The 2016 Florida State Seminoles football team represented

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

in the sport of

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

during the

2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 26, 2016 and ended on D ...

. The Seminoles competed in the Atlantic Division of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

and were led by seventh-year head coach

Jimbo Fisher John James "Jimbo" Fisher Jr. (born October 9, 1965) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies. Previously, Fisher was the head coach at Florida State, where his team won the 2014 BCS ...

. Home games were played at Doak Campbell Stadium in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...

. In 2015, the Seminoles won 10 games and appeared in the

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. Since 1997, it has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially ref ...

. Safety

Jalen Ramsey Jalen Lattrel Ramsey (born October 24, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars fifth ov ...

and kicker

Roberto Aguayo Roberto Jose Aguayo (born May 17, 1994) is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida State University, where he was the most accurate kicker in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) history and third ...

went on to be selected in the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

. Prior to the start of the 2016 season,

Dalvin Cook Dalvin James Cook (born August 10, 1995) is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State, where he finished his career as the school's all-time le ...

Derwin James Derwin Alonzo James Jr. (born August 3, 1996) is an American football strong safety for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State. He was drafted by the Chargers in the first r ...

Roderick Johnson Roderick Johnson (born November 28, 1995) is an American football offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State, and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fif ...

and DeMarcus Walker were named pre-season All-Americans. In the pre-season media poll, Florida State was picked to finish second in the ACC Atlantic and Dalvin Cook was picked as runner-up for ACC Player of the Year while Cook, Roderick Johnson,

Travis Rudolph Travis Deonte James Rudolph (born September 15, 1995) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida State, and has previously played for the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins of the Nation ...

, DeMarcus Walker, and Derwin James were named to the pre-season All-ACC team. Florida State finished the regular season with nine wins and was picked to play in the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...

, a fifth straight appearance in a major bowl game, where they defeated

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

to finish with double digit wins for the fifth straight season and secure a top ten finish in the polls. During the season, the Seminoles notched their seventh consecutive win over

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

and their fourth consecutive win over

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

, making this senior class the first to go unbeaten against their rivals. Defensive end DeMarcus Walker and running back Dalvin Cook were named consensus All-Americans. The season was documented on Showtime's ''A Season with Florida State Football''.

Before the season

Returning

;Offense *

Sean Maguire Sean Maguire (born 18 April 1976 in Ilford, London) is a British-American actor and singer, who rose to fame in 1988 when at the age of eleven he took on the role of "Tegs" Ratcliffe on the BBC children's drama ''Grange Hill'', in which he r ...

Freddie Stevenson Freddie Stevenson (born 9 March 1980 in Hereford, England) is a Scottish singer-songwriter from Edinburgh. Biography Early life Stevenson is the eldest of three children born to Scottish artist and potter Charles Stevenson and children' ...

* Jesus Wilson *

Kermit Whitfield Levonte "Kermit" Whitfield (born October 8, 1993) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist who is a free agent. He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles. College career As a freshman in 2013, he led all ...

* Ermon Lane * Ryan Izzo *

* Kareem Are * Alec Eberle * Wilson Bell * Brock Ruble * Chad Mavety * Ryan Hoefeld ;Defense * DeMarcus Walker * Derrick Nnadi *

Josh Sweat Josh Sweat (born March 29, 1997) is an American football defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State. High school career A native of Chesapeake, Virginia, Sweat ...

Trey Marshall Trey Marshall (born February 13, 1996) is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Florida State. Early life and high school Marshall was born and raised in Lake City, Florida and attend Columbia H ...

* Ro'Derrick Hoskins *

Marquez White Marquez White (born October 29, 1994) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the Orlando Apollos in the Alliance of American Football and XFL in the St. L ...

* Jacob Pugh * Nate Andrews * Matthew Thomas

Departures

;Offense *

Everett Golson Everett Demone Golson (born January 2, 1993) is a former American football quarterback. He previously played quarterback for Notre Dame from 2011 to the spring of 2015. Golson chose to transfer to Florida State after graduating from Notre Dame ...

* Mario Pender ;Defense * Nile Lawrence-Stample * Reggie Northrup * Terrance Smith * Lamarcus Brutus * Javien Elliott * Tyler Hunter * Tyrell Lyons * Giorgio Newberry *

* Chris Casher * Lorenzo Featherston (Medical DQ) ;Special teams *

* Cason Beatty

Recruiting class

;Spring game

After the season

NFL draft

The following players were selected in the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

Coaching staff

Media

Florida State football is broadcast on the Florida State University Seminoles Radio Network and the games are called by

Gene Deckerhoff Emerson Eugene Deckerhoff, Jr. (born May 2, 1945) is the radio play-by-play announcer of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a post he has held since 1989. He also served as the longtime voice of the Florida State Seminoles, calling games for the ...

. In Tallahassee, games can be heard on

WWOF WWOF (103.1 FM) is a radio station in the Tallahassee, Florida, owned by Adams Radio Group. The station airs a country music format]. The WWOF-FM studios are located at 2222 Old St. Augustine Rd. in Tallahassee, and the transmitter is located ...

Rankings

Schedule

Ole Miss

Charleston Southern

Louisville

South Florida

North Carolina

Miami (FL)

Wake Forest

Clemson

NC State

Boston College

Syracuse

Florida

Orange Bowl: Michigan

Awards

* Bronko Nagurski Award finalist ::

Tarvarus McFadden Tarvarus McFadden (born January 28, 1997) is a gridiron football cornerback for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Florida State, and was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafte ...

* Doak Walker Award finalist ::

Ted Hendricks Award The Ted Hendricks Award is given annually to college football's top defensive end. The award is named after Ted Hendricks, a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame, and is presented by his own foundation. I ...

finalist :: DeMarcus Walker * Maxwell Award semifinalist ::Dalvin Cook * Walter Camp Award semifinalist ::Dalvin Cook

Watchlists

* Dodd Trophy ::

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College ...

::Alec Eberle *

Lott Trophy The Lott IMPACT Trophy is presented annually to the college football defensive IMPACT player of the year. IMPACT is an acronym for: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. The award purports to equally recognize th ...

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best al ...

Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Ameri ...

::Derwin James :: DeMarcus Walker *

John Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, a ...

:: Ryan Izzo *

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Am ...

Nagurski Award The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athl ...

::Derwin James ::DeMarcus Walker *

Jim Thorpe Award The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Payco ...

::Derwin James *

Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...

Wuerffel Trophy The Wuerffel Trophy is an award given annually to the college football player "who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement." The trophy, designed by W. Stanley Proctor and named in honor of former Univers ...

::Alec Eberle *

Doak Walker Award Since 1990 the Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. It is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Football Le ...

::Dalvin Cook *

Walter Camp Award The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football player of the year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS head coaches and sports information directo ...

::Dalvin Cook ::Derwin James *

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lomba ...

::DeMarcus Walker ::Roderick Johnson ::Dalvin Cook *

Manning Award The Manning Award has been presented annually since the 2004 football season to the collegiate American football quarterback as judged by the Sugar Bowl Committee to be the best in the United States. It is the only quarterback award that incl ...

Deondre Francois Deondre Francois (born February 12, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Orlando Guardians of the XFL. He played college football for Hampton University and Florida State University. Early life and background When Francois was a ...

Honors

All-ACC

All-Americans

References

{{Florida State Seminoles football navbox

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the sta ...

Florida State Seminoles football seasons Orange Bowl champion seasons

Florida State Seminoles football The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the sport of American football. The Florida State Seminoles, Seminoles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (F ...