FSU's Smith, Morlock Named to National Watch Lists

-

 TALLAHASSEE – Redshirt senior offensive lineman Maurice Smith was named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List, presented annually to the nation’s top center, while redshirt senior tight end Kyle Morlock earned a spot on the Mackey Award Watch List as one of the country’s best tight ends.

Smith, a preseason All-ACC selection, has started in 41 of his 45 appearances during his career, with 39 of those starts coming at center. The senior from Miami is a two-time All-ACC selection and last year was also on the All-ACC Academic Team. He started all 12 games he played in 2023, helping Florida State to its 16th ACC title behind a 13-0 regular season. 


Smith blocked for an FSU offense that led the conference in scoring offense, total touchdowns, rushing touchdowns, yards per completion, fewest interceptions thrown and fewest turnovers while protecting Jordan Travis, the ACC’s Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year. Travis, who finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting, led the ACC in passing efficiency, yards per attempt and fewest interceptions while also breaking Florida State career records for total offense and touchdown responsibility.

 

Morlock, from Blairsville, Georgia, started 11 games for the Seminoles last season after transferring from Shorter College, where he was a two-time All-American. Morlock caught 19 passes for 255 yards and was FSU’s Offensive Newcomer of the Year. His 63-yard reception at Pitt was the longest of his career and the longest for a Seminole tight end since 2019.

 

Florida State has won the Rimington Trophy once before, when Bryan Stork earned the honor while leading FSU to a national championship in 2013. The following season, in 2014, Florida State earned its first Mackey Award when Nick O’Leary was honored.

 

Smith was previously named to the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List and was FSU’s Good Works Team nominee in recognition of his community service.

 

Florida State, the defending ACC Champions, will open the season August 24 at 12:00 p.m. ET in Dublin, Ireland, for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic against Georgia Tech on ESPN.

 

Preseason Watch Lists

Mackey Award – best tight end - TE Kyle Morlock

Rimington Trophy – best center – OL Maurice Smith

Davey O’Brien Award – best quarterback – QB DJ Uiagalelei

Walter Camp Player of the Year – QB DJ Uiagalelei

Lou Groza Award – best placekicker – K Ryan Fitzgerald

Ray Guy Award – best punter – P Alex Mastromanno

Wuerffel Trophy – community service – OL Maurice Smith

Thorpe Award – best defensive back – DB Shyheim Brown

Nagurski Trophy – best defensive player – DL Joshua Farmer

Outland Trophy – best interior lineman – DL Joshua Farmer & OL Darius Washington

Maxwell Award – best player – QB DJ Uiagalelei

 

Popular posts from this blog

Golf: Remembering Kathy Whitworth, the Game’s Greatest Winner

-
Image
  The golf world and the world in general lost one of its most incredible women with the passing of Kathy Whitworth yesterday. Kathy was a champion in the truest sense of the word, both on the golf course and off. In the short time I spent with Kathy, I was truly blown away by her and her approach to the game and to life. Her strength, insightfulness and vibrancy were obvious from the minute you met her! She inspired me as a young girl and now as the commissioner and I know she did the same for so many others. We all mourn with Bettye, her family and the entire golf world.” – LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan (From the LPGA) By Ron Sirak The dining room at Trophy Club Country Club near Flower Mound, Texas, gazes upon the rolling hills and old oak trees through which two courses meander, one named for the club’s most famous member, Kathy Whitworth, the other the lone design by the icon of Texas golf, Ben Hogan. Inside the dining room the wall opposite the windows appears at first
Read more

ReliaQuest Bowl Goes to LSU Tigers over Wisconsin Badgers, 35-31

-
Image
(Photo by Nancy Beecher/Florida Sports Wire)   TAMPA (Florida Sports Wire) - Garrett Nussmeier showed why LSU is confident he's capable of thriving as Jayden Daniels' successor. The 13th-ranked Tigers (10-3) launched the team's post-Daniels era with a 35-31, come-from-behind victory over Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Monday, with a calm Nussmeier leading a 98-yard drive to produce the winning touchdown in the closing minutes. "You do what you have to do to win the football game. It doesn't matter if you start from the 1, the 2 ... you just stick to the process play-by-play, move the chains, move the chains and put the ball in the end zone," the third-year sophomore said. "That doesn't just speak to me, it speaks to our entire group," Nussmeier added. "You can't do it by yourself. And to go 98 yards with the game on the line, that means a lot to me. To be the leader of the offense, that matters more." Stepping in to make his f
Read more

Orlando City SC to Face Cavalry FC in Round One of 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup

-
ORLANDO – Orlando City SC is set to take on Canadian-side Cavalry FC in Round One of the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. Specific match details, including ticket information, will be announced at a later date.   Orlando City was drawn into position A8 from Pot 1, being placed into Pot 1 by virtue of the Club’s standing in the Concacaf Club Rankings, with Cavalry FC being drawn into position B8 from Pot 2.   The 59th edition of the Concacaf Champions Cup, the region's premier men's club competition, will be played between February and June 2024. The annual tournament, comprised of five direct elimination rounds and the best clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, crowns the Confederation's club champion and is the sole qualification route for the region's clubs to the new and expanded FIFA Club World Cup. The competition's first four rounds (Round One, Round of 16, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals), all include home and away play, while the Final is p
Read more