Recruiting
Florida State: 2026 Recruiting Class
- QUARTERBACK: 4 star Jaden O’Neal (OK)
- WIDE RECEIVER: 3 star Jonah “JP” Winston (AL)
- WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Efrem White (FL)
- WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Brandon Bennett (FL)
- WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Devin Carter (GA)
- WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Jasen Lopez (FL)
- TIGHT END: 4 star Xaiver Tiller (GA)
- OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Da’Ron Parks (FL)
- OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Mike Ionata (FL)
- OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Jakobe Green (FL)
- OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Luke Francis (London, UK)
- DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Earnest Rankins (GA)
- DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Tico Crittendon (GA)
- DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Wihtlley Cadeau (GA)
- LINEBACKER: 4 star Izayia Williams (FL)
- LINEBACKER: 3 star Karon Maycock (FL)
- LINEBACKER: 3 star Noah LaValle (GA)
- DEFENSIVE BACK: 5 star Chauncey Kennon (FL)
- DEFENSIVE BACK: 4 star Darryl Bell III (FL)
- DEFENSIVE BACK: 4 star Tedarius Hughes (FL)
- DEFENSIVE BACK: 4 star Jay Timmons (PA)
- DEFENSIVE BACK: 3 star Sean Johnson (MD)
- ATHLETE: 4 star Darryon Williams (FL)
Football
Florida State currently has the third-best odds (+550) to win the ACC, behind Georgia Tech (+370) and Miami (+155) according to FanDuel — though the Seminoles are +235 to make the playoff. ESPN’s ACC FPI agrees, giving Miami a 51.2% chance at winning the conference, Georgia Tech a 15.5% chance and FSU an 11.2% one though like Vegas, it has a more favorable outlook on Florida State making the playoff (18.2%) than the Yellow Jackets (17.6%).
FSU offensive lineman
Richie Leonard IV was named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team on Tuesday, the ninth player in program history and third under head coach Mike Norvell to earn the recognition:
The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team began in 1992 to recognize the extra efforts made by college football players and student support staff off the field. Leonard is one of 11 FBS players recognized and is now a finalist for the Wuerffel Trophy, college football’s premier award for community service. Fans can vote for Leonard to be the Wuerffel Trophy winner and the Good Works Team captain at ESPN.com/Allstate through Nov. 10.
Leonard, from Cocoa, founded and runs the Richie H. Leonard Football Camp, held in his hometown. The event, started in 2024, is free for anyone interested in attending and has attracted over 600 participants in its first two years. Sponsors from the event helped Leonard present a $5,000 donation to Cocoa High School’s football program.
Leonard was also part of a mission trip, sponsored by FSU’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter, to Argentina in May of this year. The week-long trip was part of a larger goal of teaching local communities about American football and growing the game abroad.
Additionally, Leonard helps sponsor an AAU basketball team, participates in multiple initiatives with children in Tallahassee and Cocoa, and is planning care packages for patients at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. Leonard’s mother, Prishonda, is a breast cancer survivor who received her chemotherapy treatments at Moffitt in 2021.
On the field, Leonard has appeared in six games with the Seminoles since 2024. Leonard has started both of Florida State’s games in 2025 – wins over No. 8 Alabama and East Texas A&M – and has not committed a penalty in his time with FSU.Leonard is the ninth Seminole to make the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, joining Dillan Gibbons in 2022, Camren McDonald in 2021, Mavin Saunders in 2017, Alec Eberle in 2016, Christian Ponder in 2010, Sam Cowart in 1996, Wayne Messam in 1995 and Corey Fuller in 1992. Gibbons was also named the Wuerffel Trophy winner in 2022.
FSU’s nine all-time selections are the most from any school in Florida and are tied for seventh among all schools nationally.
After taking a look at the five unsung heroes on the Florida State roster over the weekend, Jordan Silversmith offered his thoughts on three players on the Florida State roster due for a breakout coming out of a bye:
Soccer
No. 7 Florida State soccer will take on No. 19 North Carolina tonight in a top-25 matchup between the last two national champions:
Florida State is 6-0-1 on the season and 2-0-0 in the ACC after a 4-0 win at Syracuse on Sunday. The Seminoles are 4-0-0 at home and 2-0-1 on the road. FSU has shut out its opponent in six of seven games, and four matches in a row, with multi-goal victories in all six victories. Winners of six consecutive games, North Carolina is 1-0 in the ACC after a 2-1 win at Virginia Tech on September 11.
Both teams will be facing their first ranked opponent of the season on Wednesday night.
Florida State has scored 26 goals with 27 assists on 131 shots and 55 shots on goal. In seven games, the team has allowed one goal on 33 shots, 11 on target, with 10 saves, a 0.15 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.
With five goals in the last four games, sophomore forward Wrianna Hudson leads the team with seven goals, 14 points, 21 shots and 13 shots on goal. Senior defender Heather Gilchrist and junior midfielder Yuna McCormack are second with three goals, while junior forward Jordynn Dudley has a squad-best five assists and is second with nine points. In goal, redshirt sophomore Addie Todd has eight saves in her five appearances for a .889 save percentage and a 0.23 goals-against average.
In the national rankings, FSU is No. 2 in the country in assists per game (3.86), No. 3 in goals per game (3.71), points per game (11.29) and goal differential (+25), No. 4 in goals-against average (0.145) and shutout percentage (.857), No. 11 in save percentage (.909) and No. 18 in shots per game (18.71).
Individually, Hudson ranks No. 4 nationally in goals per game (1.00) and No. 14 in points per game (2.00), Todd is No. 6 in goals-against average (0.231) and No. 22 in save percentage (.889), Dudley is No. 12 in assists per game (0.71) and fifth-year midfielder Marianyela Jiménez is No. 21 in assists per game (0.67).
In the national polls, Florida State is No. 7 for a second consecutive week in the latest United Soccer Coaches top-25, released on September 9. The Seminoles are No. 2 in this week’s Top Drawer Soccer rankings.
Florida State is 14-31-6 all-time against North Carolina, including 5-10-0 at home, 2-10-5 on the road and 7-11-1 at a neutral site. The two teams have met 22 times in the postseason, 20 times at the ACC Championship and twice at the College Cup, including the 2018 championship game where the Seminoles earned a 1-0 win for their second of four NCAA titles. FSU’s 14 victories are the most of any program in the country against UNC. Florida State has 20 combined wins (14) and draws (6) against the Tar Heels, also the most in the country and almost double the only other two teams with double-digit combined wins and draws, Duke (6 wins, 5 draws) and Notre Dame (7 wins, 4 draws), both with 11.
In the all-time series that began in 1995, FSU is 12-7-4 since a 1-0, double-overtime win in the 2011 ACC Championship when the team won its first of 11 conference tournament titles. The two teams have played every year since 1995, with multiple meetings in 19 of the 30 seasons leading into 2025. That includes three matchups in 2018, with a 3-2 win in the ACC Championships before the national championship victory. The other College Cup matchup was in the 2022 semifinals, a 3-2 UNC win.
FSU is unbeaten in four of the last five meetings and has won two in a row, both in 2024, with a 4-2 victory in Tallahassee and 3-2 triumph in the ACC title game.
Florida State sophomore defender Janet Okeke has been named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week:
Okeke helped the Seminoles to a pair of shutout wins last week to begin ACC play. She earns her first career ACC honor and is FSU’s first ACC Player of the Week of the season.
As Florida State’s center-back, Okeke anchored a back line that shut out Louisville, 2-0, on September 11 and Syracuse, 4-0, on September 14. She played all 90 minutes in the victory over UofL and held the Cardinals, the nation’s top-scoring team, to just one shot on goal. Three days later, Okeke and FSU also limited the host-Orange to one shot on goal and four total shots, with just two shots in the 63 minutes she was on the field.
The two victories for Florida State extended the team’s win streak and shutout streak to four consecutive games while halting unbeaten streaks of at least six games for both UofL and SU. FSU’s defense has allowed just one goal in seven games in 2025 with a goals-against average (0.145) and shutout percentage (.857) that both rank No. 4 in the country.
A native of Laval, Canada, Okeke is in her first season as a Seminole. She has played in all seven games with six starts and leads the team with 502 minutes played on the back line. Okeke has two shots, one on goal.
