FSU Football: Notable Career-Firsts in 2018

Florida State’s 2018 season did not go as planned, but the Seminoles did have a number of young players contribute and a couple others break through.

Here’s a look at some notable career-firsts for a number of Seminoles:

Rushing Touchdowns

Amir Rasul vs. Northern Illinois (Sept. 22)
Amir Rasul put the finishing touches on Florida State’s 37-19 win over Northern Illinois with a 7-yard score with 12 seconds remaining.

Receiving Touchdowns

Tamorrion Terry vs. Samford (Sept. 8)
Tamorrion Terry scored FSU’s first touchdown of the 2018 season on a 27-yard grab from Deondre Francois to get the Seminoles on the board. Terry would wind up catching a team-high eight touchdowns.

Tre’ McKitty vs. Samford (Sept. 8)
Tre’ McKitty’s first career touchdown catch turned out to be the game-winner in a 36-26 win over Samford. McKitty’s 5-yard grab from Francois with 4:03 to go gave the Seminoles their first lead of the night.

Jacques Patrick vs. Northern Illinois (Sept. 22)
A senior this past season, Jacques Patrick caught just one touchdown in his career. That came on the opening drive against Northern Illinois in which he was able to corral a deflected Deondre Francois pass that was intended for Keith Gavin and walk into the end zone to cap a 13-play, 75-yard drive.

Keith Gavin at Miami (Oct. 6)
After going without a touchdown in his first two seasons, junior Keith Gavin got the scoring started against Miami with 17-yard touchdown catch from Deondre Francois on the opening drive for the Seminoles. Gavin looked to have scored a second touchdown later in the game, but it was called back by a controversial illegal forward pass penalty.

Tre’Shaun Harrison’s first career touchdown catch put the exclamation point on a 38-17 win over Wake Forest on Oct. 20. (Bill Pearce/FSU athletics)

Tre’Shaun Harrison vs. Wake Forest (Oct. 20)
Freshman Tre’Shaun Harrison’s first career touchdown put the final nail in Wake Forest’s coffin when the teams met on Oct. 20. Harrison caught a pass from Francois and made a nice move before walking into the end zone to give FSU a 38-10 lead.

Keyshawn Helton vs. Clemson (Oct. 27)
Freshman Keyshawn Helton’s first career touchdown came in garbage time, but was nothing short of dazzling. With FSU trailing Clemson 59-3, Helton was able to haul in a pass from James Blackman on the sideline, make a defender miss and outrun the rest of the Tiger defense for a 73-yard score and the only touchdown of the day for the Seminoles.

Punt Return Touchdowns

D.J. Matthew at Miami (Oct. 6)
With FSU leading Miami 20-7 early in the third quarter, D.J. Matthews was able to lull the Miami punt coverage team to sleep before finding the seam and taking off for a 74-yard punt return for a touchdown. It was the first punt return for a touchdown for Matthews in his career and the first for the Seminoles in more than two seasons.

Sacks

Cory Durden vs. Virginia Tech (Sept. 3)
Redshirt freshman Cory Durden got his first sack on Virginia Tech’s Josh Jackson to thwart a key drive for the Hokies early in the third quarter. It was the first sign that Durden was going to be a valuable piece on the FSU defensive front.

Marvin Wilson at Syracuse (Sept. 15)
The first sack in the career of sophomore defensive tackle Marvin Wilson came in the 2018 road opener against Syracuse. Wilson’s sack came on Tommy DeVito early in the third quarter.

Fred Jones vs. Northern Illinois (Sept. 22)
As a redshirt senior, Fred Jones’ first full career sack came on Northern Illinois’ Marcus Childers early in the fourth quarter. The stop helped thwart a drive with the Seminoles leading 23-13.

Kyle Meyers vs. Northern Illinois (Sept. 22)
Kyle Meyers, a junior cornerback, got his first career sack on Marcus Childers with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The sack came on fourth down to force a turnover on downs and give FSU the ball back.

DeCalon Brooks at Louisville (Sept. 29)
The son of FSU legend Derrick Brooks, redshirt freshman DeCalon Brooks had his first career sack on Louisville’s Jawon Pass on the game’s opening drive. Brooks was able to strip Pass, but the ball bounced back up to Pass for the recovery.

Dontavious Jackson vs. Boston College (Nov. 17)
Dontavious Jackson enjoyed a breakout year as a junior linebacker in 2018, but his first sack didn’t come until the ACC finale. With FSU trailing 21-16 in the fourth quarter, Jackson got to Boston College’s Anthony Brown on second down early in the period.

Jaiden Woodbey vs. Florida (Nov. 24)
Freshman safety Jaiden Woodbey enjoyed a solid campaign, but didn’t get his first career sack until the season finale when Woodbey brought down Florida’s Feleipe Franks late in the third quarter. It was FSU’s only sack of the day.

Interceptions

A.J. Westbrook vs. Samford (Sept. 8)
A senior this past season, A.J. Westbrook’s first career interception came in Week 2. The safety was able to pick off Samford’s Devlin Hodges late in the first half and return it 33 yards. The Seminoles were unfortunately unable to capitalize on the takeaway.

A.J. Lytton vs. Clemson (Oct. 27)
Freshman A.J. Lytton’s first career pick came with FSU trailing Clemson 59-3. On fourth down, Clemson’s Will Brice fired one to the end zone, which was wrestled away by Lytton.

Dontavious Jackson at Notre Dame (Nov. 10)
Notre Dame quarterback Brandon Wimbush would be the victim of Dontavious Jackson’s first career interception as he was able to haul in the interception near midfield on a deflected pass midway through the third quarter. The Seminoles were able to march to the Notre Dame 1-yard-line on the ensuing possession, but ultimately came away with no points.

FSU safety Hamsah Nasirildeen made his first career interception in the ACC finale against Boston College. (Ross Obley/FSU athletics)

Hamsah Nasirildeen vs. Boston College (Nov. 17)
Sophomore safety Hamsah Nasirildeen led FSU in tackles in 2018, but he also capped ACC play with his first career pick. Midway through the first quarter, Nasirildeen intercepted Boston College’s Anthony Brown to thwart a scoring opportunity for the Eagles.

Forced Fumbles

Jaiden Woodbey vs. Virginia Tech (Sept. 3)
Freshman safety Jaiden Woodbey’s first career forced fumble came in his first career game as he stripped Sean Savoy early in the fourth quarter, but the ball rolled out of bounds.

Kyle Meyers vs. Samford (Sept. 8)
Junior cornerback Kyle Meyers had a monster night against Samford on Sept. 8, finishing with two interceptions and his first career forced fumble. The forced fumble came against Samford’s Jordan Montgomery, but the Bulldogs recovered.

Dontavious Jackson at Louisville (Sept. 29)
Dontavious Jackson notched his first career forced fumble to conclude the month of September early in the third quarter. Jackson was able to strip Louisville quarterback Jawon Pass, but Pass recovered. Defensive end Brian Burns stripped Pass one play later, but again, Louisville recovered.

*Half-sacks not included

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