FSU football: Reaction to Derrick McLendon entering transfer portal

FSU football coaches have had to deal with similar situations in the past two springs. Last spring, former starting cornerback Jarvis Brownlee became unhappy and decided to enter the transfer portal after a lengthy holdout from spring practice.

He ultimately chose to transfer to Louisville, where he started and got torched when they played FSU.

Tuesday, FSU defensive end Derrick McLendon decided to take a similar path when he entered his name into the transfer portal after not participating in spring practice over the past week or so.

The two players are different in that McLendon didn’t go crazy on social media about his displeasure with things. He posted some subtle things and deleted them, but Brownlee was vocal about how he felt, which turned FSU football fans against him.

Thoughts

I understand McLendon’s frustration to a degree. He’s been at FSU when it was at its lowest and contributed to seeing the Noles become a 10-win program last year.

However, unfortunately, he’s not in a position to force anyone’s hand. McLendon would have given the FSU defense some quality snaps for depth purposes, but it’s not like he was setting the world on fire statistically.

Transfer Jared Verse in his first year at far less than 100 percent obliterated the production McLendon brought to the table. Redshirt Patrick Payton outperformed McLendon last year, and the transfer from South Carolina, Gilber Edmond, had more production as well. It’s as simple as some guys want to compete for snaps, and some don’t when the competition levels rise.

I have no doubt McLendon will likely find a P5 home where he’ll feel like he’s valued like he should be because the defensive end is a premium position.

The good news is FSU is in a position to lose someone like McLendon, and it is not the end of the world. It also frees up a scholarship spot since FSU is currently over the 85 limit.

I also think it’s good for the program that he went on and decided to enter the program instead of dragging things out or sticking around and allowing his displeasure to potentially influence others negatively.

I appreciate everything Derrick McLendon gave to the program and wish him well.