Where are they now Stanford Samuels and Son

The list of second generation Seminoles who have made their way through the football program continues to grow. Currently, two players - Christian Jones and Dan Hicks - have fathers who suited up for the Garnet and Gold. If you count Derrick Mitchell's father, who played for the FSU basketball team, that number climbs to three.

The most notable FSU son over the past few years was recent first-round selection Christian Ponder, who followed in his father's (David) footsteps on the FSU gridiron.

It's still a few years away but another legacy Seminole could be on his way to Tallahassee to play for Jimbo Fisher.

Just eight years ago, Stanford Samuels Jr. and son Stanford Samuels III were fixtures on the Florida State practice field. A common occurrence before the daily summer workouts was seeing the younger Stanford riding on the shoulders of his father or on the shoulders of another player.

Now that he's 12 years old, the young athlete is a little too big to ride on anybody's shoulders. And he's big enough to show early signs that he could be a highly regarded recruit in a few years.

"He definitely has the skill set to play defensive back," said his father. "He has great hands so he may actually be a receiver and has a cannon arm too so you never know."

The young Samuels took part and excelled in Future Stars Florida-Georgia All-Star Game last month. His proud father likes what he sees from his son on the football field and is focused on making sure he does things right on and off the field.

"It's refreshing to sit back and watch him go because he plays the game with a different type of passion than the other kids on the field," he said. "That originated somewhere on the Florida State practice field.

"We are focused on making sure that he's a complete athlete and a student athlete. As far as the process, he'll be prepared for it."

In addition to his duties as a father, the former Seminole defensive back is adjusting to a new life after retiring from the game last year. Samuels, who played for FSU and Bobby Bowden from 2001-03, signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2004 but made his mark in the Canadian Football League playing for the Edmonton Eskimos, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Montreal Alouettes. These days he's back in his hometown of Miami doing what he can to make things better for his community.

"Myself and my partner Trevor Gaylor, a former NFL and CFL player, we run youth camps down in South Florida," said Samuels. "We also have a foundation that we are starting, a non-profit organization where we mentor and do life initiative things with less fortunate kids and inner-city kids down there. We also offer training services and sometimes they run together. Football is a great platform to mentor these kids."

Even though his son, the South Florida youth camps and the foundation are keeping him busy, the former Seminole cornerback has his eyes on another ambition - coaching. He got a taste of what it would be like to coach a few weeks ago working with FSU defensive coordinator Mark Stoops at the Jimbo Fisher Football Camp.

"I'm dabbling," said Samuels of his interest in coaching. "I think my mission is taking me somewhere that is much more fulfilling but definitely coaching (is in the future). This is my drug out here - the smell of the fresh cut grass, the dew in the air and the sun, that definitely still does something to me."

In addition to his engaging personality and several years of playing pro ball, suiting up for Mickey Andrews, one the best ever defensive coaches in college, should help his coaching resume.

When he returned to FSU last month to help with the Fisher Camp, Samuels admits that not seeing Andrews on the field chewing sunflower seeds and yelling threw him for a loop. Nevertheless, he has a lot of confidence that Stoops is the right man for the job of overseeing FSU's defense.

"It's a lot (different) not hearing his voice out here. It's definitely odd. But coach Stoops brings a refreshing approach and he looks like a young Mickey," he said. "We'll see where his path goes. Mickey had a great run here. A lot of us are a product of that and I think we did him well when we moved on."

For now, Samuels is just happy that he was able to spend some time on his old stomping grounds.

"It's definitely déjà vu," said Samuels. "It's a good feeling to be back on campus because this is where it all started. I love what the coaches are doing here. It's a new feeling but there's something similar about it."

Gene Williams is the founder and administrator of Warchant.com and writes stories and features covering all of FSU's sports with an emphasis on football and football recruiting. For seven years, Williams hosted a weekly sports radio show in

Tallahassee. During football season, he appears as a weekly guest on 1010 XL Sports Radio in Jacksonville and 1270 The Team in Tallahassee, and hosts a weekly TV show on WCTV2. Williams is also a former ACC correspondent for College Football News (weekly national newspaper). Story about

Gene Williams & Warchant.com.