With the exception of a bowl game still to be played, another season of Florida State football is in the books. While the Seminoles will also lose some juniors who leave early for the NFL Draft and other players who will transfer for other reasons, FSU will say goodbye to a special group of seniors.
After winning a national championship as freshmen, this senior class has FSU in position to compete for a major bowl for a fifth straight year. This was also the first class in FSU history to go a combined 8-0 against Florida and Miami.
As the bowl game nears and their careers wind down, we’ll look back on the most prominent moments in the careers of some notable Florida State seniors. Our series began with a look at the career of quarterback Sean Maguire. We now look back at the top 5 moments in the career of one of the more unheralded skill players for FSU — fullback Freddie Stevenson.
Recruited as a 3-star linebacker out of Bartow, Stevenson became a 3-year starter in the backfield. With a rich history at fullback which included the likes of Dayne Williams, Edgar Bennett, William Floyd and more recently, Lonnie Pryor and Chad Abram, Stevenson had big pads to fill, but did so admirably throughout his career. Though used primarily as a blocking back, Stevenson scored seven touchdowns during his time at FSU.
5. First Career TD
Sept. 14, 2013
A reserve fullback on a top 10 team, freshman Freddie Stevenson didn’t expect to see much action in 2013, but in his first game at Doak Campbell Stadium, managed to find the end zone. With the Seminoles already in front of Nevada 48-7 and with the ball at the 1-yard-line, Stevenson got the call and plunged his way into the end zone. Ryan Green would later get his first career touchdown in a 62-7 win over the Wolf Pack.
4. Two for Freddie
Sept. 24, 2016
Playing at Raymond James Stadium — less than 50 miles from his high school — Stevenson had the only multi-touchdown game of his career in a 55-35 win over South Florida. Stevenson’s 1-yard run with more than six minutes to play in the first quarter put FSU ahead for good, 21-14. Stevenson would add a second 1-yard touchdown late in the second quarter to give the Seminoles a 38-14 halftime advantage.
3. Senior Night
Nov. 11, 2016
Though it wasn’t his last game at Doak Campbell Stadium, Freddie Stevenson celebrated a 45-7 victory over Boston College on Senior Night with his first touchdown catch in more than two years. Stevenson’s 6-yard reception from quarterback Sean Maguire served as the senior’s first reception of 2016 and capped the FSU scoring.
2. Longest Career TD Puts Away Gators
Nov. 26, 2016
As a senior looking to beat rival Florida for a fourth straight year, the Seminoles were driving early in the fourth quarter with a 17-6 lead. Facing a 3rd-and-1 from the Florida 27-yard-line, Stevenson was given the ball with FSU looking just to pick up the first down. Stevenson took the carry up the middle before breaking out of the pile with the football on his way to a 27-yard touchdown — the longest of his career. The score helped put an exclamation point on a 31-13 victory over Florida in Stevenson’s final game at Doak Campbell Stadium.
1. Dagger to Louisville
Oct. 30, 2014
No. 2 Florida State had erased a 21-0 deficit on a Thursday night against Louisville, but needed just six yards for a first down to cement the victory at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. With more than two minutes to go and the Cardinals selling out to stop the run, FSU dialed up a play-action pass with quarterback Jameis Winston hitting Freddie Stevenson in the flat. Stevenson made one defender miss and raced 35 yards for the game-clinching touchdown as FSU defeated Louisville, 42-31.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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