I thank god that he stayed right where he needed to be. I don't think anyone at that time could help that team like he did and to bring Florida State to national prominence. We were sure made better and had been blessed by him staying at Florida State. I also remember how concerned we were going there at the time, coach Bowden might be leaving and taking that Alabama job. And it took me into the next year excited about the prospects of - first and foremost being a great team - and having the chance to compete and having a chance to have a phenomenal offense and be a decent, overall great football team. God granted me the help to be healthy and to get out there and play. “It kinda validated the player that I could be.
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What was it like for you personally to make that achievement, MVP? So back to eighty-six, to the All-American Bowl, a lot of people consider that to have been your breakout game, with 205 yards, two touchdowns. It was a great time-a great time to be a Seminole.” And it’s just the tradition of winning that started from that ‘87 team goes on for the next 14 years. And then finally, I guess it was ‘93, they finally got over the hump and were able to win one for coach Bowden. I mean, my last two years at Florida State, I felt that we were as good as any team in the country, and the players that we were getting to come there were the caliber of players that would be able to make sure we would stay a national contender and to be able to compete, you know, on a national level every year for a championship. And then that continued after we left.”ĭid you guys know as a team, did you have a feeling that you were going to start one of the greatest college football runs in history?
#Sammie i like it chip series#
And so that’s one of the things I’m proud of, is that we turned that series around and I think we won, two or three straight while we were there against Florida. But then after that, we started our streak. And that was a year with the rainy games, the soak at the Doak or whatever you want to call it, man that was a heartbreaking game too, you know, had a big run called back ‘The phantom hold call’, they called a hold on Herb Gainer that - to this day we still don’t see that - for a touchdown run that would have sealed the win for us. “My redshirt freshman year would have been ‘86. There was one point we went for two at the end to try to win the game, we didn’t want to tie it, which we could have, and then to go on and win all of the rest of our games and finish the season, in the top two or three teams in the country. I think they won that game twenty-seven, twenty-six, or something like that. But in 1987 man, we had them down 19 and I think to three at the half, in a game that-we were really, really a good football team, and should’ve won, and that’s the most hurting game I ever endured at Florida State- was to allow them to come back. “We weren't fortunate enough to win one, that Miami team was a thorn in our sides. I think by the time we left there, we did that.” And we came here with the idea of turning Florida State into a national championship contender. And so that class was just, in my opinion, an amazing class. We had Ferguson and Peter Tom Willis, you know, just a host of guys-my high school teammates Anthony Williams, Kenny Carr. And then watching that class that we came in with get validated and solid, Deion and Odell Haggins were a part of my class-Pat Tomberlin. Well, you know, when I came to Florida State, signing was certainly a bonus moment. So what was your most memorable moment, wearing the garnet and gold, both in personal achievements and as a team? He currently serves as the director of character development for the Ole Miss Rebels and says his role in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes is one of guidance. We got a chance to talk with Sammie about his time at FSU, his time with coach Bowden, bowl games, mentorship, and a host of other things.
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Some would say he helped lay the foundation for FSU’s dynasty run starting in the late 80’s he holds the seventh place on FSU's all-time rushing yards record, on a list littered with first-round talent. *This interview was conducted prior to coach Bobby Bowden's passing.įlorida State Hall of famer and first-round draft pick Sammie Smith has had an interesting journey through life and an interesting career overall.