On The Bench: An FSU football podcast network

Florida State's roster looks like it's still upwardly mobile. The Seminoles presented well on Day 1 of spring practice, with certain position groups looking drastically different than they did a couple years ago.

Are we sipping Kool-aid or guzzling it? The attempt to balance what we saw last year, with what we think this team can be based on initial takeaways, is a balancing act that On The Bench tries to toe in this episode. Dane Draper, Zach Blostein, and Brendan Sonnone go position-by-position with some quick takeways from FSU's first spring practice, while bookending the analysis with some recruiting updates from last weekend and this week.

You can subscribe to On The Bench, X’s and Noles, and Beyond The Bench on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify. As always, five-star reviews and comments on Apple Podcasts are appreciated!

Also, you can watch the show on YouTube now. We'll do live streams as well, and you can get notifications on when we're live by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

What's in this episode of On The Bench? X-Factors, King of the Spring candidates, hot takes and all the minutia you want about Florida State football before spring practice starts.

The Noles247 staff gets together to go in-depth on the storylines we're following as the Seminoles start spring practice today.

The fellas at On The Bench got up bright and early to get a look at Florida State's final Tour of Duty workout before spring practice. Still groggy from the 5 a.m. wake-up call, they made their way to a local biscuit establishment to refuel and then go over their takeaways from ToD.

*2:00, Zach gives his thoughts on FSU's transfers

*3:00, Banjo: Buy or Sonnone?

*3:30, Brett sees progress from DJ Lundy

*4:30, Zach on initial impression of Hykeem Williams

*5:00, Nee gushes over Jeremiah Byers

*7:15, The roster is SOOOOO much better off than it was a few years ago

*9:20, A surprise performer

*11:00, Who could Brett tackle?

*11:30, Dying on the Rodney Hill

You can subscribe to On The Bench, X’s and Noles, and Beyond The Bench on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify. As always, five-star reviews and comments on Apple Podcasts are appreciated!

Also, you can watch the show on YouTube now. We'll do live streams as well, and you can get notifications on when we're live by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

Once again, realignment is on the minds of blue-blood programs. It's not USC, UCLA, Texas, or Oklahoma. This time, it's Florida State and Clemson. What's next for these two powers? Could they actually leave the ACC? Brandon Marcello and Chris Nee of Noles247 break it all down!

Host: Brandon Marcello

Guest: Chris Nee

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Chris Nee and Zach Blostein of Noles247.com got together for a recording of 'On The Bench' on Monday morning. Blostein went in-depth on his time at Under Armour Atlanta on Sunday and what he learned about FSU's latest recruiting efforts. Nee discussed Florida State University Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford's Friday comments to the Board of Trustees about the TV revenue gap that exists for the Seminoles. We also looked ahead to March and spring football, while spending a moment on FSU men's basketball storming back to defeat Miami as well as FSU baseball hitting the road to win 2-of-3 at No. 8 TCU.

You can subscribe to On The Bench, X’s and Noles, and Beyond The Bench on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify. As always, five-star reviews and comments on Apple Podcasts are appreciated!

Also, you can watch the show on YouTube now. We'll do live streams as well, and you can get notifications on when we're live by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

Flip-flopping leaders in the final days of a recruitment. Trips along Florida’s Turnpike from Tallahassee to Coral Gables. Anger over crystal balls and a cringy Cristobal.

The 2023 recruiting cycle was a wild one for Florida State. The Seminoles won some battles, they lost some others, but it was undoubtedly entertaining all along the way.

Zach Blostein and Brendan Sonnone, aided by Trey Rowland, share some of their favorite stories from the cycle in this episode of On The Bench as we take you behind the scenes on how Tribe23 came together.

You can subscribe to On The Bench, X’s and Noles, and Beyond The Bench on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify. As always, five-star reviews and comments on Apple Podcasts are appreciated!

Also, you can watch the show on YouTube now. We'll do live streams as well, and you can get notifications on when we're live by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

It’s another MAILBAG edition of On The Bench. Nee, Zach, and Sonnone take listener questions from the Noles247 message boarders about the way we rank recruits, the Seminoles’ hopes of putting together an “elite” prep class in 2024, our expectations for the 2023 season, spring storylines, and more.

The conversation derails into a debate on whether some coaching staffs track stars/player rankings from recruiting services, and whether we consider it “this season” already for the 2023 campaign.

But first Nee presents a direct view of FSU’s floundering basketball program.

You can subscribe to On The Bench, X’s and Noles, and Beyond The Bench on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify. As always, five-star reviews and comments on Apple Podcasts are appreciated!

Also, you can watch the show on YouTube now. We'll do live streams as well, and you can get notifications on when we're live by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

Ingram Smith, the CEO of Florida State-based NIL start-up The Battle's End, joins On The Bench to share how he's living out a dream. Smith details how he got into the position to guide the vastly important NIL efforts surrounding his favorite program, the upcoming expansion of The Battle's End, and then dove into the strategy implemented by the The Battle's End to exploit a market inefficiency.

As Smith states succinctly, 'there's a reason why Jordan Travis was our No. 1 target.'

It's a fun 30-minute interview with insights into the collective (but don't call it a collective) that's helped FSU elevate its football program.

You can subscribe to On The Bench, X’s and Noles, and Beyond The Bench on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify. As always, five-star reviews and comments on Apple Podcasts are appreciated!

Also, you can watch the show on YouTube now. We'll do live streams as well, and you can get notifications on when we're live by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

Florida State cornerback Jarrian Jones learned something about himself recently: He's a "loverboy" and he can never go back to normal after that discovery.

Jones joins Noles247 to have some fun about this self discovery in a Valentine's Day edition of On The Bench. From how his powerpoint presentation landed him the Valentine of his dreams, to his constant quest to get better on and off the field, Jones shares how this level of vulnerability is working well for him. Jones sits down with Trey, Kev, and Sonnone to share whether his presentation worked.

Florida State announced a sizable contract extension that will pay Mike Norvell an average of $8.05 million per year through 2029.

Coach AB and Sonnone breakdown the contract and whether or not it's a good deal for FSU.