After playing in just one game so far this season, Hamsah Nasirildeen says he was extremely excited when he got an offer to play in the Senior Bowl. And he accepted it because of the prestige of the game.

But the Florida State safety, who missed FSU's first seven games while recovering from knee surgery, said on Wednesday he didn't mean to imply that he was definitely, 100 percent declaring for the NFL Draft.

"I didn't know when I took (the offer) people were going to assume I was leaving," Nasirildeen said Wednesday. "I just accepted the offer. It was prestigious. So, I didn't want to just shrug it off and not say nothing about it and thank them."

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One of the people who might have assumed he was leaving was his head coach.

Mike Norvell was asked about Nasirildeen's future after Tuesday's practice.

"We've had conversations throughout (the season)," Norvell said. "I was excited that he was extended the opportunity (for the Senior Bowl). ... I have all the respect in the world for Hamsah.

"I'm glad that he did accept that (invitation), but he's excited about these next couple of games in front of us."

Nasirildeen said he'll make a final decision after the season about whether he'll be returning to Tallahassee for another year.

The hard-hitting safety, who led FSU in tackles each of the past two seasons, finally returned to action in the Seminoles' most recent game against North Carolina State. He started against the Wolfpack but played less than 30 snaps.

Then the Seminoles had three straight games postponed/canceled in the month of November. So, for a brief time, Nasirildeen wasn't sure if his senior season would ever start back up or whether he had played his final game in an FSU uniform.

Now, he's set to play two more, starting on Saturday vs. Duke.

"To get it back is a great feeling, just knowing that you've got the opportunity to play one more time in a home game," Nasirildeen said. "So, have fun."

The preseason first-team All-ACC selection said it did cross his mind after the initial Duke game was postponed that his season and perhaps college career were over. But he continued to show up and work at practice, he said, making sure to try to get better every day.

And he's now as healthy as he's been since he took the field down in Gainesville in November 2019.

"I feel like I should definitely be able to play a full game," he said. "Just because that first game back I was still working back into practice and getting my reps up. With this time in between, it's definitely been able to get me back in more football (shape)."

No matter how the season turns out, Nasirildeen said he'll wait until after it's over before he decides if he's going to officially take the Senior Bowl up on that invitation to start his professional career.

"I didn't think about it yet really," he said. "Just trying to focus on these two games."

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