Five days before Florida State’s Orange Bowl matchup against Georgia, its starting quarterback has opted out and decided he’s transferring.
Welcome to the age of the NCAA Transfer Portal in college football.
Many are going to blame Tate Rodemaker for the timing of the decision, made public Christmas Day Monday.
Don’t.
The redshirt junior has remained loyal to the Seminoles for four seasons after being recruited out of Valdosta High in Valdosta, Georgia. Rodemaker, the son of a coach, Alan, made the best decision for himself and his career moving forward.
FSU has flirted with bringing in other transfer quarterbacks this offseason for official in Washington State’s Cam Ward and Oregon State’s DJ Uiagalelei.
Both visited FSU and have one year of collegiate eligibility left, meaning they would not be coming to Tallahassee to sit behind Rodemaker.
Without saying it, the Seminoles have given Rodemaker the notice they are ready to try someone else.
Why should we blame Rodemaker for making the same decision?
It is a two-way street.
Why a move makes sense now for Rodemaker
Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reported Monday that “a source close to the family” said Rodemaker made the “incredibly difficult” decision to enter the portal.
While Rodmaker also told ESPN Monday he planned to enter the transfer portal, the Democrat confirmed with FSU that he would not play against Georgia in Saturday’s Orange Bowl.
Head coach Mike Norvell confirmed the news to the Miami Herald’s Andre Fernandez after landing in Fort Lauderdale Monday evening.
Tweets by FernandezAndreC
“This decision to enter the portal was incredibly difficult,” the source close to the Rodemaker family told 247Sports.
“However, with the unforgiving nature of the calendar relative to transfer portal players and bowl games and limited opportunities remaining for transfer quarterbacks, the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/dont-blame-tate-rodemaker-opting-003102650.html
Author : Tallahassee Democrat
Publish date : 2023-12-26 00:31:02
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