FSU Senior Moments: Nate Andrews

With the exception of the Orange 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 for a top 10 finish. This was also the first class in FSU history to go a combined 8-0 against Florida and Miami.

As the Orange Bowl nears and their careers wind down, we’ll look back on the most prominent moments in the careers of some notable Florida State seniors. The final FSU senior we look at individually may not be done playing at Florida State just yet.

After appearing in just four games as a senior in 2016, it’s possible that safety Nate Andrews could get a medical redshirt following a season-ending pectoral injury. A 6-1, 215-pound 3-star scrapper from Alabama, Andrews made an early impact for the Seminoles, leading the team in interceptions in each of his first two seasons. For his FSU career, Andrews came away with eight picks from his safety position.

Injuries left Andrews with a diminished role over his final two years at Florida State, but he was well-respected by his teammates and lauded by coaches for his work ethic. Though it’s a career that might not yet be over, we look back on the five best moments in the FSU career of Nate Andrews:

5. Andrews Over the Top
Nov. 2, 2013
The 2013 contest between Florida State and Miami in 2013 featured top-10 teams, but from the early parts of the second half, FSU had seized control. Trailing 35-14 early in the fourth quarter, Miami quarterback Stephen Morris decided to take a shot deep. Over the top in coverage however was freshman Nate Andrews for the interception. The pick served as the final nail in the Hurricanes’ coffin as the Seminoles would go on eat more than six minutes off the clock and kick a field goal in a 41-14 victory.

4. First Interception
Sept. 28, 2013
Thanks largely to an injury to Tyler Hunter, Nate Andrews was forced into the lineup as a freshman. In what was by far FSU’s worst defensive effort of the 2013 season in Chestnut Hill, Boston College threatened to mount a comeback late. Down 48-34 with about two minutes to play and facing 4th-and-13, BC quarterback Chase Rettig took a shot into the end zone, but there was Andrews for his first career pick to seal the victory.

3. “Oh My God, We Got the Ball Back!”
Sept. 20, 2014
Fresh off a national championship in 2013, it looked as though Florida State might lose its 2014 ACC opener. With under two minutes to play and the score tied 17-17 at Doak Campbell Stadium, Clemson was inside FSU’s 20-yard-line, looking to melt the clock and win the game. On a carry by Clemson running back C.J. Davidson that netted enough yards for a first down, FSU defensive tackle Eddie Goldman reached in and stripped the football. An alert Andrews was able to recover to thwart the scoring drive and force overtime. After getting a stop to start overtime, running back Karlos Williams put the game away with a 12-yard touchdown run in a 23-17 FSU win.

2. Career-Day at Wake
Nov. 9, 2013
The 2013 contest against Wake Forest was a good day for just about everyone wearing garnet and gold on defense as the Seminoles came away with six interceptions, but the best day by far belonged to Nate Andrews. Andrews finished the day with two interceptions, including one he returned 56 yards for a touchdown in the first minute of the second quarter. The Seminoles as a whole forced seven turnovers and held the Demon Deacons to just 166 yards in a 59-3 victory in Winston-Salem.

1. Setting the Tone for 2014
Aug. 30, 2014
Fresh off a national championship, big things were expected for Florida State in 2014 as the Seminoles opened the season in Dallas against Oklahoma State. It wasn’t reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston or Rashad Greene, the school’s eventual all-time leading receiver, or soon-to-be John Mackey Award winner Nick O’Leary who scored the season’s first touchdown. It was Nate Andrews. With FSU leading 3-0 and Oklahoma State backed up inside its own 10-yard-line, quarterback J.W. Walsh fired a pass that Andrews tipped to himself and returned nine yards for a score. FSU went on to win 37-31 en route to a third straight ACC title and appearance in the first-ever College Football Playoff.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson