Some of you know I have been trying to get this for quite a while. FSU just provided it to me (after telling me before they only had the signature page). I figure folks may want to know details, so here goes.

Please note, all my comments are intended to be a neutral review of what the contract does/says from a legal standpoint. It's NOT intended to criticize FSU in signing it or in the manner in which it responded to my request. In fact I will say that while the delay seems to have been unnecessary, I am very happy they sent this without me filing suit. I love FSU and had no interest in this being a public battle, which is honestly one of the reasons I kept delaying.

Anyway, here is my summary, which I am writing as I read this. The Agreement itself (not including sig pages) is only 4 pages.

1. The deal was signed 4/19/13 (or at least that was the date on the Agreement itself). It was between what were then the "Current Members" of the ACC, and Pitt, Syracuse, Louisville and Notre Dame as "the Accepted Members."

2. Contracts often have what are called "Whereas" clauses, the purpose of which is to identify a background and reason behind the deal. They are not legally controlling of anything, but can looked to in interpreting the actual contract terms because they identify the purpose of the contract. This has 5 such paragraphs:

+ that the entities wanted to enhance the stability of the conference;

+ that the entities had previously entered into a contract with ESPN (7/8/10) and related extension agreement (5/9/12)(my note, FSU has said it has no ESPN contracts and I will be following up because I don't see how they could agree to the GoR without reviewing the terms of the ESPN contract and extension);

+ that the "Accepted Members" agreed to be part of the ACC knowing the GoR would be in place (my opinion - this also goes the other way in that it is likely argued that those entities, especially ND, would not have joined but for the GoR);

+ that a "condition to the agreement of ESPN to offer additional consideration as part of a further amended to the Amended ESPN Agreement" each school "is required to, and desires to, irrevocably grant to the Conference, and the Conference desires to accept from each of the [schools], those rights granted herein" (my comment - this buttresses my point about FSU having to have been made aware of the deal with ESPN because I simply don't see how it could have given something like this up without being aware of what it was getting in return);

+ that the parties want to memorialize the Agreement (damn lawyers have to say so much useless crap).

3. The consideration (the value exchanged for an agreement, which does NOT have to be of equal value legally and does not have to make any business sense to be enforceable) included the mutual promises and that value "in the ESPN Agreement" (this term includes the initial one and the amendment) the schools each:

+ Grant of Rights. The lawyers use a half page of legal language to explain that each school irrevocably and exclusively grants to the conference ALL rights "necessary for the Conference to perform the contractual obligations of the Conference expressly set forth in the ESPN Agreement, regardless of whether such Member Institution remains a member of the Conference during the entirety of the Term" and agrees to "satisfy and perform all contractual obligations of a Member Institution during the Term that are expressly set forth in the ESPN Agreement." The Rights granted are very broad and include all IP associated with the production or distribution of ALL events of each school that are subject to the ESPN Agreement. They do exclude from this grant of rights any rights held by any school prior to the Agreement (this appears to be for ND's benefit, but also may include some of those relatively useless T3 rights).

+ Copyrights and Licenses. All are assigned consistent with the overall Grant of Rights and basically confirm that ALL IP is transferred to the Conference for the length of the contract.

+ Additional docs. This is just lawyer BS requiring the schools to sign other docs if needed to accomplish this Agreement.

+ Additional Members. This confirms no new member can join the ACC without being subject to this Agreement.

+ Term. The deal is through 6/30/27. That's not new. What is interesting is it includes a sentence "clarifying" that all the schools agree to be bound "even though the term of their membership in the Conference has not yet begun." This suggests that there was some real plate juggling going on and the execution of the GoR was likely a condition of some of those schools joining. Well, for ND joining.

+ Warranties. This is a lot of legalese that basically says all the schools promise they have followed every law/rule/condition to binding each school to the Agreement. That is important language in the analysis of whether the right people at FSU saw this, evaluated this, and/or approved this. Personally I am curious to what degree the OGC conducted a full blown analysis of all this such that the right decisions could be made. Heck, it seems at least someone at the OGC would have had to have vetted the process before anyone could make these warranties and representations.

+ Access. The schools agree to provide ESPN "reasonable access" so ESPN can do what it is permitted to do under the ESPN Agreement. It's pretty innocuous but the practical effect would be that if a school left the conference it would still have to tolerate ESPN being present to produce their games for the ACC's benefit.

+ Miscellaneous. Funny how some of the most important things are found in a section called miscellaneous. This section includes the integration clause I said was likely in there over a year ago. "This Agreement, together with any substantially contemporaneous agreement between the Conference and an affiliated entity of a Member Institution relating to the Rights, sets forth the entire understanding of the parties hereto relating to the grant of rights and related subject matter provided for herein and [] supersedes all prior understandings among or between any of the parties relating to the Grant of Rights and related subject matter provided for herein." I plan to ask FSU for any "substantially contemporaneous agreements" just to confirm whether there was some side deal upon which FSU relied, but I don't expect to find any.

That's it. That's the deal.

I find it interesting that ND's membership is not discussed in any manner identifying that it's only a member for football. I kind of expected it would. It's thus a bit vague, but I think the intent was that ND's participation in the GoR is limited to the extent it is not a football member. I think this is supported by the "previous agreement" language in the GoR section and allows ND to continue ownership of its own TV rights even if it leaves the ACC, leaving only other sports "at risk." Although I don't have the ESPN Agreement (yet), I imagine that's practically limited to basketball because it's unlikely ESPN has any interest in the IP associated with anything from baseball to sand volleyball to field hockey.

For anyone who thought FSU "got something" in exchange for this deal, this Agreement does not bear that out. There are no special rights in there. Every school is treated the same (except ND). The integration clause makes it darn clear that no previous deals related to the GoR survive the execution of the Agreement. FSU would have a very hard time ever claiming it signed this thinking it was getting something more from the Conference.

The Grant of Rights is extreme. In essence, it simply means that any school who leaves gives up all its right to be paid from the Conference, but all it's TV and IP revenue from sports subject to the ESPN Agreement will still go to the Conference.

I am sure we will have some additional discussion. Enjoy.

FSU last season broke the rock 13 times. Last night Boston College took hold of the hammer and broke FSU. As fans when you lose they will say this team is SO TALENTED BUT...And then the excuses come. The reality is this TEAM is not better than last year. That is not even debatable any longer. This was and has been a big concern of mine. When you look at FSU I said to Jason Staples on a podcast where is FSU better this year on offense then last year...QB: NO, RB: NO, WR: NO, TE: NO, OL - HELL NO. I won’t even go over the defense where both the loss of Jared Verse and Braden Fiske can’t be over stated. I want to say I TOLD YOU SO...But that is not me. ...so what next.

I have stated over and over again I am not a fan of the TRANSER PORTAL. Some will bring up the success FSU had. There are so many variables that go into that success....First off Mike Norvell was the first one or one of the first to attack the portal. With Covid which originally hurt MN helped. It allowed MN to keep veterans like Jordan Travis. Having 5 and 6 year players really benefited FSU. The Portal Giveth...Takes it away.

Add in a Transfer class in for 2024....

Shawn Murphy-LB, Cam Riley-LB, Omarion Cooper-CB, Jacob Rizy, Richie Leonard-OG, Roydell Williams-RB, TJ Ferguson, Sione Lololea-DE, Tomiwa Duriojaiye-DL, DJ Uigalelei-QB, Malik Benson-WR, Davonte Brown-DB, Jaylin Lucas-Ath, Grady Kelly-DT, Jalen Brown-WR, Marvin Jones JR-DE

That is 16 transfers....and after two games you could say they have gone at best 2 for 14. This group of transfers was my biggest concern all along with the portal. During this spring portal opening I spoke to one college coach who said to me "Fish this round of players is a bunch of backups...Do we really need to take other teams castoffs and backups and replace our backups with them". He was basically saying the transfer portal during the spring was not good. FSU needs heading into the spring transfer portal where another receiver, offensive tackle, a rush end and linebackers.....linebackers, linebackers. They did not get any of them. It may be time to adjust the thinking.

Analytics - Recruiting and Coaching.

First I will get into coaching....I have had this argument on 4th down and going for it in games. I get it the percentages in certain situations are in your favor to go for it. That being said I compare it to baseball where a manager has a choice. He has a pitcher who is the set up guy who comes in the 8th inning. On three straight pitches the set up guy gets all three batters out. Three up, three down. Analytics tell you as a manager it is time for you to go to your reliever. I think this is a flawed way of thinking. You are allowing a computer to tell you to go against your gut in this situation and the manager goes to the reliever and the next thing you know the team takes an L. I can't stand this. Why, because sometimes you have to go with your gut. Coach MN loves to go for it on 4th down. I get it. He has confidence in his team that they can get the first down. My gut tells me watching DJ and this offense not only last week but this week, I have zero faith in DJ getting it done. I feel until he does do it...PUNT THE BALL. I feel that coaches today take to many points off the board early and don’t kick field goals and field position in a game like last night is huge. You give BC a short field....Bad. I think this team is not built to take those chances at least not yet.

Now to the team....


QB - DJ Uiagalelei - Three plays over the first two weeks are a major concern for me. The corner route in the Tech game and the flea flicker and corner route in the BC game. These were three simple throws all which would have resulted in touchdowns. When FSU was in the market last year for a QB, I felt DJ was a decent bridge QB. Good kid....he looked much better at Oregon State and with MN coaching could be good enough to win 8-9 games. The downside was his inability to be accurate. That problem has reared his ugly head. DJ is a one read QB. He showed that on the flea flicker. #21 slipped by the DB and was wide open and DJ threw to Kyle Morlock. Bad decisions. I said before the season DJ is going to give you the BIG PLAYS....and he will also give you a lot of three and outs. I pegged DJ and so far it has been a disaster. 5 years ago....10 years ago I would have told you that DJ is a student athlete and deserves to run this team. These are paid professionals now and feelings be damned. This is not DJ's team. He was paid and very fairly. I would have benched him at halftime. Glenn and Kromenhoek are the future...Or they better be. Now is the time to go to them. You have two weeks now to get them ready for Memphis. This team is not responding to DJ. If he wants to leave and take a RS and play somewhere else next year, let him. MN held out for Cam Ward and now you see why. DJ - Great kid...but is just what it is...A MAJOR MISS.

RB

Trey Benson loss and the addition of Roydell Williams...UGHHH...Roydell has zero burst. ZERO. I have no idea why Caziah Holmes even gets reps. Kam Davis is the guy. Twice he got the ball and dragged multiple defenders down the field. I really think if he gets 15-20 carries against Memphis the production for the offense will improve. He is the guy. I also think Danzy needs to be put in there. FSU needs more speed in the backfield. Right now the guys playing are 3-4-5 yard backs. With DJ, you need the guys who can go the distance. Davis-Danzy are those two. Danzy reminds me of a bigger Chris Thompson. Time to move on.

WR

As Rick Pitino once said coaching the Celtics, Larry Bird is not walking through those doors...Neither is Coleman or Johnny Wilson. Benson would have been the third option last year. This year he is the number one option. Once again outside of Poitier the WR recruiting until this past year has been subpar and now it is rearing its ugly head. I can't stay it enough FSU needs Hykeem Williams. He needs to be on the field against Memphis. He may not be fully ready but at least he gives someone the defense must respect on the outside. Hykeem HAS TO PLAY.

TE

When FSU took Morlock, I was against it. I took a ton of heat on this board. Said his ceiling was Caz P. At this point I would take Caz 10 out of 10 times over Morlock. He could at least block. Morlock is not a good blocker and as he showed last night there was a part of the game he was targeted 5 times and had zero catches. Some that were not contested. He was at the D2 level for a reason. Not saying you can't find gems down there but there is a reason why. KM, Courtney, West, Powers...You can't keep missing at a position and FSU has. I feel that Landen Thomas and the kid from Nebraska will change that issue but that is next season. FSU needed a TE out of the portal this off-season. Thomas got open last night but DJ could not hit him. He is a better athlete and looks like the future.

OL

I will say this if the OL Coach who is interning right now for Coach Atkins better have his resume ready. I don't like calling coaches out but the job of the OL has been the most disappointing aspect of this team. These guys are not good. I never understood the take of Richie Leonard. He is short (6'2), has short arms and can't push anyone off the ball. Ferguson penalty was terrible. I am sorry but Armella, Early and Simmons need to be given legit shots at playing. FSU needs to produce guys THEY RECRUITED from HS. The portal lineman from Beyers, Leonard and Ferguson are not good.

DE

Out of the gate PP made a tackle for loss....We did not see that last week and may have only seen it one other time last night. He has been a major disappointment for FSU this year. I won't even get into MJJ. He was downright terrible last night. Have this group gotten any sacks this year. I am not going to lie...MJJ may need to be benched as well. Cam Riley needs to move to the Christian Jones position. I think he can be good.

DT

Daniel Lyons and KJ Sampson...Next MEN UP. Darrell Jackson and Joshua Farmer took the money and ran. Guys show their character. These two wanted to stay, then wanted to leave, then stay....They were paid more to stay. I have been there with my business. When you get put in a pinch we don't always make great decisions. These two went to the public about their disgust about the portal. Well guess what those two leaders have done this year. NOTHING. Payton did the same thing. Moving forward Norvell needs to tell his team...You want to get paid come to me. Go out and make this public and your gone. I rather go with guys who want to be there. These guys held the program hostage. That loser mentality is against everything that MN preaches. The interior lineman need to reset the line of scrimmage. They do....constantly going backwards.

LB

I always talk about roster management....This position has been handled terribly. I know everyone wants to blame Randy. He is the easy target. This has been a problem for a while now. Coach MarvE was fired because of his recruiting and coaching. FSU has missed at this position for over a decade now. The only way to fix this is recruiting, recruiting and more recruiting and take BODIES. FSU needs to really re-evaluate the way they recruit this position. DJ Lundy is a major liability in pass coverage. I see enough of Nicholson that he will be fine in the next two years. Needs to hit the weight room. He gets into position to make plays but gets physically whipped. On BC td pass...Nichelson made the right read, he just could not get out there in time to make the play. Nichelson shows instincts. He reminds me of Dan Morgan. Former running back...struggled at times as a freshman and ended up very good. Crier played....he needs to get some more reps.

DB

Kevin Knowles got a tackle for loss early on. You see AZ Thomas running around and making plays. I like Quindarrius Jones. I think he will still be very good. This unit is still pretty good. Shyheim Brown....There was a reason he was a 3 star who did not get much attention outside of FSU. He is really struggling. FSU really needs some guys to step up at safety. I think there are players here but some work needs to be done.

Final Thoughts: When FSU stepped on the field and the clock was not working that should have been a sign. This team never seem to show up. They sure as heck did not show up in time. When MN was hired I questioned it. Now, I am 100 percent behind MN. He took a program that was a mess and turned them into a 13-0 team. Now they were screwed for their excellent season but that should have zero impact on this team. That being said this team looks broken right now. It is still a long season. FSU needs to regroup. Coaching is great...but this team is not talented....And it is nowhere as talented as we were led to believe. Realize that Mike Norvell offered Thomas Costelanos. Now they passed but where is this team with that kid at QB. They sure as hell are not 0-2. He is Russell Wilson all over again. He is on a sub .500 team but he alone will help them be a bowl team. I don't know where this team is heading but it is time for the fans and boosters to get behind this team. They earned that respect last year with what they produced. I will say this....Recruiting has become that much more important. FSU really needs to restock this roster. One last thing...Guys like Louis Riddick kept bringing up the talent FSU has. I love guys like him and Mike Tannebaum who were bust as football personal guys judging what I can see with my own eyes...THIS TEAM IS NOT TALENTED.

For those interested, the preliminary approval hearing was last night in the House v. NCAA case. This is the class action in which the myriad athletes sued the NCAA for past anti trust violations. The plan was to pay billions in back pay based on some formulas (which sent almost all the money to football, then men and women's bball, then all other sports (I think the last group shares 5%). It also sought to control the system going forward, setting up revenue sharing and new NIL rules. These latter issues are clearly designed to continue breaking the law IMHO.

The judge seemed to have similar concerns. She did NOT approve it and told them to deal with those issues of controlling this in the future. The NCAA lawyers have said they may not be able to make a deal now, and at least one university president has already said the NCAA/schools should just go to trial and hope for the best.

Anyway, for now the case continues on as they try to see how they can set things up that the judge will approve. It looks entirely likely that the deal will have trouble if they want to keep the future stuff in there, and it sounds like that is a key component for the NCAA/schools (which I understand why they want it, but have no idea how they think it's legal).

from back in the day? I think that was his handle.
I recently listened to a segment about the foodie scene around DC and NoVa and it reminded me of Ole Bob who was constantly ragging both bad restaurant experiences and his worthless son-in-law …
Anybody heard from the ole boy lately?

with this team.

All these DJU posts are laughable. How about the front 7 on defense? Are we going to replace all of them? How about the starting 5 on the OL? Replacing them as well? Morlock at TE? Giving significant PT to the same skill guys who have never made a play here in 4 years? Those are all much bigger problems than DJU.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't move on and start Glenn, I just find it laughable that everyone is acting like replacing DJU is going to fix anything. Until FSU gets a new OL & LB's coach, convinces Odell to hang it up, plays younger players if they are remotely as good as the older guys, and stops getting held hostage in the portal by guys who were made by other better players playing opposite of them on the DL who have gone onto the NFL, nothing is going to change.

Was Early perfect? No. Was he the second coming of Orlando Pace out there? No. Was he every big as good if not better than the four tackles ahead of him to start the season? Definitely. Yet he was 3rd string to start the season. I'll guarentee it's the same story with the rest of these younger guys as well. And by playing him, you are playing a highly touted RS. So. Someone who you can build on. Look at Hussey, Lyons, etc. The personnel choices on this team are terrible. And it's not just the younger guys. Look at Douglas, Poitier, Riley, etc.

Give me:

QB Glenn or Luke K. or DJU (doesn't matter)
RB Davis or Toafili
WR H. Williams or Benson
WR Poitier // Brown
WR Douglas or Lucas
TE Thomas // A. Williams
LT Simmons
LG Estes
C Otto
RG Armella
RT Early
1st OL off the bench J. Daniels

DE Lolohea or Hester
DT Sampson // Durojaiye
DT Lyons // Kelley
DE Anderson or L. Green
LB Riley // Parrish
LB Nicholson // Cryer
CB Thomas // Rawls
FS Hussey // Joseph
SS S. Brown // Gibson
CB Cypress // Lester
NB Knowles


Lots of liabilities on, and coaching this team, who Norvell continues to try to make happy, not named DJU. FSU has a talent problem, a coaching problem, and a motivation problem. Not just a DJU problem. You play those guys you fix two out of the three, show that you are building for the future and largely change the narrative. All of a sudden in the off chance you are bowl eligible with those guys you have something to hang your hat on. Fuller, Shannon and Atkins can be fired in the offseason. You keep the same guys on the field, you lose the recruiting class, lose the team, lose half the young talent in the offseason, and are the laughing stock of CFB with zero momentum for the next 12 months.

For as much as Norvell likes to go for it on fourth down, he sure is reserved in mixing up the guys on the field.

And in, before the same people tell me I'm totally wrong because we have a RB and TB position, Gibson is a WR, etc. Lots of younger 4 & 5* guys who every team in the country wanted, sitting behind guys who got manhandled by perennial ACC losers IMO. DJU might be the scapegoat, but that isn't changing anything, lots of other wholesale changes to make that will have a far greater impact, this season, and into the foreseeable future.

Florida State is 0-2. Fans and media are questioning the need for personnel changes – often a desire to see younger players — as well as curious who is leading the charge.

Some changes already began on defense in FSU’s 28-13 loss to Boston College. FSU coaches opted to give two sophomore linebackers significant playing time. Blake Nichelson earned his first college start, while Justin Cryer played 36 snaps after not seeing the field against Georgia Tech.

“I have a lot of room to improve to be honest with you,” Nichelson said. “I feel like there were some times I messed up a play. Overall just being able to run and track the ball, I did pretty well in that. But there’s areas where I need to improve on to become a better linebacker.

“With experience it will just come to me and everybody else.”

In the first part of a multi-part series of factors affecting Collegiate Athletics, and how FSU will fund the impact, FSU Athletic Director Michael Alford told the Osceola that the ACC had created benchmarks to provide millions of dollars to the ACC Champion in football who made the CFP and to any other ACC team making the playoff. In this story we flesh out the details of those ACC Success Initiatives, which can add up to as much as $20 million.

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You'll have more free time on the bye week, so check us out.

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I really like the translation of this film’s title in other languages. It’s “A stranger in the nest”.

Tonight was exactly that. I’ve never seen worse output from good players. It was just so off.

The OL and DL were MIA. Linebackers? Do we have any besides Lundy? Do they know how to play the position?

Was something wrong with the ball that our receivers were allergic to?

Honestly this was hot garbage. I haven’t seen anything this bad since WT’s opener.

I’ll need to rewatch this game, but it was pretty bad.

It’s not all on DJU. It was everyone.

My impression is bring on the sports psychologist. There are some mental issues. It’s two games with the “ah, mmmm, duh” mentality.

All in all, a strange weekend in sports. Many top seeds went down in the US Open.

I feel like I’m living in an alternate reality.

This was not FSU football, although one or two had some good moments. Not many though.

There is no overstating the importance of Florida State's game against Memphis next Saturday. A win over the Tigers could kick start FSU's season, a loss would make the chances of FSU finishing this year with a winning record and bowl eligibility a real challenge with games left vs. SMU, Clemson, Miami, UNC, Notre Dame and Florida still ahead.

Memphis started its season against FCS program North Alabama. The Tigers won easily, 40-0, and we will have a better idea of who they are after they take on Troy this weekend. That game will be televised by ESPNU at noon on Saturday. The Tigers game vs. UNA does give us a chance to see what Memphis likes to do on offense from a tendency perspective.

One of the things that jumped out to me about Memphis based on the stat sheet from the UNA game is that fact that they managed just 59 yards on the ground on 26 carries. Of the 59 teams that opened their 2024 season against and FCS opponent, Memphis had the second fewest rushing yards.

Against UNA, the Tigers ran more zone scheme running plays (16) than gap scheme plays (7).

A Gap runs-5
B Gap runs-7
C Gap runs-2
D Gap (outside TE) or Perimeter runs-5 D gap runs, 5 perimeter runs, 2 undefined


Another thing that stood out to me from the PFF stats only one of the 6 Memphis running back forced a missed tackle against UNA.

Throwing the ball Memphis likes to spread it around. Eight Memphis players were targeted by QB Seth Henigan at least twice. Demeer Blankumsee and Roc Taylor led the team with five targets each followed by Koby Drake (4) and Marcello Bussey (3), Sutton Smith (3) and Anthony Landsphere (3). As group they dropped two passes.

Henigan was very sharp throwing the ball. He completed 22 of 30 passes (73.3-percent) with an adjusted completion percentage of 82.8-percent.

Breakdown of Hennigan throws

Between the Numbers

At or behind the LOS: 5 of 5 for 3 yards
1-10 yards: 6 of 8 for 43 yards
10-20 yards: 3 of 5 for 71 yards
20 plus yards: 1 of 3 for 35 yards

Outside left:

At or behind the LOS: None
1-10 yards: 3 of 3 for 35 yards
10-20 yards: None
20 plus yards: 1 of 1 for 45 yards

Outside right

At or behind the LOS: None
1-10 yards: 2 of 2 for 13 yards
10-20 yards: None
20 plus yards: 1 of 2 for 30 yards

Defensively, the Tigers gave up just 185 total yards to UNA. They gave up 67 rushing yards on 31 attempts. They gave up 118 yards through the air with UNA completing 17 of 28 passes. According to PFF stats they only had three missed tackles vs the run. They had no missed tackles vs. pass plays. Memphis was also very disruptive in the passing game as far as getting pressure on the QB. As a team they had 21 total pressures (6 sacks, 2 QB hits, 13 hurries) on 34 pass rush opportunities.
DE William Whitlow led the team with four pressures. Seven defenders were credited with multiple pressures.

Looking forward to watching them vs. Troy tomorrow.

Not who you want, but who you think it will be.

Mike Norvell isn't focused on FSU's 0-2 start, just like he wasn't focused on the Seminoles' 19-game winning streak over the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

He's focused on his team learning lessons from its early 2024 struggles and on day-over-day improvement.

The first of three Florida State bye weeks this season is already upon us. While it's a slightly different week of practice with no game Saturday, the Seminoles did hold one practice availability Thursday morning where we got to watch the entire practice and talked afterwards to Mike Norvell and three players.

Here are the observations from a modified day of work:

With no opponent to prepare for Saturday, FSU didn't have any scout team work at Thursday's practice. Instead, it was more of a training camp practice, Norvell said, with more individual work and good-on-good work with the first-team offense going against the first-team defense.

I thought it was a mixed-bag day for the quarterbacks. DJ Uiagalelei and Brock Glenn each made some throws during team periods, but missed some others. One notable change to the passing game Thursday was Hykeem Williams making his presence felt in a major way. After missing some time in practice and each of the first two games, he made quite a few catches in team periods Thursday, including a third-and-long catch from Uiagalelei to convert, While Williams' return likely won't revolutionize the offense, it will certainly help matters if he's back vs. Memphis as he's arguably FSU's most talented wideout. Darion Williamson also made a sensational one-handed catch in a situational period and made an exceptional leaping catch in the back of the end zone on a slightly high pass during goal-line 7-on-7 pass skelly.

I'm sure the message has been said in a variety of ways to the team over the last few days since the season began, but what Norvell said to the defensive lineman at the start of practice after his race Thursday morning resonated. "Every day, you get to make a choice." Norvell also paid much closer attention to the half-line inside run drill Thursday morning, lauding praise on trench players who stood out during this drill. It was certainly not the norm as he's usually watching the passing game during this portion of practice.

Perhaps the biggest ovation of the day came when the defense swarmed Azareye'h Thomas in 1-on-1s after he successfully pressed Malik Benson and refused to let him off the line on a route. He was swarmed by the entire defense after the rep. While Thomas has looked good in coverage throughout the preseason, he's been challenged against the run in FSU's first two games. It was a promising display of physicality when he's struggled a bit in that capacity early this season even while his coverage hasn't been an issue.

That's it for this week's availability. After the bye week, we'll be back on Monday with press conferences and the next practice availability will be Tuesday morning.

FSU sports information:

The No. 15 Florida State volleyball team (3-0) hopes to continue its momentum from opening weekend as they travel to Auburn, Ala., to face Cal Poly (2-1) and Auburn (4-0) this weekend. FSU will face the Mustangs on Friday at 5 p.m. There will be no live stream for the matchup but fans can follow along on Statbroadcast.com. The Noles will face Auburn on Sunday at 1 p.m. on SECN+.

Noles Cruise Through Opening Weekend

• For the first time since 2011, the Florida State volleyball opened up its season inside of Tully Gym, and they delivered with three wins in the Seminole Invitational last weekend.
• FSU swept USF and UC Santa Barbara while taking down No. 25 Georgia in four sets. Both Georgia and UC Santa Barbara qualified for the 2023 NCAA Tournament while USF finished 22-12 last season.
• The win against No. 25 Georgia was FSU's 41st all-time win against a Top 25 opponent and its first ranked win against a non conference opponent since 2021.
• Out of the 10 sets the Seminoles' played last weekend, FSU only allowed 20 points in four of the sets.

Spreading the Wealth

• FSU spread the wealth offensively last weekend at the Seminole Invitational.
• FSU had three different kill leaders in each of the games. Kyleene Filimaua led the way against UCSB, Taylor Head led the way against USF and Audrey Koenig led the way against No. 25 Georgia.
• Four different players earned 40 or more attacks on the weekend.

Climbing the Ranks

• FSU was ranked No. 15 in this week's AVCA/TARAFLEX Coaches Poll which is the program's highest ranking since 2017.
• FSU opened the season ranked 20th in the preseason poll. It was the first time FSU was ranked to start the season since 2017.
• FSU picked up a ranked win against No. 25 Georgia. It was FSU's 41st ranked win in program history and was the first time FSU beat a ranked non conference opponent since defeating No. 14 Florida in 2021.

SHE'S BAAAACCCKKKKK

• The reigning 2023 ACC Co-Player of the Year Audrey Koenig is back for one last season with the Seminoles and will look to solidify herself as one of the top players in FSU history.
• Koenig was just the fourth Seminole to win the ACC Player of the Year award and was the first Nole to accomplish the feat since Payton Caffrey in 2018.
• Koenig earned 28 kills on opening weekend including a team-high 15 kills against No. 25 Georgia.
• Koenig also earned 2023 AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors for the first time in her career.
• Koenig led the Noles in 2023 with 374 kills on 900 total attacks while hitting .300.
• Koenig was also great defensively as she was second on the team with 306 digs.
• Koenig's 13 double-doubles last season were the 13th-most in FSU history.
• Koenig has recorded 985 kills during her career with the Garnet and Gold. That mark is tied for seventh all-time in program history in the rally scoring era. Koenig will look to become just the sixth Seminole in the rally scoring era to surpass 1,000 kills. Koenig also ranks fourth all-time in the rally scoring era with 2,703 attacks.

Louis Coming Off Her Best Season as a Nole

• FSU senior and Tallahassee native Khori Louis put together her best season as a Seminole in 2023 as she earned First Team All-ACC honors and AVCA All-America Honorable Mention for the first time in her career.
• Louis hit a career-high .432 which ranked fourth in the nation and was the fifth-best mark in school history and the best mark since Sareea Freeman in 2012.
• Louis picked up right where she left off on opening weekend as she hit .533 with 27 kills.
• Louis holds a career hitting percentage of .366 which is fourth all-time in FSU history. Brianna Barry holds the program record for career hitting percentage as she hit .371 in her career from 2006-09.
• Louis was second on the team with 271 kills and 93 blocks.
• In her career, Louis has recorded 784 kills which is tied for 14th in program history in the rally scoring era. Louis needs just 73 kills to crack the top 10 list.
• Louis also ranks top 15 in program history in the rally scoring era in solo blocks, assisted blocks and total blocks.

Noles Make Transfer Splash with Taylor Head

• The Seminoles made one of the biggest transfer moves in college volleyball last season as they picked up transfer Taylor Head from Arkansas. Head will have one season with the Seminoles after three seasons with Arkansas.
• Head was one of the best hitters not only in the SEC but the entire country last season as she picked up AVCA Third Team All-America honors after recording 494 kills with a .231 hitting percentage for a Razorback team that qualified for the Elite Eight.
• Head led the way for the Noles on the weekend with 33 kills while also having a team-high 29 digs.
• Head was one of the best all-around players in the country last season as she was third in the entire nation with 22 double-doubles.
• Head ranked in the top 10 in the SEC in total kills, kills per set, total attacks, attacks per set, double-doubles, points and total digs.
• Last season, Head would've led the ACC in total kills, points, double doubles and total attacks. Head also would've ranked in the top five in kills per set, attacks per set and points per set.
• Head spent her spring with the Florida State beach volleyball team where she finished the season with a 8-2 record.

Dupes Ready To Get Back on the Court

• After a knee injury kept her off the court in 2023, libero Emery Dupes is ready to become a force for the Seminoles' defense once again.
• Dupes played in all 10 sets for the Noles on opening weekend and recorded nine digs and had a perfect service reception percentage on 36 attempts.
• Prior to injury, Dupes led the team with 287 digs in 2022 while playing in 94 sets.
• As a freshman, Dupes earned All-ACC honors and became the first freshman libero in FSU history to earn All-ACC honors.
• Broke the school freshman record with 3.88 digs per set and was also just the 12th player in FSU history to record over 400 digs.
• Dupes is currently averaging 3.37 digs per set in her career which ranks seventh all-time in FSU history.
• Dupes has also been terrific behind the service line recording 44 aces in two seasons. In 2021, Dupes recorded six service aces in a single match which is tied for the third-most ever by a Seminole in a single match.

Perry Shines on Opening Weekend

• After redshirting at Iowa State last season, Perry shined on opening weekend for the Noles.
• Perry totaled 14 total blocks on opening weekend including 1.40 blocks per set.
• Perry had seven total blocks against No. 25 Georgia which was just one block off her career high.
• Also recorded seven kills on 14 attacks without any hitting errors.

Filimaua: A True Swiss Army Knife

• Kyleene Filimaua is a true do-it-all for Florida State volleyball.
• Returning to her main position as an outside hitter after playing libero last season, Filimaua was FSU's kill leader in the season opener against USF with 10 kills while also adding 11 kills against UC Santa Barbara. Filimaua had just one double-digit kill game last season.
• To go along with her 28 kills on opening weekend, Filimaua also had 23 digs, 13 assists, five aces and two blocks for the Noles.

Phelan Shows Off Lethal Serve

• Kenna Phelan showed off her nasty serve this past weekend, and it became a game-changer for FSU.
• In 10 sets, Phelan recorded 10 aces from the service line. Her 10 aces were the eighth-most in the entire country on opening weekend.
• Phelan was also great as a setter in FSU's 6-2 system as she recorded 47 assists.

You Can't Teach Height

• The 2024 squad will be one of Head Coach Chris Poole's tallest teams as the head coach at FSU.
• The Seminoles have eight players at 6-2 or taller. The only year the Seminoles had more players taller than 6-2 was 2019 when the Seminoles had nine players 6-2 or taller.
• FSU also has one of the tallest teams in the entire ACC. No one has more players 6-2 or taller than FSU. Pitt and Virginia also have eight players that are 6-2 or taller.

No Better Teacher Than Experience

• Nothing can ever replace experience, and the Seminoles have a lot of experience on the 2024 squad.
• 10 out of FSU's 16 players have played in 25 or more matches.
• FSU has five players (Dupes, Head, Koenig, Louis, Robertson) who have played in 50 or more matches.
• FSU also added Iane Henke who played 66 matches for Cal State LA, a DII program.

Getting Challenged Early and Often

• The Seminoles will get tested early and often in the 2024 season.
• In 10 non conference games, four of those games will come against teams that made the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
• Nine out of the 10 teams that FSU will play in the non conference had a winning record in 2023.
• The Seminoles ACC schedule is no cupcake either as the Seminoles will play Elite Eight participants Louisville, Pitt and Stanford as well as NCAA Tournament qualifiers Georgia Tech, Miami (2x) and SMU (2x).

FSU sent out a survey yesterday and is working on all aspects of the gameday environment inside Doak Campbell Stadium after the loud music and relative lack of Marching Chiefs usage drew criticism during and after Monday night's home opener.

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Good morning all. I didn’t see anything posted on this yet, so I wanted to give everyone a heads up that if you’re a DIRECTV customer, you may need to seek an alternative to view ESPN/Disney programming due to ongoing contract negotiations.


There are a good number of alternatives out there that offer free trials, such as YouTube TV.

Second Look Sunday on Tuesday. The Osceola staff breakdown FSU's loss to Boston College as we rewatch the game.

And that may mean just me today.

Florida State earned a late night commitment on Wednesday from a target that visited campus on Monday.

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Four-star DT commit Kevin Wynn was one of two commits on campus for the game on Monday (the other being CJ Wiley).

I spoke with him briefly after the game and this is what he had to say.

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