Let the hype begin! Florida State ranked in Top 5 of early 2023 rankings
The Florida State football team won’t have to wonder whether the national media were paying attention to the Seminoles’ 10-3 season in 2022 and what Mike Norvell has done with his roster over the last few weeks.
ESPN and several other media outlets have already released their early preseason rankings for the 2023 season, and Florida State checks in as high as No. 4 on several of those lists.
The Seminoles finished 2022 at No. 11 in the final AP Top 25, which was released early Tuesday morning after the national championship game between Georgia and TCU.
Mark Schlabach of ESPN places the Seminoles behind only two-time defending national champion Georgia, Michigan and Ohio State in his early top 25 for 2023. He has Clemson down at No. 15, and rivals Florida and Miami unranked.
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When explaining his Florida State ranking, Schlabach pointed first to the Seminoles’ large number of starters returning, led by quarterback Jordan Travis on offense and defensive linemen Jared Verse and Fabien Lovett on defense. In total, the Seminoles are bringing back nine defensive starters and eight offensive starters from the team that defeated Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl.
Florida State also has landed a slew of impressive new transfers in recent weeks. On offense, there are tight ends Jaheim Bell and Kyle Morlock, and offensive linemen Jeremiah Byers, Casey Roddick and Keiondre Jones. On the other side of the ball there are defensive tackles Braden Fiske and Darrell Jackson, as well as cornerback Fentrell Cypress
“Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin can talk about being the transfer portal king, but Norvell has used it as well as anyone,” Schlabach wrote.
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And along with Travis, Verse and Lovett, the Seminoles also are bringing back leading rusher Trey Benson, leading receiver Johnny Wilson and many other key players on offense, defense and special teams.
Brett McMurphy of Action Sports also has Florida State starting out the new year with a No. 4 ranking, as does Pro Football Focus.
Athlon Sports has the Seminoles checking in at No. 6, while Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated has them at No. 10. Sporting News and Fox Sports have Florida State coming in at No. 12 and No. 14 respectively.
Florida State’s star quarterback, Travis, is already being hyped up individually as well. In early Heisman Trophy odds for 2023, Travis is a 10-1 pick, according to Caesars Sportsbook. He and North Carolina star Drake Maye share those odds behind only returning Heisman winner Caleb Williams of Southern Cal.
It goes Williams at 5.5-1, Maye and Travis at 10-1, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. at 12-1, and four players at 16-1: Oregon’s Bo Nix, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Ohio State’s Kyle McCord, and Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman.
Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.
