DAVIE, Fla -- With his 7-year-old son now busy with youth sports on the weekends, Marvin “Snoop” Minnis doesn’t make it back to Tallahassee for as many Florida State home games as he would like. That’s why the former FSU star was thrilled that the Seminoles were invited to play Michigan in this Friday’s Orange Bowl.
On Monday, Minnis and his son, Marvin, made the 20-minute trip from their home in Miramar to watch FSU practice here at Nova Southeastern University. As soon as they arrived, they were greeted warmly by FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher and several staffers.
“I love Jimbo,” Minnis said. “We couldn’t have had a better person take over after Coach [Bobby] Bowden than Jimbo. He makes us feel at home. He makes us feel welcome. It’s like he was my coach -- we have that bond. That special relationship. When he sees me, he always comes over and gives a hug. It’s all love. He makes all the former players feel welcome.”
Few former players express their passion for Florida State as publicly as Minnis does.
The 2000 Consensus All-American, who went on to be a third-round pick of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, has created a stir on social media in recent years with some good-natured ribbing of rivals Miami and Florida.
In 2015, he poked fun at the Hurricanes by posing several trash cans in a football formation and stating that he was watching UM’s players prepare for their looming game against Florida State. The largest receptacle had an orange necktie draped around it and the accompanying comment: “I didn’t know Al Golden wore a tie in practice too.”
“It’s a lot of fun,” Minnis told Warchant.com while watching FSU’s Monday practice. “It’s all in fun. There’s a lot of guys I’m cool with from UM and Florida. And when they take jabs at my boys, I’ve got to represent my boys. I can’t let nobody make fun of Florida State without me coming back at 'em. It’s all fun and games though.”
Minnis reprised that Miami joke this past season by posting a photo of himself taking trash out to a waiting garbage truck. The back of the can had a big “U” logo on it.
But Minnis said his most popular prank was the one he made about the University of Florida’s stagnant offense in 2015. By placing orange pylons in a rectangle to replicate an end zone in his back yard, Minnis posted that he was sure to keep his son safe from an alligator that was seen in a nearby lake.
“I had got a letter from my homeowners association saying there was an alligator in the lake,” Minnis told Warchant. “I told my son, and he was scared. It just so happened that the week before I had bought pylons to practice football with him in the backyard. So I said, ‘This is going to be a good one. This will be perfect.’ So I made an end zone in the back yard and said, ‘We won’t have a problem with no 'gators coming in.’
“It turned out better than I thought it was gonna be.”
And Minnis isn’t finished with his Internet gags just yet. He said he’s already preparing for next year.
“I’ve actually got a nice one coming up for Miami,” he said. “But I can’t tell you what it is right now. I’ve got to save that one. But I’ll give you a hint -- it’s going to be about the block ... the Block at the Rock.”
As much as he loves watching Florida State, Minnis is more focused these days on raising his two teen-aged daughters and his son.
On Monday, the younger Minnis carried a football with him and wore the same gloves FSU’s wide receivers wear.
“He loves football,” Minnis said. “And he loves Florida State. But he doesn’t go anywhere without his football. We can be watching baseball, and he’ll have his football.
“He loves Dalvin Cook. That’s his favorite player.”
* Also Read: Orange Bowl Insider -- Notes on Dalvin Cook, Ricky Aguayo, more
Minnis made his son’s day on Monday by introducing him to Cook and getting photographs of him with the star running back, Fisher and others.
Fisher said he and the Seminoles' current players love seeing the former stars stop by as much as the alumni enjoy it themselves.
“He’s always been a big fan of ours,” Fisher said of Minnis. “And every time we come down here to Miami, he always shows up and comes to practice. I love having him. Snoop was such a great player. He likes what we’re doing, and I have such great respect for him.”
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