On The Bench: An FSU football podcast network

Preseason camp is already underway in Tallahassee as Florida State started its 2022 campaign on Wednesday evening.

Chris Nee and Brendan Sonnone go over what we took away from Day 1 of preseason camp in a quick episode of OTB.

Florida State’s close to this past cycle’s Early Signing Period was a wake-up call to those on the periphery of the program.

Getting organized and adaptable to an ever-changing landscape in the NIL Era was going to be key. One of the FSU fans who emerged to help the program get back on track is Matthew, the CEO of Rising Spear (the NIL collective that helps create opportunities for FSU athletes).

Quigley sits down with Trey Rowland as the On The Bench 1-on-1 Series continues. The interview spans the do's and don'ts of running a collective, the growth of Rising Spear in a short period, and plans for future growth. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the interview is the reality that Quigley is as passionate about FSU as many of you listening to this episode.

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.

Football season is nearly among us. Florida State is looking to make a splash with a major recruiting event this week as it also starts preseason camp.

But first, Chris Nee breaks down the unwinnable position of Jim Phillips at the ACC Kickoff – including a “bloodbath” at the Q&A session. Then Zach Blostein leads us with recruiting coverage as the Seminoles hope to bring blue-chippers like Hykeem Williams and Blake Nichelson to campus this week. And finally Brendan Sonnone runs point as we do a preseason position preview, giving out Confidence Ratings to each group.

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.

The first episode of the X's and Noles Podcast features the fellas at the Triple Option critiquing Brendan's 40 Most Important Players list. Then they get into the significance of a few weight gains from FSU's roster update.

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.

Noles247’s On The Bench podcast continues its 1-on-1 interview series with Trey Rowland as the interviewer extraordinaire sits down with ESPN’s David Hale to add a dose of reality and context to realignment talk. Just how likely is it that the Seminoles land in the SEC or the Big Ten? And, if that happens, when is a reasonable timeline?

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.

Chris Parson, FSU's long-time quarterback pledge, decommitted from the Seminoles.

The four-star's decision felt like an inevitability since FSU expanded its quarterback board in late May. On The Bench weighs why Parson ultimately decommitted, why this was expected, and what it means with for FSU and Brock Glenn.

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.

Josh Pate, the host of 247Sports’ The Late Kick, is as informed and thoughtful of national host as you’ll find covering college football.

He’s also a huge wrestling fan. 

Combining the two, Trey Rowland sits down with Pate to start our On The Bench’s 1-on-1 Series. Pate details his thoughts on FSU within the college football landscape, why he’s still optimistic about a turnaround under Mike Norvell, and why the scariest scene in college football could be an FSU glove popping out of the dirt like Undertaker in a buried alive match.

You can subscribe to On 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 fended off Florida, USC, and Tennessee to land four-star offensive tackle prospect Lucas Simmons.

The Top 150 recruit nationally is still a work in progress, but he's a rarity: A true tackle prospect with prototypical length, size and athleticism.

On The Bench breaks down the recruiting process for Simmons, analyzes his game, and goes over how the Seminoles managed to beat out some teams with a ton of recruiting traction for the coveted lineman.

Desmond Ricks, one of the country's top recruits in 2024, says he no longer has contact with Florida State’s coaching staff. 

It’s a damning statement, one Ricks hasn’t backed down from. Meanwhile, FSU sources indicate that communication wasn’t totally cut off.

This development is just part of the story. Other recruits have weighed in on Ricks’ comments to imply they also similarly lost communication with FSU, and there’s a trend of some recruitments going in odd directions abruptly. 

We try to make the most of the situation with the information we have in this episode of On The Bench. The Ricks debacle serves as a jumping-off point for other trends regarding strange twists and turns with various positions on FSU’s recruiting board.

Plus we preview the upcoming decision of OT Lucas Simmons, realignment insight, and more.

You can subscribe to On 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.

We take a serious, no-nonsense approach of putting the Keldric Faulk commitment into context. How did the Seminoles land the four-star defensive end and what are the best aspects of his game?

And with Faulk wrapped up, we turn our attention to Lucas Simmons. Can the Seminoles beat out Florida, USC, and Tennessee for the blue-chip, prototypical left tackle?