Clark column: Florida State greats all over the field in NFL Playoffs
When it comes to Florida State players enjoying success in the NFL postseason, I’m not sure I ever remember a weekend quite like this last one.
There may have been another college football program more represented in the divisional round, but it’s hard to imagine how.
Seminoles were absolutely everywhere.
In the Philadelphia-Atlanta game, Devonta Freeman scored the lone touchdown for the Falcons (if you guys thought you were mad at Charles Kelly these last few years, go ask an Atlanta fan about having Steve Sarkisian as offensive coordinator -- good heavens!).
It didn’t help Sark and the boys that half the Eagles’ defense is former Florida State players. Timmy Jernigan, Nigel Bradham, Patrick Robinson and Ronald Darby are all big-time contributors for a team that is one win away from the Super Bowl.
Bradham has become a terrific NFL linebacker, and Darby was really good, I thought, in the game on Saturday.
Then you had Telvin Smith (16 tackles, 14 solo, one TD) making plays all over the field in Pittsburgh, while Jalen Ramsey is now being talked about as the best cornerback in the NFL. And not just by Ramsey himself -- who since leaving Tallahassee has become like a modern-day Reggie Jackson. He might be the best soundbite in the league.
And I would love, love, love to see him talk a little trash to Tom Brady on Sunday afternoon. Because Brady will give it right back, and then things could get mighty interesting.
Anyway, Ramsey probably is the best cornerback in the league right now. And if it’s not him, then it might just be Xavier Rhodes, who gave up a touchdown on Sunday but also came up with three straight pass deflections on the Saints’ final drive. On fourth down, Drew Brees was smart and went to the other side of the field to keep his season alive.
A season that was, of course, eventually killed by the worst missed tackle in postseason history. If you haven’t gone to YouTube yet to watch fan reactions to that play, you need to do so immediately.
I’ll help you out. This one is my favorite Vikings reaction. And this one is my favorite Saints reaction (just go to the 25-second mark and watch the woman crumble to the ground and scream ... it's blood-curdling!).
But this column isn’t about Saints agony or Minnesota miracles.
It’s about Florida State football. And how, on one weekend, we all got to relive the very best of Jimbo Fisher.
I know he’s the villain now. I know the way he left was ridiculous and frustrating and insulting. And I’m not here to tell you that anything should be forgiven or forgotten.
But when you watched those games on Saturday and Sunday, you were reminded -- at least for a few hours -- what kind of talent he infused into this program.
Devonta Freeman was a 0-star when Fisher and Eddie Gran offered him. He wasn't even a starter in high school yet.
Rhodes was a three-star receiver.
Telvin Smith was an undersized linebacker who Fisher had to convince, three times, to spurn Georgia and come to Florida State.
Darby, Jernigan and Ramsey were all big-time prospects who believed in Fisher’s vision.
* ALSO SEE: State of the Program -- Defensive backs | Linebackers | Defensive ends
What this weekend did for me was restate, in emphatic fashion, just how talented Florida State’s roster was from 2012 to 2014.
One friend texted that, in hindsight, it’s remarkable FSU only won ONE national title with all that talent. I’m not sure if I’d go that far. It’s hard to win one period. But think about the fact that all five of FSU’s starting defensive backs from that 2013 team are still in the NFL. Four made the playoffs. And one, Ramsey, is on his way to the Hall of Fame if he stays healthy.
In the AFC game on Sunday, the best linebacker on the field was Telvin Smith. And the dude he split time with in 2011 and 2012 at FSU (Vince Williams) was starting for the Steelers.
I just don’t remember another NFL weekend quite like this one -- where so many FSU stars were shining on such a big stage at the same time.
And it also makes you wonder what in the world happened after those guys left? Why a program that produced an all-time great team and a 29-game winning streak was sitting at 3-6 in November of this past year?
Well, obviously, that’s on Fisher, too.
He let the program slip. He let it slide right back to 2009. The 35-3 happened on his watch. We can’t ever forget that.
But man, did he get it humming for a few years there.
We’ve written a lot about what went wrong during the final days of Jimbo Fisher. And I’m sure we might write more in the coming weeks, months and years.
But for now, I just wanted to concentrate on the positive (see, I can be positive!). And appreciate this past NFL weekend for what it was -- a remarkable testament to the star power Florida State has produced at the next level.
Obviously, Jimbo Fisher played a major role in that.
Now it’s Willie Taggart’s turn.
Contact Warchant senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com and follow @Corey_Clark on Twitter.
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Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council