When Earnest Rankins signed with FSU, he found a familiar face ready to step on campus with him.
Rankins has been able to re-connect with his former high school teammate, Devin Carter. The two were teammates when they both attended Cedar Grove High School as freshmen and sophomores. They went their separate ways as juniors, with Rankins heading to Southwest DeKalb and Carter going to Douglas County, but they are back together again and hoping to make an impact in Tallahassee.
Rankins states that him and freshman WR Devin Carter go way back, they did play together in high school at one point, and they never thought they would play together in college.
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"Me and Devin, we go way way back," Rankins said in his first press conference with the local media. "We never thought that we'd end up in the same college or playing on the same team again after our sophomore year. So just getting here and reconnecting with my guy, ...there's just something special about it."
Rankins added that Carter's father, Dexter Carter, was always speaking up about FSU to him and has been a major help to him adjusting to life on campus.Â
Dexter Carter was a standout running back for the Seminoles in the late 1980s and first-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in the 1990 NFL Draft. He returned to Tallahassee in 2007 to become the running backs coach for the Seminoles until the end of the 2009 season.
"He definitely loves Florida State," Rankins added. "He tried to get me to know everything I could before I got here and everything I needed to experience. He told me about the experiences he had and how Florida State made him a better man."
Earnest Rankins is ready to contribute immediately
Rankins was one of the high-profile players that committed to FSU over the summer and despite many overtures from top-level SEC programs, the four-star defensive lineman from Decatur, Georgiia, stayed loyal and signed with the Seminoles in December.
Now on campus, Rankins has been going through the 'Tour of Duty' workouts and gearing up for spring practice with the hopes that he can see the field early in the upcoming season. The freshman said that it's been a full effort from the entire defensive line to push each other through the workouts heading into the spring practice season.