Florida State arrives for Orange Bowl ready to face Georgia with freshman starting at QB
Florida State has had to deal with a lot over the past five weeks.
First, there was the loss of longtime starter Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury.
Then the Seminoles were left out of the College Football Playoff despite their perfect 13-0 record and ACC championship.
As FSU arrived in South Florida Monday to face Georgia in the 90th annual Capital One Orange Bowl, they were faced with more adversity to overcome.
Seminoles coach Mike Norvell confirmed reports that surfaced earlier in the day that redshirt junior Tate Rodemaker had entered the transfer portal.
Fifth-ranked FSU will tab true freshman Brock Glenn to make his second start on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium against the sixth-ranked Bulldogs (12-1).
Glenn made his first start on Dec. 2 when Florida State beat Louisville 16-6 to win the ACC championship.
“Definitely excited to see (Glenn) take the step from his first start to his second start,” Norvell said on Monday night. “A lot of confidence in what he’ll be able to do and what he’ll be able to accomplish. It’s part of the new age of college athletics. I know Brock is going to be fired up and excited for the opportunity that he has.”
Rodemaker, who threw for 901 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions during his four seasons at FSU, has two seasons of eligibility remaining. The Seminoles are trying to acquire an experienced quarterback through the transfer portal and have targeted both Washington State transfer Cam Ward and Oregon State transfer and former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.
“It’s about the players that are here and the work that they put in,” Norvell said. “I’m grateful for every player that we have. Life is full of choices and these guys, like I said, the last month has been really challenging, you know coming off the championship game, a lot of emotion, guys having to make tough and challenging decisions, but the guys that are here I know we’re excited about it and looking forward to the week of preparation and the competition that’s ahead.”
Since losing Travis, Seminoles quarterbacks have struggled for the most part.
Rodemaker completed 13 of 23 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns in relief of Travis after he suffered his injury in the first quarter on Nov. 18 against North Alabama. But in his first career start the following week against Florida, Rodemaker completed 12 of 25 passes for 134 yards and no touchdowns.
Rodemaker suffered a concussion in that game, which prompted Glenn to start against Louisville. He completed only 8 of 21 passes for 55 yards and was sacked four times.
FSU’s defense has remained one of the best in the nation.
However, the Seminoles, a 16.5-point underdog as of Monday night, have already lost key starters on that side of the ball including defensive end Jared Verse and defensive tackle Fabien Lovett, whom each recently declared for the NFL Draft.
FSU also lost key offensive weapons such as running back Trey Benson and wide receivers Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson, who also declared for the draft.
“The guys are excited about the opportunity to compete and that’s what we have, and doing it against a great opponent, one that has been the benchmark of the best of college football the last three years and ultimately that’s what we have in front of us,” Norvell said. “We’ve had really good bowl practices leading up and I’m excited to see the guys prepare.”
On the other side, several of Georgia’s stars, including tight end Brock Bowers and wide receiver Amarius Mims who are both potential first-round draft picks, have yet to officially announce they’ve opted out of playing in Saturday’s game. The Bulldogs are scheduled to arrive in Miami on Tuesday night.
This story was originally published December 25, 2023 at 9:29 PM.
