Breaking: Florida State four-star recruit officially in the transfer portal
The offseason churn continues.
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The Florida State Seminoles football offseason roster overhaul continued this evening with news that wide receiver Darren “Goldie” Lawrence had entered the transfer portal:
Lawrence didn’t accumulate any stats this season, and with Ron Dugans continuing to add talented players to the receiver room, the move makes sense for both parties.
From his FSU bio:
BEFORE FSU:
Rated as four-star recruit, No. 41 wide receiver nationally and No. 77 overall prospect in Florida by ESPN…rated 47th in the country at his position by 247Sports and 60th among nation’s receivers in On3 Consensus…247Sports also ranked him 68th among all prospects in Florida…three-year contributor at Seminole…totaled 92 catches for 1,495 yards with 21 touchdowns and added 139 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground in his prep career…made 27 receptions for 471 yards and seven touchdowns while adding 89 yards and five touchdowns on 11 rushing attempts in eight games played his senior season…helped lead Seminoles to regional semifinal round of 4M state playoffs…played all 13 games his junior year…had 54 catches for 782 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed 18 times for 50 yards and four touchdowns…helped Seminole win 8A state championship his sophomore season, catching 11 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns…also played basketball for Seminole.
Report: Florida State Football Defender Taking Official Visit To ACC Program
Florida State has seen over 15 players enter the NCAA Transfer Portal during the last couple of weeks. While some of the departures weren’t surprising, there have been a few surprising Seminoles to declare their intentions to explore their options elsewhere.
After officially entering the portal in late December, FSU redshirt senior defensive tackle Malcolm Ray stuck with the program and participated in the Orange Bowl defeat against Georgia. With that being said, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be remaining in Tallahassee in 2024.
Ray is still weighing the possibility of staying with the Seminoles or playing out his final season of collegiate eligibility as a graduate transfer. According to PackInsider, he’s currently taking an official visit to North Carolina State that is scheduled to span from January 3-5. The Wolfpack are in dire need of depth along the interior after CJ Clark transferred to Miami last month.
While contributing as a member of Florida State’s defensive line rotation this past, Ray recorded 18 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a pass deflection while appearing in all 14 games. He ended up seeing less playing time with the addition of Braden Fiske and the growth of Joshua Farmer. Ray only played 246 snaps – less than the amount of time he was on the field in each of the last two seasons.
The Florida native has appeared in 42 games, with seven starts, while totaling 59 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one pass deflection, and one fumble recovery during his time in Tallahassee.
With Ray’s future with the program up in, the Seminoles have seven scholarship defensive tackles who could return next season; redshirt senior Dennis Briggs, redshirt junior Joshua Farmer, redshirt junior Darrell Jackson, redshirt sophomore Daniel Lyons, redshirt freshman KJ Sampson, true freshman Jamorie Flagg, and true freshman D’Nas White. Briggs is trying to earn a seventh season of eligibility.
Outside of Ray, the Seminoles have seen quarterback Tate Rodemaker, quarterback AJ Duffy (San Diego State), Rodney Hill, running back CJ Campbell (FAU), tight end Markeston Douglas (Arizona State), tight end Preston Daniel, offensive lineman Bless Harris (TCU), offensive lineman Thomas Schrader, offensive lineman Daughtry Richardson (FAU), offensive lineman Qae’shon Sapp, defensive end Gilber Edmond, defensive tackle Ayobami Tifase (Georgia Tech), linebacker DJ Lundy (Colorado), linebacker Dylan Brown-Turner, and kicker Tyler Keltner (Oklahoma) enter the portal since the window opened in December.
