While this is homecoming week for Miami, it’s also homecoming for a group of about 25 Florida State players that are South Florida natives.
It’s a group that includes West Palm Beach’s Nick O’Leary, Belle Glade’s Greg Dent and Kelvin Benjamin, Okeechobee’s Lonnie Pryor and Vero Beach’s Bryan Stork.
“I get to go home and play in front of my family members, people that don’t get to go up to the games,” said FSU senior receiver Rodney Smith, who has caught a touchdown pass in his last two games against Miami. “Now they don’t have to make that long ride.”
While a trip to Tallahassee can involve a 16-hour, round-trip ride, it’s a much shorter drive for family and friends to Sun Life Stadium for Saturday’s 8 p.m. game between No. 12 FSU and Miami. Playing in front of loved ones can be a distraction, but FSU’s South Florida players have fed off the emotion and the Seminoles have won the last two games at Miami.
“You have passion and emotion,” FSU safety Lamarcus Joyner said. “You have friends and family in the stands and that just gives you that extra edge. It’s more than a football game. It’s a different kind of feeling.”
The game is a reunion for many FSU players who are going up against former high school teammates, childhood friends or district rivals. FSU tailback Devonta Freeman, for example, said he has about 15 friends or former teammates on the Miami roster.
For fans, the FSU-Miami series is about bragging rights for the next year. And it’s often the same way for the players, who like being able to say that they have something on their old teammates and friends.
“Pretty much all of my buddies are Miami fans,” Smith said. “I’m pretty sure they want us to lose, but they are happy that I’m doing good.”
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