A homecoming has been announced today, as former Tallahassee resident and South Alabama DB Nehemiah Chandler has committed to transfer to FSU. On3’s Hayes Fawcett first reported the news.
Chandler, a 6-foot-1, 180 pound defensive back, is originally from Jacksonville, Florida but had stints at Godby High School and Wakulla High School as a prep. He committed to Georgia Tech and enrolled early, only to hit the transfer portal after a redshirt year and land with South Alabama for the 2025 season.
Chandler found success in his first year as a contributor, starting 9 of 11 games at boundary cornerback as a redshirt freshman. He notched 32 tackles (22 solo and 2.5 for loss), 13 pass breakups, and two interceptions. He led the Sun Belt conference in pass breakups and was named First Team All-Sun Belt for his efforts.
Chandler has three seasons of eligibility remaining. He should factor in to the defensive back rotation and it will be interesting to see where FSU slots him. He has some decent versatility and should be able to contribute fairly quickly once he learns the schemes. Chandler showed good instincts and physicality but will need to adapt to a higher level of competition.
Chandler’s bio from usajaguars.com:
At Georgia Tech: Saw action in one game during his freshman season … used the season as a redshirt year.
High School: Rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN … First-team all-district honoree … Versatile athlete played cornerback, wide receiver and quarterback over the course of his prep career … Four-year letterwinner earned one letter apiece at four different high schools … Began high school at Westside H.S. in Jacksonville, Fla. as a freshman (2020), then moving to the Tallahassee area, where he attended Godby H.S. as a (2021) and Munroe H.S. (2022) as a junior before returning to Jacksonville to attend Wakulla H.S. as a senior (2023) … Helped lead Wakulla to an undefeated regular season and berth in the Florida 2S state playoffs as a senior in ‘23 … Coached at Wakulla by Barry Klees … Also played basketball … Honor roll student.
