FSU football: Draft eligible guys playing in bowl game speaks to culture

FSU football has the potential to win 10 games for the first time since 2016 if they can win their bowl game later this month.

The Noles still await which bowl and opponent they’ll take on, but no matter what, their success in that game will largely depend on which players suit up.

FSU has several players draft-eligible players who could opt out of the bowl game to prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft.

However, two verbalized they planned to play in the bowl game. Defensive end Jared Verse and safety Jammie Robinson are two major pieces of the FSU defense. Robinson will be gone after the bowl game, but Verse is still acquiring information before deciding whether to return in 2023.

A few others that will exhaust eligibility after this year practiced Wednesday also. I think that speaks to the culture Mike Norvell is building within the program.

The players in the program love to play the game, and that’s something Jammie Robinson spoke about after practice Wednesday.

I thought what Robinson said was smart on his part too. NFL teams want guys that love to play the game and think about football 24/7, so that should help him throughout the draft process.

However, it also goes back to this team and the players wanting to play with and for one another. That wasn’t the case a few years ago, and the Sam McCall situation earlier this week sheds more light on the team culture improvement.

I’m not saying it’s smart for someone like Jared Verse to play in the bowl game if he decides to go pro, but it could be forshadowing towards where he’s leaning decision-wise.

Either way, these impact players are helping to set precedence moving forward for players to be there for one another, and that’s what you want as a coach.