Florida State football moved from obscurity into a national power. Here are the 15 greatest Seminoles from the modern era.
I’m not going to argue that Lee Corso, Burt Reynolds, and Fred Biletnikoff aren’t legendary football players and personalities in the world of college football. However, the focus here will be on the modern era of college football.
The modern era started when bowl games became determining factors for national championships, which was set in stone around 1974. Bobby Bowden took over the program in 1976. The Seminoles have won three national championships, been the home of three Heisman Trophy winners, and a number one overall NFL draft selection.
Narrowing down the 15 best out of Tallahassee, Fla., wasn’t an easy process. The Seminoles have had some all-time college football greats and personalities.
Bowden missed out on national titles because of a field goal on a number of occasions and he won 304 games as the head football coach of the Seminoles. His programs were led by Mickey Andrews’ defense and strong quarterback play over his career that spanned thirty-three years in garnet and gold.
The Jimbo Fisher era saw his program win 83 games including the final BCS National Championship in 2013, and the ‘Noles make the College Football Playoff in 2014.
Here are the 15 greatest Florida State Seminoles of the modern era.
15. Sam Cowart III
Sam Cowart played his high school football at Mandarin High School in Jacksonville, FL where he was an honorable mention member of the USA Today All-American team in 1992. He signed for the 1993 season and was a reserve linebacker on the 1993 National Championship team logging 31 tackles and a sack as a true freshman.
Cowart led the ‘Noles in tackles two of four seasons in garnet and gold. He finished his senior season with 116 tackles after a knee injury and a number change to No. 1. He also made six All-America lists after the 1997 season.
It’s a wonder how FSU didn’t win a national title in 1997 with all of the defensive talent we’ll cover in this article. Before leaving Tallahassee, Cowart also won the ACC’s Brian Piccolo Award for the conference’s most courageous player.
The Buffalo Bills drafted Cowart in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft. Cowart played in the NFL through the 2006 season, playing for the Bills for four seasons before moving on to the Jets and Vikings to end his career. Over his extensive NFL career, Cowart was an All Pro in 2000 and logged 715 career tackles and 12.5 sacks.
14. Reinard Wilson
Reinard Wilson was one of those players that was before his time in regards to being a hybrid rush end that wasn’t as common in the late 90s and early 2000s NFL. Had Wilson come around 10 years later, he might have had an NFL Hall of Fame career.
Wilson, who played his high school days at Lake City’s Columbia High School, was signed as a part of the elite 1993 recruiting class at FSU. Wilson played sparingly in 1993 on the national title team but did record two sacks his freshman season at defensive tackle. In 1994, Wilson logged 40 tackles and 11 sacks as a sophomore once he moved to defensive end.
Wilson stayed at defensive end for his final three seasons at FSU where he set the school career sack record with 35.5 over the four years. Over the two-year stint where Wilson shared time on the defensive line with Peter Boulware and Andre Wadsworth where they combined to log 55 sacks combined. While at FSU Wilson had a shot at the national title in his final year in Tallahassee but the ‘Noles lost a Sugar Bowl rematch to the Florida Gators.
The former Seminole star was drafted in the first round by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 14th overall pick. Wilson stayed with the Bengals from 1997-2002 and played a year with the Bucs in 2003. Over his career, Wilson logged 24 career sacks in 93 NFL games. Wilson is now in the FSU Hall of Fame.
13. Sebastian Janikowski
Sebastian Janikowski is a kicker and yes a kicker made the top 15 Seminoles of all-time list. Janikowski is another two-sport star in high school playing both soccer and football at Daytona Seabreeze High School. Janikowski fit the brash and wild Bobby Bowden FSU that wouldn’t go over well in today’s Tallahassee.
The son of a Polish professional soccer player, Janikowski came to Florida State behind Bill Gramatica as a freshman and quickly took over the main kicking duties halfway through his freshman season.
By his sophomore season Janikowski was putting together back-to-back Groza Award seasons for the nation’s best kicker. Janikowski finished his final two seasons making 50 field goals and only missing on three attempts while making 89-of-90 extra points.
The Seminoles won 34 games over Janikowski’s three year career at FSU and culminated in FSU winning the 1999 National Championship. Janikowski was drafted in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Raiders with the 17th overall selection.
Janikowski remained a Raider from 2000-2017 and is now a member of the Seattle Seahawks. He has made 80.4 percent of his professional field goals with 404 touchbacks and made the Pro Bowl in 2011. Sebastian Janikowski is now a member of the FSU Hall of Fame as of 2013.
12. Jameis Winston
Jameis Winston’s three years in Tallahassee were tainted with off-field issues but Jameis deserves a spot on the list. Winston was the MVP of the Elite 11 quarterback camp and the nation’s top rated quarterback per ESPN in 2012.
After redshirting behind EJ Manuel, Winston came into his own in the 2013 season. Few players have or will ever throw for over 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns during their freshman season. Winston’s 2013 campaign saw him throw for an eye-popping 11.5 yards per passing attempt as the Seminoles ran rough shot over college football. Jimbo’s lone national title in Tallahassee came at the end of the 2013 season which was the final year of the BCS.
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In 2014, Winston threw for 3,900 yards and 25 touchdowns but his interceptions climbed from 10 to 18 and his yards per attempt dropped to a more human 7.7 average. Winston finished his time as the starting quarterback of the Seminoles with a 26-1 record losing only in the semifinal to Oregon in the first ever College Football Playoff.
Winston is another two-sport star at FSU, having played baseball for the ‘Noles hitting only .209 but his ERA was a 1.94 over 41 appearances. Along with the 2013 national title, Winston also won the Heisman Trophy in the 2013 season.
The gunslinger was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was the NFL Rookie of the Year in 2015 and made the Pro Bowl as a rookie quarterback. Winston has had his professional ups and downs and his off-field problems have persisted but eventually he will be an FSU Hall of Famer.
11. Terrell Buckley
Terrell Buckley was another three-sport star in high school that made the All-Time Seminoles team. He was a standout at baseball, football and track in high school and actually played both football and baseball professionally. He was a replacement of sorts for Deion Sanders. When Sanders departed for the NFL, Buckley came in and was the new trash-talking cornerback on the block.
Buckley, who lettered at FSU from 1989-91, has the school record for interceptions (21) and interception return yards (501). He won the Jim Thorpe Award in 1991 for the nation’s best defensive back and was an All-American in 1991 as well. He only hit .154 in his time with the baseball team and had a much larger impact on Bobby Bowden’s football program.
The Seminoles won 31 games over three years with Buckley locking down opposing wide receivers. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers with the fifth overall pick in the 1992 NFL Draft and stuck around in the NFL from 1992-2005. Buckley recorded 534 tackles and 50 interceptions and was a member of the New England Patriots Super Bowl XXXVI-winning team. Buckley is the only player in NFL history to log 50 career interceptions but never make a Pro Bowl roster.
The boisterous Buckley then got into the coaching side of the business. He coached at FSU in different capacities from 2007-11, before moving on to Akron, Louisville and now Mississippi State. Buckley is a member of the FSU Hall of Fame.
10. LeRoy Butler
LeRoy Butler has one of the more heroic stories of former Seminoles on the list. Born pigeon-toed, Butler’s doctors were unsure that he would be able to walk as an adult. After being confined to a wheelchair and leg braces, eventually Butler overcame all odds and had a Super Bowl-winning career in the NFL.
A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Butler was a standout for Corky Rogers at Lee High School. He was signed to the Seminoles in 1986 and became a starter by 1987. From 1987-88, he played safety alongside Deion Sanders making up one of the ‘Noles’ greatest defensive backfields in school history.
As a junior in 1988, Butler compiled 100 tackles from his free safety position in Mickey Andrews’ defense. After Sanders departure for the NFL, Butler was moved to cornerback and continued his prolific career in garnet and gold. In 1989, Butler logged 94 tackles, a sack, and seven interceptions as a senior. Butler was named a consensus NCAA All-American for his senior season and was drafted in the second round by the Green Bay Packers.
As a Packer, Butler won Super Bowl XXXI over the Patriots and was a four time All Pro and was named to the NFL’s 1990’s All-Decade Team and the Packers Hall of Fame. He finished his career as the first to achieve 20 career sacks and 20 career interceptions. Forever in Green Bay lore, he’s credited with creating the famous Lambeau Leap where players dive into the stands after a touchdown.
9. Peter Boulware
Peter Boulware came to Florida State as one of the nation’s highest-regarded prospects for the 1993 recruiting cycle. His senior season of high school saw him record 132 tackles and 14 sacks which drew the attention of FSU defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews.
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During the 1993 national championship season, Boulware was redshirted and didn’t even start until the 1996 season. But from 1994-1995 he still recorded 15 sacks in a reserve role.
The 1996 season was Boulware’s stand out All-American season as he recorded 68 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 19 sacks in his junior season. He was a consensus All-American and broke Ron Simmons‘ record for a single-season which was 12 sacks. The Baltimore Ravens selected him with the fourth overall pick of the 1997 NFL Draft. During Boulware’s four seasons in Tallahassee the Noles won forty-three games.
While Boulware was a defensive end in college he was labeled a linebacker in the NFL for the Ravens. He played next to Ray Lewis on the Super Bowl XXXV championship Ravens squad. Boulware played all nine of his seasons in the NFL with Baltimore, finishing his career with 403 tackles and 70 sacks. He now resides in the Baltimore Ravens Ring of Honor and was a four time Pro Bowl participant.
8. Marvin Jones
Marvin Jones became a force for the Florida State Seminoles but is actually a native of Miami, Fla. He played his high school football at Miami Northwestern in the Liberty City area and stepped foot on campus in Tallahassee and had an immediate impact on the ‘Noles defense.
As a true freshman in 1990, he logged 133 tackles as the middle linebacker in Mickey Andrews’ defense. For the 1991 and 1992 seasons, Jones made the consensus All-American teams due to totaling 236 tackles with 19 tackles for loss over the two year span. His career record at FSU was 32-5, just missing out on the 1993 National Championship season by leaving after his junior season.
Jones, now a member of the FSU Hall of Fame, was the fourth overall selection in the 1993 NFL Draft. The New York Jets drafted the gifted linebacker who played in New York from 1993-2003. Although he didn’t have the same career in the NFL as he did in college, Jones was first team All-Pro in 2000. He came up with over 1,000 career tackles and nine sacks over his career.
As a coach, Jones has been named the Cedar Rapids Titans head football coach for the 2018 season.
7. Peter Warrick
A prep star from high school football powerhouse Bradenton Southeast in Florida, Peter Warrick was a three-sport star in basketball, football and track. In Warrick’s prep career he won Florida Basketball Player of the Year, led the football program to consecutive state championships, and won the state title in the long jump his senior year. He came to Tallahassee as a prized recruit of the 1995 recruiting class being ranked the No. 1 overall wide receiver in the country.
After redshirting in 1995 Warrick went on to be a major playmaker for the ‘Noles for four seasons. Warrick totaled over 3,500 receiving yards and 36 touchdowns from scrimmage with another two touchdowns in the punt return game. In the 2000 Sugar Bowl, Warrick was named the MVP as Florida State won their second national championships. He brought in 160 receiving yards and scored three touchdowns including a 59-yard punt return.
Warrick’s NFL career wasn’t spectacular after being the fourth overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. He played five seasons for the Bengals who drafted him and a season with the Seahawks before heading to the CFL. Warrick totaled 2,991 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns over six seasons in the NFL.
6. Warrick Dunn
At only 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds the New Orleans-native wasn’t going to stand out as an NFL veteran in crowds. However, Warrick Dunn never stopped proving people wrong during his time at Florida State or in the NFL.
Dunn’s mother was killed while working an off-duty job as a police officer and he became the man of the house around 18 years of age. While his No. 28 jersey can still be worn at FSU, it has been retired. He made an immediate impact on the 1993 National Championship team averaging 7.5 yards per carry and scoring 10 touchdowns from scrimmage as a freshman.
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The three-time All-ACC player then ran for over 1,000 yards for three consecutive seasons scoring 49 career touchdowns from scrimmage.
Dunn finished his time in Tallahassee logging 43 career wins before being drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 12th overall pick of the 1997 NFL Draft and he was an immediate success winning the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1997 and compiling three Pro Bowl appearances.
The star running back won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2004. Over his NFL career, Dunn rushed for over 10,000 yards scoring 49 rushing touchdowns. He is in the Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor and established a Home for the Holidays program in 1997.
It felt like he just couldn’t be tackled when he was the running back for the Seminoles. He seemed to single-handedly dominate the rival Miami Hurricanes in every encounter.
5. Derrick Brooks
Before Derrick Brooks made the Pro Bowl for 11 years in his NFL career, before he won Super Bowl XXXVII as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and before the same Bucs retired his No. 55 jersey, he was a student-athlete at Florida State University.
Brooks is one of FSU’s most decorated NFL players and his career as a Seminole wasn’t much different. He was a ‘Nole from 1991-94 and finished his college career with a record of 44-5-1 under legendary coach Bobby Bowden.
The defensive star signed with the 1991 recruiting class as a defensive back but moved to weakside linebacker for the 1992 season. Over his career, Brooks became a three-time All-ACC player and was a pivotal part of the 1993 National Championship team.
At Florida State, Brooks never put up eye-popping stats because teams ran away from him and he was utilized so much in the pass coverage schemes that Mickey Andrews liked to use at the time.
Over a 14-year NFL career Brooks logged 1,715 career tackles and 13.5 sacks with 25 interceptions. The Buccaneers defensive success and Florida State’s for that matter was in the hands of the undersized linebacker from Pensacola, Fla. By 2000, Brooks was inducted into the FSU Hall of Fame and was a first ballot NFL Hall of Fame inductee.
4. Chris Weinke
Chris Weinke enrolled at Florida State University at 26 years old to play college football in 1997. Weinke, who played baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system out of high school, was a man amongst boys during his time in Tallahassee.
As the elder statesman of the program, Weinke was a three-year starter from 1998-2000 after sparse playing time in the 1997 season behind Thad Busby. He took over the starting role in 1998 and never looked back. The ‘Noles were 9-1 and held a No. 2 ranking before Weinke was knocked out with a season ending neck injury.
During the 1999 season, Weinke threw for over 3,000 yards and 25 touchdowns to lead the Seminoles to their second-ever national title.
Weinke opted to return to FSU for his senior season and at 28 years of age became the oldest Heisman Trophy winner.
In 2001, Weinke had his jersey retired at Florida State after finishing his career with a 32-3 record as a starter. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft but only threw 15 career touchdowns over his NFL lifespan. He finished his FSU career averaging 8.9 yards per passing attempt and tossing 79 touchdown passes.
In 2016, the former gunslinger served as an offensive analyst at Alabama under Nick Saban and for the 2018 season he will be coaching running backs under Jeremy Pruitt at Tennessee. As a three-sport star in high school playing baseball, football and hockey, Weinke has found his lifetime love in football.
3. Ron Simmons
Ron Simmons was a legend on the gridiron and inside the squared circle of pro wrestling. He hails from prep football mecca in Warner Robbins High School in Georgia. The future WCW Champion was the nose tackle that helped put Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles on the map from 1977-80. His Seminoles teams won 39 games over four seasons hitting the peak in 1980 with a fifth overall ranking and a consecutive Orange Bowl appearance.
Simmons held Florida State’s single-season and career sacks records until 1996 and made the College Football Hall of Fame, had his No. 50 jersey retired at FSU and finished ninth in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1979.
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After college, Simmons had a brief stint in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns from 1981-82 before heading north to play in the Canadian Football League. After Canada, he played for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL from 1983-85 where he played for for legendary football coach Steve Spurrier and alongside future pro wrestler Lex Luger aka Larry Pfohl.
Moreover, he later wrestled under his given name and as Faarooq in the WWF/E, is a WWE Hall of Famer. In 1992, Simmons defeated Vader for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship becoming the first African American WCW World Heavyweight Champion.
2. Deion Sanders
Before Charlie Ward moonlighted on the basketball team, Deion Sanders was a three-sport star for Florida State in baseball, football and track. He played cornerback and returner for the football team from 1985-88, while playing baseball for the Noles from 1986-87.
Prime Time, as he became known, intercepted 14 passes in his college career, returning three for touchdowns, while also returning three punts for touchdowns. For the baseball team, Sanders batted .281, hit four home runs, drove in 28 RBIs, and stole 38 bases over his two-year career.
Deion was drafted by the Kansas City Royals and then again by the New York Yankees. He made his MLB debut in 1989 with the Yankees and later that season with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League and was the first (and as of press time, only) man to play in the Super Bowl and the World Series. He won two Super Bowls from 1994-95 and lost the 1992 World Series.
With his million-dollar smile and style, Deion became known as Prime Time and whenever he was in a big situation he seemed to step up huge. He returned his second career punt return for a touchdown and hit .533 in the 1992 World Series. He also had an interception in Super Bowl XXIX, and a 47-yard touchdown reception in Super Bowl XXX.
1. Charlie Ward
Charlie Ward was a two-sport star for the Seminoles from 1989-93 as he donned the garnet and gold for both the football and basketball teams during his tenure in Tallahassee. Ward was coached by legends in Bobby Bowden and Mark Richt and matured from a punter into a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback and national champion in 1993.
In 1989, Ward averaged 37.1 yards per punt before redshirting in 1990. By 1992, he was the full-time starting quarterback and threw for 5,747 career passing yards and 49 touchdowns adding another 10 rushing touchdowns over his career.
Charlie guided the Seminoles to a 23-2 career record, two ACC Championships and back-to-back Orange Bowl game victories. The 1993 season was culminated in the 1994 Orange Bowl and saw Ward throw two touchdowns against the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ blackshirts defense. He averaged 8.9 yards per passing attempt his senior season.
In 1993-94, Ward also averaged 10.9 points per game and 4.8 assists per game for the basketball program.
The two-sport star went undrafted in the 1994 NFL Draft but was a first-round pick (26th overall) that year in the NBA draft playing nine and a half seasons with the New York Knicks. As a point guard, Ward finished his NBA career with modest statistics over his 11-year basketball career.
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While Ron Simmons got the ‘Noles on the map, Ward put Florida State and Bobby Bowden into the upper echelon of powerhouse programs.