On The Bench: An FSU football podcast network

Florida State’s branding decisions have been scrutinized, by some, in recent years.

Remember the “Keep This Chief” movement when FSU updated its logo in 2014?

Or the outrage after viewers struggled to read uniform numbers on FSU’s road jerseys in the 2014 opener?

And most recently, Jameis Winston pushing for FSU to change its numbers on home jerseys to white?

TaReef KnockOut, a Tallahassee rapper and avid FSU fan, has been at the forefront of a vocal group that wants to see quicker progress when it comes to various aspects of FSU’s branding. From uniform tweaks to more consistency on social media, TaReef KnockOut has lead a charge that even got Winston involved recently.

Josh Newberg continues his ‘Meet’ series by sitting down with TaReef KnockOut in the latest episode of On The Bench. 

FSU coach Willie Taggart said James Blackman will get the initial first-team reps to begin preseason camp, but he expects Alex Hornibrook to compete for the starting job.

What should we make of Taggart's comments from ACC Kickoff? Chris Nee and Brendan Sonnone read between the lines in the latest episode of Noles247's On The Bench podcast. Plus we go over whether or not FSU is toying with a 3-4 scheme, what offseason weight gains should get FSU fans excited and a sneak peek at Saturday Night Live.

Florida State landed two key commitments during our time off, so we’re playing catch-up in the latest episode of On The Bench.

Newberg, Nee and Sonnone breakdown WR pledge Ja'Khi Douglas and DT commit Manny Rogers while also taking a closer look at FSU’s running back board (and why fans  recently went after the position coach via social media).

Noles247 Analyst Josh Newberg sits down with long time Florida State fan and comedian Benji Brown for this one-on-one interview.  Brown reminisces over his time becoming an FSU fan, performing in the locker room for Jameis Winston and the 2013 team, to how he thinks FSU will fare in 2019.  

Is it time to panic for FSU? 

Not yet, but a slow month of recruiting in June shows how small the margin for error is for the Seminoles moving forward. It seems evident now that FSU needs a strong showing during its Saturday Night Live event later this month, and then a good debut against Boise State to get momentum back.

Voices lend themselves to the end of Jimbo Fisher's tenure at FSU, although the most noteworthy development in an in-depth Bleacher Report article could've come in a throwaway line.

On The Bench goes over the article, matching it to what we've reported over the past year or so...and looks at what we learned. Was it noteworthy about the voices we heard from? Did Willie Taggart get absolved too much in this article? 

Plus Josh Newberg, Chris Nee and even Brendan Sonnone get into developments on the recruiting trail from June...and why July is becoming a crucial month for the Seminoles.

Florida State had a couple dozen high-priority players on campus this weekend during its football camp. Noles247’s On The Bench recaps a weekend that included visits from RB Jaylan Knighton, WR Michael Redding III and RB Keyvone Lee. Josh Newberg and Zach Blostein share their thoughts and intel from camp in the latest episode.

The long offseason reached its pinnacle this past week, when former FSU players engaged in Twitter beef while fans sat by and watched the drama among the program.

Trey Rowland of The Rowlcast joins On The Bench to give his thoughts on how the program is being perceived by fans, how to help Brendan Sonnone become more likable and give his view on the 40 Most Important 'Noles of 2019.

Legends don’t come around very often.

So when they do, it’s probably best to take the time to listen to what they have to say.

With that in mind, we were lucky to get a legend On The Bench this week. Continuing the “Meet” series with Josh Newberg, we had Larry Blustein join the show. Larry Blustein has covered recruiting/preps in South Florida for decades, helping pave the way for the widespread recruiting coverage you see today. 

Larry went into his thoughts on some of FSU’s recent signees from South Florida (i.e. Akeem Dent, Dontae Lucas and Malcolm Ray), the cyclical nature of recruiting in Florida, and FSU’s presence in the Miami area.

Florida State had an active weekend in several areas: Recruiting, baseball and the Twittersphere.

Noles247’s On The Bench has you covered with a recap on the following...

--FSU’s Big Man Camp, 7-on-7--Some Miami Booker T. Washington players stand out--The recruitment of tight end Sage Ennis (and Lou Dorsey)--Twitter beef with among former FSU players, and current members of program--A weekend to remember for FSU baseball, Mike Martin--Making sense of the restructuring of FSU’s boosters--40 Most Important Players (30-26)