Florida State coaches landed their first transfer portal acquisition on Saturday afternoon. The Noles needed some help in the defensive secondary and added cornerback Nehemiah Chandler from South Alabama.
It’s a nice acquisition to get things started. Chandler has three years of eligibility remaining if needed, and has an 82 coverage grade from PFF (third among Sunbelt defensive backs).
He enrolled at Georgia Tech out of high school and was recruited by Gus Malzahn while he was at UCF before transferring to South Alabama to carve out a starting role in 2025.
He’s experienced a lot of changes, but appears grateful that all his hard work paid off to get him to a place like Florida State. He commented on the journey via his social media page:
I just want to thank God for everything, took a lot of sacrifices! But I stayed patient and kept my head down! It’s Always light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s Work Nole Family🍢🔒
— John 13:7 (@nehemiah904) January 3, 2026
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/wVM5LAYanL
— John 13:7 (@nehemiah904) January 3, 2026
I don’t know the young man personally, but guys who have that chip on their shoulder and still feel like they have something to prove? Those are the type of guys who have a tendency to play with a dog mentality. He reposted a quote that said, “Chase the opportunity, the money going to come.”
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He has excellent length, which is one reason why he led the Sunbelt Conference in passes defended (13).
It's the production coupled with the three years of eligbility remaining that gets me most excited about him. It'll be a jump up in competition, but he's already gone up against one of the best wide receivers nationally, in Auburn's Cam Coleman.
The FSU secondary got better with the addition of Chandler and the guys FSU retained. Who could be next for the Noles?