack Bigham carded a 1 over par score of 72 and is in a tie for 23rd place in the individual standings

Bigham played well in the second round as he carded four birdies to finish with a score of 72. He birdied three of his final six holes of the round to finish within one stroke of par. His score of 72 – coupled with his score of 74 in the first round – has him within four strokes of par for the tournament. Only 13 golfers in the field have carded scores of par or better over the course of the first 36 holes of the event.

Bigham continued to play well on the front side of the course and is even par with three birdies and three bogeys during the first two rounds on holes one through nine. He has put himself in position to earn his 10 career top-25 finish when the third and final round of the event begins on Wednesday.

The Seminoles were led on the scoreboard during the second round by redshirt freshman Carson Brewer who carded a team-leading career-best score of 70 – an eight-stroke improvement from his first-round score of 78. Brewer totaled four birdies and 15 holes scored at par or better in the second round as compared to one birdie and 12 holes scored at par or better in the first round.

Brewer played his best golf of the tournament on his back nine with a bogey-free 3 under par total. Her birdied three of his final five holes of the round to move under par for the first time in his career as he is making his career debut as a Seminole. Brewer was three strokes under par on his final 13 holes of the round with eight holes played at par, four birdies, and only one bogey. He moved from two over to two under for the round with his strong finish to the second round.

Graduate student Gray Albright played his best golf of the event as he finished the second round with an even-par score of 72 – an improvement of six strokes from his first-round score. The left-hander totaled three birdies and 16 holes played at par or better including a birdie on his final hole of the round to finish at even par. Albright was two under par with two birdies and seven more holes played at par on his front nine to begin his second round.

No. 21 Florida State volleyball bounced back after its first loss of the season, remaining undefeated all-time against UNF with a four-set victory over the Ospreys:

The Seminoles got off to a fast start and never looked back in the first set as they jumped out to a 10-4 lead and cruised to win the set 25-13. The Seminoles hit .478 in the set while holding the Ospreys to just a .034 hitting percentage.

The Ospreys responded in the second set with great play of their own as they had firm control of the match with a 20-12 lead. FSU climbed its way back into the match and cut the lead to four, but UNF was able to take the set and tie the match.

FSU came out with a fire in set three thanks to some great play from Kyleene Filimaua. FIlimaua had five kills in the set as the Noles cruised to a 25-9 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Noles continued to stay hot in the fourth set as they jumped out to a 13-5 lead and went on to take the set and the match by a score of 25-16.

Khori Louis was phenomenal for the Noles as she tied her season high with 13 kills on just 20 attempts. Audrey Koenig recorded her fourth consecutive double digit kill match as she recorded 12 kills on 21 attempts. Loren Robertson led the way with 28 assists while Kenna Phelan had a team-high 15 digs for the Noles.

FSU will return home this weekend as they will face FAU on Friday night at 6 p.m. before taking on UCF on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches can be seen live on ACCNX.