FSU’s Lane Hopes Flexibility, Team-First Attitude Earns Chance in NFL

Ermon Lane witnessed perhaps the most chaotic years in Florida State football history. When he first arrived in Tallahassee in 2014, the Seminoles were coming off a national championship with a stacked roster. By the time he played his last minutes, Jimbo Fisher had departed for Texas A&M with Florida State fighting for bowl-eligibility.

Lane was pegged as a wide receiver coming out of a high school — and a good one at that. The 247Sports composite rankings had him as a 5-star prospect. He was rated as the 24th overall prospect and third-best wide receiver in the nation.

Florida State needed contributors at the position immediately, and Lane was a legitimate option. As a true freshman in 2014, he grabbed 13 receptions for 267 yards and one touchdown.

After that, his career was anything but expected. Following a regressing sophomore year, Lane switched to defensive back midway through the 2016 season and looked like he could see major time in 2017. FSU fans know what happened with the drama of a departing coaching staff.

The 2017 season was a pretty good encapsulation of Lane’s time as a whole at FSU. He started it by tackling Bo Scarbrough short of a first down in the opener against Alabama and ended it by leading the team in receiving in a fifth straight win over rival Florida and then with 45 yards receiving against Louisiana-Monroe to help the Seminoles become bowl-eligible for a 36th straight season.

A lot of players would have transferred with the amount of uncertainty given to Lane. In fact, he could’ve left for plenty of Power 5 programs and played whichever side of the ball he wanted. But from the time he made his pledge as a high school senior until the final rescheduled contest with the Warhawks, Lane remained a committed Seminole.

“I never thought about transferring, none of that stuff,” Lane said. “I came there. I was loyal to the program, I made a promise that I was going to stay all four years. Even when my time was not going right, when I wasn’t getting the time I wanted to get, I just stayed focused and did whatever Coach Jimbo wanted me to do…I knew one day my time was coming, so when I switched over to defensive back, I had got my time.”

For those who still wonder: Lane himself was the one who proposed switching to defensive back. When safety Derwin James was injured early in 2016, Lane knew that he had the opportunity to contribute on that side of the ball and contribute he did, finishing with 37 total tackles and an interception in eight games at safety.

“It was my call. I was stressing it ever since Derwin had got hurt…I put it in Coach (Lawrence) Dawsey’s head to let me switch over, because I played the position before in high school and little league,” Lane said. “Then the week before we played (South Florida), he was like ‘[I’m] going to talk to Coach Jimbo and then it got green-lit…I wasn’t just going to switch over and play because Derwin had got hurt though, I had to really learn the playbook and focus on film and get better on that.”

Lane says that he hasn’t spoken to Fisher since the coach left Florida State.

In terms of career numbers, Lane faces an uphill battle as the 2018 NFL Draft nears. He totaled just under 500 yards and one touchdown as a receiver. As a safety, he had better production, with 50 tackles and one interception in less than two full seasons in the defensive backfield.

His athleticism has never been in question. In fact, despite relatively little receiving production, NFL teams view Lane’s flexibility as a positive.

“Well you know there are some teams that like me at wide receiver,” Lane said. “A majority of the teams liked that I showed how I could play both sides…This past couple of days, the (Detroit) Lions, the (Baltimore) Ravens, (Denver) Broncos, (New York) Giants, (New England) Patriots, there’s a couple of teams that have called and asked me if I’m healthy and all that.”

It’s been no secret that Lane and former FSU running back Dalvin Cook were close friends in high school and at FSU. That friendship never faded, and the current Minnesota Viking is giving Lane advice as the draft and free agent signings approach.

“I’ve been in contact with Dalvin, you know he’s telling me ‘It’s the pros; it’s a business. You can’t come in with the same attitude that you come in with college. Take it more serious, because everything is a business now’,” Lane said of the conversations with his former teammate. “You just got to be a grown man.

“Toughest part is just.. you’re going to get drafted, free agent, all this is crossing your mind because this is the time you been waiting for all your life, this is what you prepared for,” he said. “You know you’re good enough to get drafted, so just thinking about stuff like that.”

Right now the chances are that Lane will not hear his name announced in the draft. Instead, he’ll have to wait until free agency for a shot at making it in the league. Few experts have him as a potential pick, with most marking him as undrafted.

One wonders what could have been made of Lane’s career if the final season had worked out differently. He had shown a ton of promise in the previous season and racked up six tackles against the Crimson Tide in the 2017 season opener. Multiple players never got the fair shake that they deserved.

But Lane never complained about the situation or criticized anyone on the staff. Instead, he’s simply looking forward to an opportunity at the next level — in whatever capacity that may be.

“I’m not bad off the field, you don’t got to worry about me getting in trouble off the field,” he said. “I’m a team-first guy, wherever you need me at — if you need me at special teams, I’ll do special teams…if you need me to do scout team…you know I’m just a team player. All my teammates at Florida State and all my coaches can vouch for that.”

Lane might never have had the career at Florida State that many expected with his 5-star rating, but his willingness to make sacrifices for the betterment of the team was never in question. Lane is grateful for the opportunity that he had in Tallahassee and hopes it leads to another playing on Sundays.

“I’m going to come back,” Lane said. “I love Florida State; I’m a die-hard Seminole and I’m going to be forever Florida State and I’m going to try to make some games this year.”