Stay Tranquilo - Roberto Aguayo Tells All | FSU’s 2013 Title, Jimbo Fisher, Jameis Winston & NIL/Portal Era (Part 1)

Episode Date: September 25, 2025

“One of the most surreal moments—and we didn’t even know the history we were making.” FSU legend Roberto Aguayo sits down with Stay Tranquilo to walk through the 2013 national championship run, life under Jimbo Fisher, playing with Jameis Winston, the Clemson beatdown, Auburn in Pasadena, and what it really takes to be elite as a specialist. We also dig into today’s college game—NIL, the transfer portal, and why discipline, coaching, and culture still separate winners.What we cover:Growing up a soccer kid → becoming the nation’s No. 1 prep kickerLearning behind Dustin Hopkins; redshirt year with Jameis2013: Clemson in Death Valley, “find a crumb” mindset, and Pasadena vs. AuburnKicking under pressure: routine, composure, and executionThe Jimbo years: practice, preparation, and standards2014 lessons, Oregon loss, and sustaining excellenceToday’s landscape: NIL money, portal volatility, and building real programsCoaching the next generation (Aguayo Kicking), special teams details that matterSubscribe for more South Florida sports culture, player stories, and real talk.#FSU #RobertoAguayo #FloridaState #JimboFisher #JameisWinston #CollegeFootball #NIL #TransferPortal #Kicking #StayTranquilo Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That's got to be one of the most like surreal moments. Surreal moments because in the moment we didn't know the history that we were making. What is going on, everybody? Welcome back to another Stay Tranquilo podcast. Today, we are joined by an FSU legend and many walks of life now in his career. But more than anything, I want to welcome Roberto Aguayo to the podcast. Thanks so much for being here and taking the time to share your story today. Thanks, man.

Thanks for having me. I'm excited to get some conversations going and just, you know, like we're on a beach. We were talking before this and laid back and looking forward to it. Yeah, absolutely. You say we're on a beach. It's funny, right? This is the first time we do it on this set, you know? This was kind of a wanted to change the look and feel of it, give the stay tranquil vibe to it.

And when you said you felt like you were on a beach, that meant we did something right when we put this together. So I'm glad I'm glad to hit. But before we. kind of get into the weeds of where you're at now, kind of the trajectory of your, your football career, your personal career. I want to kind of start from the beginning. Tell me a little bit about when football came into your life and where you came from, your family, and just, you know, who brought you to who you are today? Okay, so I'm going to try to keep it short because I can go real deep. But so grew up in central Florida. My dad,

was from Mexico. And he met my mom in Florida. And it was me and my brother growing up, and he was a big soccer player. So, like, soccer was the first thing that we had. We had a soccer ball in our crib from the day we were born. And his goal or his, like, aspirations were for us to play professional soccer. So we started playing soccer when we were little.

And then around, Eight years old, my friends were playing tackle football. We had a tackle football team in our area. And I was kind of like, well, my friends are playing it. You know, it's like we watch it on TV, like NFL, you know, college football. And I asked my parents like, can I, can we play football? And they were like, yeah, you know, we'll play football in the fall and then soccer in the spring. This is like when we were eight.

When I was eight, my brother was younger. And then that's what got us initially into football, but never with the aspirations of being a kicker. And, you know, the first year we didn't kick field goals. The second year, we needed to kick field goals. So they lined the whole team up, and I was the only one that could make the kick. And I found it easy. I would watch everyone else, and I'm like, you can't make the kick.

And I literally just looked at it as like a soccer ball. I just got to get it over, you know, instead of keeping it under the goal. And it came easy to me. And that's kind of where it ended up leading to. And we can go into more details of, like, high school and college. But that's kind of where it started with never, never, like when I would make those first couple kicks when I was nine years old, thought of, like, it leading to where it led me and the opportunities that it's given me. but, you know, with my dad and playing soccer and that athletic background that he had,

I think, instilled in us, you know, those traits of determination, teamwork, how to be around a team. And, you know, those were the young, the young ages, but we can get into the later. Yeah. Oh, for sure. You talk about, you know, some of the work ethic that your dad instilled in you. how important was that later on in your career? Obviously, you know, playing, you know, kind of like pee-wee ball and you're making some cakes.

But to get to that high school level and then get obviously to the pro and college level, like it takes that extra determination and discipline. Well, the big thing is, and like when you're little, like you don't realize, like, what your parents are doing for you to, like, make you be great. You kind of think of it as kind of like, oh, like, you know, the other kids are having fun

or they're playing down the street, you know. Like, they, like, their life looks fun and we're over. Like, my dad would build, like, my dad built, like, little hurdles for us with PVC pipe. He would make goals with PVC pipe. He built a goal in the back of our yard, like, an H. So, like, we could kick field goals and then we could play soccer. And, like, when you're young, like, you take those things for granted.

You're just like, oh, dad's like doing this and like, but he would like have cones. He would have stuff out there for us that were, you know, tools to like make us better. He built like a bent and nothing crazy, but like he built a bench that we would lay it down and we would pass the ball. And he would have us do 100 touches with our right leg. And we were right footed, but then he would have us do 100 with our left. So we could use both of our legs. Because in soccer, if you can, if you're one dimensional, like, Like the defender knows that and, you know, he'll expose you.

But if you can use both legs, like, that's just an advantage for you. So those are the little things that later down the road helped us, you know, with determination and figuring out, like, finding out a way to make yourself better, not just on the field, but, you know, in other areas of life now. But it all started from, like, people say, like, oh, how are you so good? Where you, like, I feel like without those things, like, you can just say, oh, go play outside. Or not even that. Like, just if he was like, oh, like, we'll go practice whenever we go to practice.

But then when you're home, like, you can go play with your friends. I feel like we would have never got to where we are now, you know, so. Which, you know, you see that pretty much as a common denominator amongst a lot of the guys that make it to that level. Obviously, there's a God-given talent that you have, but there's the level of work ethic that is put in that people don't even see years prior to the point that got you to where you got to. Javon had a documentary that dropped with the Giants recently, and it reminded me a lot of that. There's like the little at-home films with him and his dad and his dad working him out in the garage, probably while other guys are just hanging out, having some fun, and he's there

doing push-ups, pull-ups, squats, box jumps, like all these things. And it's like, well, clearly have paid off. Yeah, yeah. And it's like the, like my dad never was, there's different levels of it. Yeah. He never forced us. Right. But it was in a way where sometimes, like, you know, you didn't want to do it,

but like he found a way to explain it and make us enjoy it still. But he was hard on us, right? Like in games, like, oh, you know, he wasn't just like, oh, good game, you know, like. Right. And I think we, for people to reach that next level or go far in life, I feel like you need that constructive criticism at a young age. And not just say you did bad, you did bad, you did bad, but like, here's what you did wrong, here's what you did right, here's how we can get better. To overall, you know, get better. What's the goal for you to get better?

Like, you know, I think dads or parents aren't hard on their children because they want to be hard on their children. Like, they do it because maybe, you know, they could have done it differently when they were little or, like, doing it to, like, help them, you know, eventually, you know, grow up and be better and go further in life because that's all parents want for their, for their children. And now coaching kids and seeing the younger guys, coaching, you know, with the kids. kicking academy I have, like, coaching them and, and I'm a special teams coach at Benjamin. Like, it's, it kind of, like, I have that same mentality that my dad had teaching these young guys. And, and some, like, you got to find a way because some of them are, or they just, how should I say it? They, they hear words and they hear your tone differently.

So you got to understand how to, and that's the part of a coach. That's the part of a mentor. Like, you got to understand how to communicate. those things. So being a parent, you're your own coach and your own mentor for your children, but even coaches and mentors that coach ball, like, you've got to find the right way. Because at the end of the day, you're trying to make the kids better. And, you know, if all them get better and, you know, that's why records are broken and, you know, plays are made. So I went off on a little tangent. No, no, but it's the truth, right? Like the aspect of coaching and how important it is to

development at all levels, right? I mean, it's not like you make it to the pros. There's no more coaches, right? Like, even at the highest level, there's coaches there helping you get better, thinking the right mindset. It's, you know, quicker speeds, like so many things that you have to adjust to. So it doesn't matter whether you're eight years old or you're 60 years old. Like the concept of like always learning and always improving at the highest levels through

the form of like having mentors and coaching is important because if not, like, There was a guy that we were talking to yesterday at an event, and he brought up, like, the concept of, you know, the moment that you stop learning and you stop evolving is the moment that you're basically going to fall, right? So you always have to be in that constant, like, growth and constant learning phase. And it's not just skill, like teaching skill and on the field stuff,

but it's also, like, the discipline. Yeah. Like, as I'm older now and, like, have gone through all of that, and now you see the young kids, you see the kids that are undiscipline. You see the kids that are discipline. And like that goes a long way not only and, you know, if they end up going professional or whatever sport they go to, but like when they, you know, they're done with school

and they're looking to enter the real world, like the discipline that's taught at a young age, like carries with, carries with them. And like now, like, over time, like I've read a lot of books and like I like reading and and learning on like success and like being part of a national. championship team, like being around, like, a team like that, you realize, like, why were we, like, it's fun doing that and being a part of it, but it's also, you also want to see, like, why, how did we do it? Right.

Because you want to bottle it up and see, like, how can we recreate this? Like, how do you replicate that? And we tried to do it the next year, but we came up short. And it's funny, we had a guy come in, Dr. Elko. He has a couple books. He speaks to, he's like, what I just basically said, like, success, why people are successful. And that intrigues me. So, like, going back to the topic of not just skill, not just being great at their craft, the discipline it takes, but, like, also doing the right things,

alignment, assignment, technique, like, all these little things help you when you compete. And I know, like, you like to play golf. And, like, I didn't start playing golf until I was in college, but I love the sport and, like, even going to back, like, to what it teaches you at a young age, it teaches you, you know, how to, at a sportsmanship, you know, all these little intangibles that you don't, you might not see. I like those things. It's intriguing. And, like, so, like, now when you see kids or, like, when you coach a team, like, you put all these things, try to put all these things together to help give the player and the team. team the best shot that they can have. Yeah, it's essentially the concept of like doing every single thing possible to reach

that level of excellence, right? It's not about reaching perfection, right? Because there's that kind of misconception of like what's perfection and what's excellence. And it's like you should not be in the pursuit of perfection. You should be in the pursuit of excellence. And there is no end to that, right? Once you reap perfection, like it's unrealistic. You might think that you reach perfection, but you didn't because there's some sort of faults and imperfections in the process, right?

And that's really what makes, I think, you know, a team or a person excellent. It's the process of understanding like, hey, you're going to make mistakes, but how do you bounce back from those mistakes? You're going to have a bad week. How do you not repeat that same thing over and over again? And I think that's truly what separates the ones that are excellent versus the ones that are not excellent. And you can get easily caught up in trying to be perfect. And like, for example, like for me, for the position of a kicker, yeah, is like you want to be perfect.

You can easily get caught up in that. And we'll go back to high school or to peewee, continue the story. So I played soccer, went to high school. Like, throughout my pee-wee years, I would. kick, but I also played middle linebacker, tight end. And favorite college team was Florida State. So I enjoyed it. I also played soccer, but I was a bigger kid naturally, so I would gain a little bit

weight in the fall, but then I'd have to lose the weight in the spring because the heavy you are in soccer, the harder it is to run. And so fought through those challenges. And then when I got to high school, our senior kicker, you know, I was. was focusing on playing soccer, he wasn't going to be, wasn't going to play football. And the coach, the head coach, had seen me kick at these peewee games.

He's like, we want you to be on varsity as a kicker, but you can't play any other positions because I can't have you getting hurt. Then I don't have a kicker. So then I was like, like varsity as a freshman. Right. You know, that's a huge thing. And I thought about it and I'm like,

am I going to let that go of not being able to play any other position? And I enjoyed playing, like, linebacker and tight-hand. But I ended up going the route of being a kicker. I knew I was talented. I knew I was good at it, but, like, not really. Are you still playing soccer at that time, too? So we played soccer after the season. And I didn't tell the coach that I was going to,

He had a varsity spot for me on the team. And I didn't tell him, like, late enough into the season, because I didn't know if I wanted to play soccer, you know. And at the end, like, the kid, my buddies were like, bro, you got to play. Like, come on. Like, you got to play. So I told him late, and he's like, oh, like, for making us wait, like, we're going to start you on bars or on JV.

I was like, I'm fine. It's fine. Whatever. So then the season, like, I went into my first game. I think it was, like, December or February. I got after football ended and I hurt my knee and I was out for like three months. Nothing serious like ACO. I think it was like something like of contusion.

Yeah. But like I crashed with another kid. Like we were going to kick and like my knee hit his like shin or knee. And like I couldn't really like kick or do any like full blown. Like I could like walk but like the doctor's like it's going to take a couple like a month, two months, maybe like three months before you can have. actually a kick again. So that really made me be like, okay, like, I'm going to get hurt in soccer, whatever. And then that, so that was my freshman year, that was my freshman spring, that

that summer, I get a letter in the mail from Cole's kicking. I don't know if you know that, but that's like one of the top ranking specialist camps in the country. And they had a camp they were like, oh, come to one of our camps. We've seen you your kicker, blah, and the closest camp was in West Palm Beach at Cardinal Newman. So I told my parents, like, mom, this camp's in two weeks. Like, we got to go. I convinced them to go.

And so then when I went, I was like, well, it's a camp, it's a training camp. There's going to be other kids there. Dude, and the number one kicker in the country is there, committed to Auburn, Cody Parking. and he was a right he was going to be he was a rising senior i was a rising sophomore me and him were the last two in the in the camp he had an 80-yard kickoff i had a 79 yard kickoff and all the kids are like bro like where are you committed like where like like who are you like i was like i was like this is my first camp like i don't know like i guess i'm good you know what i mean

like very humble about it and like Cody was like man like you're good like keep it up like you're going to go somewhere yeah and I ended up after the coach pulled me aside he pulled my parents aside he's like your your kid's talented

and like going back to like my dad like you know doing all that stuff for us that's kind of like one of those like moments where like his work's paid off I didn't know it at the time I'm just a kid right yeah yeah but like Like, not like, because I'm a father now. So like now seeing that, I bet he was just like, yes, like what I'm doing is working.

And so then he's like, we want to invite your son to come up in two months to the national scholarship camp where we bring in the best in the country and then we rank them. There's three days. You know, you do like three kicking, field goal sessions, three kickoff, you know, you compete with the best of the best. And then they rank you. So in two months, you know, we sat down. We were like, all right, we're going to make it. And like, I really was a kid that didn't really like come from like much. Like we, small town.

Like, you know what I mean? Like there wasn't any big names coming. Like we were talking about Columbus. But like, I like my school wasn't a Columbus. Yeah. So like this camp was in Wisconsin. I never, like I think I had been out of the same. state of Florida, probably like once going back to Mexico when I was younger. But like,

they're like, all right, Wisconsin, like, you're going. Like, you know, we're going to, we're going to stay back. Like, you go. So it's kind of like, all right, like, this is like my first, like, kind of big, big moment to compete. And like, I'm going to be around all these other kickers. Like, think about it, it's the second camp, first camp I went. People were like, you're kind of, like, pretty good. So I come from that camp week out. after I get ranked the number one kicker in the 2012 class. And that's when I was like, all right, like, soccer's kind of, soccer's done. Yeah.

Like this could this could be something like, you know, scholarship. Mm-hmm. And that fast forward through high school, that kid that I competed with at that camp that was the Auburn kicker, I ended up playing with him in the national championship game. Oh, snap. Yeah. Wow, what a full circle. Yeah, man.

That's crazy. I know. I know. And he lives up in Jupiter. And, like, I'll see him around every now. Then we'll hang out. We'll play golf. That's cool.

And, but, no, I, I play, I was ranked the number one kicker. And then so I played my sophomore season. You know, that's when all the interests started coming in, all ACC, all ICC. see. Because the recruiting process kind of starts right after that. Yeah. Yeah. Right into that sophomore year. Exactly. Right into the sophomore year. I just got off from the camp of being ranked number one in July. So right there, all the hits start coming in. Everything like, yeah. It's kind of like life change for me where like you kind of become like a cool kid on campus. You know what I mean? Yeah, the hype started to build up. The hype starts to build. And like,

you know, like you get all these letters and then like slowly people like murmuring the newspaper He wants to talk to you. True. Oh, blah. Like, and that year, that sophomore year, I think I kicked two field goals in the same game. Two 51-yarders both ways, like in the same game. So that was putting me in the newspaper and like Florida State starts coming. And I wanted to go to Florida State.

It was like that was the option. Florida State. It didn't matter what else was coming in. Like Florida State was it. Florida State was my number one. but like when you start getting letters from like USCLA, like Oregon. Yeah.

It makes you be like, man, like you then you see yourself like what if I was there? Right. But then you also got to consider like would I be all the way in the West Coast like family. Exactly. You got to make these considerations.

And, you know, I've always been like, you know, I got as a plan like, you know, it'll work out. Like just keep doing my thing. And then, And then it was that next summer before my junior year, I went to Florida State kicking camp.

So it was the summer after that summer. So the next summer I went to kicking camp. And I competed against the kid. I ended up going to Georgia, but he's from down here. He went to American Heritage. But anyways, that's the first time I meet Coach Fisher. And I won the most MVP at that camp. Wow.

So good for me. Like, I'm on the radar. Like, you've seen me. Especially seen his coach was Eddie Grant. And so win the camp there. Bring me up. Bring the whole family up. Go up to the facility.

You see, you know, see the trophy. You see all the, you know, Chris Winky, you know. I'm in all. And, you know, they're like, your son's very good, you know. We're thinking about we probably will have to recruit your year because of the guy we have now, Dustin Hopkins. He might leave early the way he's kicking. But we can't guarantee anything.

Right. Right. So then we leave, you know, we're like, oh, thank you, coach, whatever. Like, they're like, we're going to be watching you this season, like keep having a great season, you know. And we'll see how Dustin does this year. We'll make a decision, but it looks like we'll probably need it. We're gonna scholarship a kid for your year,

the 2012 year. Season goes, my junior year. I come back up for Junior Day in January. January of my junior year. They bring me up and there's that other kid that's there. His name was, what was his name? He's the one that I ended up going to Georgia. Yes.

So, okay, basically, it was between me and him. Coach brought us in, coach brought my mom in, you know, dad, brother was there. And he's like, so we're taking a guy. It's either going to be you or him. I'll remember his name. And he's like, you're a great kicker. You had a great junior season. he also had a great junior season

we got to figure out what we're going to do he's like but it won't it's not going to take long like we're going to let you know within like week, week or two he's like but it won't take long for some reason like I was like very calm

I don't remember me like being like dang like why don't I get the offer on the drive home my mom was like crying I'm like mom why are you crying she's like I really want you to get this offer like you really like you really want to to Florida State. You know, moms.

Of course. They're always going to overreact to everything else. Yeah, yeah. And I was like, mom, like, you know, it's okay. Like, God's plan. Like, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. Right. You know, obviously, like me, yeah, like, I want to go here.

But if they pick the other guy, like, I'll have another opportunity. We'll figure it out. Yeah, yeah. And get back home, go to school. I think it was like a Tuesday or Wednesday. of that next week. I'm in second period, like, right before lunch.

And my head coach comes and knocks on the door, and he talks to teacher, and he's like, my teacher's like, Roberto, like your head, Coach Banks wants to see you. And everyone in the class is like, oh, you're in trouble. Like, you're going to, you're like, you're in trouble. And I'm thinking like, what did I do? Yeah, yeah.

He's coach coming. And he pulls me out. He's like, how's your day going? I'm like, good? Like, what? He's like, I got Coach Fisher on the phone. I think it's the call you've been waiting for. He gives me the phone and I'm like, I get goosebumps.

I'm like, and think about it, you're a junior like in high school. What am I like? Yeah, you're 16 years old, maybe. Yeah. Hello, Coach Richard. Hello. He's like, hey, boy, how are you doing? Like, you know, he's like, I told you.

He's like, I told you we were going to make you wait that long. And he's like, he's like, I want you to, like, you know, know, coach staff, Coach Grant, like, he's like, we want you to be our kicker. I was like, do you want to be our kicker? I was like, yes, yes, go. Yes, yes, yes, yes. And he's like, great, man, like, you know, we wanted to call you, make the offer. Like, you know, it's a verbal commit.

You can't sign until, obviously, your senior year. Yeah. But, you know, glad to have you on board. And, like, really from there, like, it was all kind of, like, a blur. Like, that's really what all I remember from the car. conversation. It was quick. He would have to Coach Banks. Coach Banks was like, congratulations. And then he was like, call your parents, call my mom, call my dad. My mom was like excited. Yeah, yeah. She was going to be. And my dad was very, very happy.

And I went back in the room. And they were like, oh, so like what are you in trouble for? I'm not in trouble. I just committed to Florida State. And everyone in the class was like, like that's right. That's right. So like, because it's central. Florida. So like a lot of Florida state Florida rivals kids like so it was like 50-50. Yeah. But yeah, man, I was a early commit. That was my first offer. I committed and I stayed. I never decommitted. I never wavered and like not how it is nowadays. We're like right. Yeah, there's like very, very little commitment at this point. A verbal commitment means absolutely nothing. Absolutely. Yeah. And you know, you commit and like those commitments back then were your

staying there for four years. Right. If you transfer out of the conference, you're not playing for two years. Right. You transfer inside the conference, you're not playing for two. If you transfer outside, you're not playing for one. You're still sitting out. Exactly.

So, like, you went there. It was like a commitment. Yeah. It was an actual commitment. And you knew you were going to be there for, you know, three to four years, five years if you redshirted or, you know, you stay longer. But nowadays, it's changed. And, like, it doesn't mean as much because the kids now want to transfer.

And that's a whole other conversation we get into by NIL. Yeah, the volatility is wild nowadays. But it was a testament to, you know, those times in college football where it was like, if you committed, like, that was going to be your school for the next four years, unless something drastic happens. Yeah, unless something drastic happens, you know, there's certain scenarios. But I think it puts more stress on the coaches because the coaches got to be like, who's staying, who's leaving. I got to recruit. Transfer portal. Transfer portal.

Season's over. I got to go, you know, travel, which recruiting is already hard in itself. But like, and then like your fan base. Like your fans are like, oh, like I barely, like now I just wreck it. Like I know this guy's name is now he's gone. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like who's number, you know what I mean? Like it's a huge debate and I talked to a lot of my buddies and people about it and like

where they ask me, what do I think? And I'm kind of just give it to him. It's always changing and like now like wait till the players start getting paid more more than like some of these like boosters that are like donating like you're telling me like I don't know there's a lot of weird like it's volatile for sure because I mean you already have boosters that have been donating over the course of you know the last few years since it's been around and the programs necessarily haven't had a ton of success so now the boosters are like yeah well what am I giving the money for if you guys so then now that's creating a whole other layer to it

where some schools are getting more money, other schools are not, and then you're really competing against dollars at this point and accessibility to funding. Did you see the, I think it's a Netflix show that LSU coach, what's his name? Brian Kelly.

Brian Kelly is represented, has the same agent that one of his players has. That's crazy. That's crazy. So it's like, you know what I mean? Like, it's going to start getting weird. It is. I mean, it's going to become like the NFL.

There's going to be a, There's got to be like a salary cap to all of this. So they're talking about cap. They're talking about like a college, like a players association for the player. Oh, wow. Yeah, it's basically like turning into the NFL. That's insane. I don't know, man.

It's different. It's not amateurism, like kind of like where we were where it was like we're playing for the heart. To make it into the league. Like that's the goal. Like to make it into the league. And like we were kids. One thing is you got an education obviously. Yeah.

You know, the kids were obviously obligated to some sort of compensation considering, like, no, can't work a job and things like that. And I completely understand, like, the school makes the money on basically football. Right. And, like, I get that argument that people say, like, a player should be played or should be paid. But there needs to be more regulations. No, yeah, for sure. When you're 18 to, like, 21, like, and you get, like, all that money.

Like, I don't know, like, either more financial literacy, classes or like, you know, or dispersing it. I don't know. There's a lot you can read up on it, but it's changing, you know, you read up something six months later. It's a different rule. So I don't know. We're definitely in a huge transitional period in college football that.

Hopefully we get it right, especially for the kids, for the coaches, for everyone involved, you know, because it, it, You talk about, like, oh, back then when we were playing, like, it wasn't like this. And like, so like now it's, you know, you got kids going to, you got starting quarterback taking vacations to like Italy during the off-season. And you're like, driving, driving range rovers. I don't know. Lamboes.

Well, that, and then, and then you got your old linemen that don't really get that much. No, no. Because they're old linemen. They're not marketable. Yeah, they're the, you know, the sexy positions that are getting all the love. and it's the one that's more popular than this guy. It's, it's,

it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's,

I don't think they realized what was gonna come with it. And I think now it's like, you learn as you go and you adapt as you go. But until then, it's not, it's like, there's gonna be some growing pains in this. Yeah.

Yeah. And like, like, like I said, that's a whole wormhole. Yeah. Yeah. Like, um, back to, back to, yeah,

tell me a little bit about like, obviously your time. Yeah. with Jimbo at FSU. Obviously, those two years became, you know, pretty generational room for Florida State, led by James on offense there. And then, you know, just a ton of talent across the board and just, you know, national championship. It was a crazy two years for Florida State. Crazy two years.

And looking back, like, when we were going through it, like, that first 2013 season, I registered in my 2012 year. James was also redshirted behind E.J. but like that class of Darby, PJ Williams, Eddie Goldman, James, me, like we were a very,

first it was a good recruiting class. Yeah. But like we meshed very well. And we learned, we got to learn behind E.J. I got to sit a year and learned behind Dustin, which I'll go more into that about how huge that was. Mm-hmm.

So leading up to the 2013 year, no expectations of winning a national championship. Like we had just won the Orange Bowl. Like we beat Northern Illinois. But it's like Northern Illinois. Like we lost two games. We were like 10 and 2, which was great. But like, you know, we had Clemson that had Taj Boyd and like, you know, there was there was roadblocks in front of us. And so anyways, we go to the spring game.

play well, whatever. And I feel like we were just a bunch of kids just having a good time playing ball. And I think Coach Fisher, I like to call him Jimbo. Yeah, Coach Fisher, yeah, Jimbo. Did a good job of keeping us week to week, not like our goals to win a national championship,

which, you know, at Florida State, it should be. Right. It's almost like the standard, but if you focus too much on the angle, you're going to, you know, week to week. Yeah, you look at the top of the mountain. It looks. Yeah, it looks like, I don't know.

Just look at the next step in front of you, you know. So you did a good job of our opponent has no face. And we every week, you know, this week, that's all we focus on. We don't focus on the opponent after. We just focus on this week. Dotting our eyes, crossing our T's. There's all these sayings that Coach Fisher had. and that Dr. Elko guy that would come.

He would also bring in good speakers that would come to talk to us and find a crumb. Like that was our, I was on our undershirts for the games. Find a crumb. Meaning like, you don't have to get the whole meal, like the whole bread. Like, all we got to do is find a crumb every day. When you go to practice, find a crumb. And, man, like when we went out to pit, beat them,

it was kind of like, yeah, we won. At least for me, like, I look at it. Like, we won, like, cool. Like, you know, James did good, but, like, I watched him at practice every day and, like, he does the same thing. So, like, there was, it was no surprise to us. Obviously what you see in the media, like, James Winston freshman, like, you know, it goes blah, blah, blah, of course.

This is great. And you go, Pitt, we won a couple of divisional games, like, against, I can't remember who the games were after. I remember Pitt first game. And then week, like, five or six was Clemson. And we had won all those games, but it never really was like, he, like, really did anything. It was almost like we kind of, like, we're supposed to win,

like, good job we won. That was, like, the true. But Clemson was the biggest test. We were four, they were three ranked. We had college game day. It was our first big crack at, like, shoot, like, all right. Now, now it's like a test.

And it was in Death Valley, like, at Clemson. Yep. So the whole week, like, we had good practice week. And, like, we knew, like, if we play good, like, we'll give him a good run. And, like, all we want to do is get to the fourth quarter and, like, you know, give ourselves a chance. Right. We did good about not making a lot of errors. we were good situationally, four minute, two minute.

Like, we would always work those situations on Thursdays. Like, we would come in, like, need a field goal, you know, all that. Like, subconsciously, like, you remember, like, how coach would run the practices and, like, very good competition, like, never, like, we're lacking in this area. We were good, but this was our first test with someone else that was really good. and we go in there and they had it on the TVs or somewhere where like you know how Clemson goes up

they drive in there in the bus and they go up to the top of the stadium they were in there they were moving the buses and they were like running down that rock where they touched the line. Oh, I know. And we were like, all right, they're ready to play. Mm-hmm. All right. I mean, it's a crazy environment.

And I remember when we were on the sidelines warming up before we were going in, I was talking to my punter, Kaysen, and like we were like closer than we are now, like on the bench. And I was just like, he's like, what? I'm like, blah, blah, blah. And he's like, I can't, I can't hear you. I'm like, I'm like, dude, it's loud. First biggest test of like, we had this. We were prepared, though, with the silent count.

Like, we weren't like, you can't. It's always like the center looks back. Quarterbacks ready. He taps. There's all different ways to do silent count, but we were ready. We kickoff. I remember I was nervous. I think we started out with kickoff.

I got too hype. I weren't burning it down the middle of the field. I was just like, what are you doing? Because Sammy Watkins is back there. And I'm like, I'm like, I don't want to kick it to him and start the game with an opening kickoff or a touchdown. Oh, man, but that was a good learning experience for me. I was like, dude, I can't get hype. because I'm a kicker.

I'm not running down there. I'm not running down there to go hit somebody. Like, I got to stay composed because I've got to hit it well because Sammy Watkins can return kicks. And, no, I mean, the rest is history. Like, we score and then we sack fumble Taj. LaMarcus returns it. Dude, 51-14.

Like, wait. No, no, no, no. It was a, I can't remember the score. It was a beat down. It was a beat down, yeah. And I think it was 51-14. But it was, it was like, that stadium got so quiet. Yeah.

Like after we were up by like two touchdowns, three touchdowns, like. Did that, did that kick like a switch in you guys though? Oh, yeah. After that, after that, after that, we could do this now. We could do this. Because the next, the other opponents were like, what else? Usually those ACC schedules is, you know, it's like we got a big game.

And then, you know, you'll have a stretch of a couple. Miami, Miami. Yeah, Miami. What happened in that Miami game? We won. And I can't remember, I think you. The Miami guy. But like Miami, like growing up, like the rivalry with Florida State.

Of course, yeah. One of college football's best rivalries. Yeah, I always respected them, like, going in. Like, they're like. That year, I don't remember if that was in Miami or at Florida State. I can't remember either. But they're like Miami would always, like, they're a team that could beat us if we didn't play well.

Right. But going back, like, we didn't know how good we were until we beat Clemson. And now we're like, okay, like, we're good. Yeah. We can be Clemsonsons. Be Clemson on the road. Stomp them. Yeah, in prime time.

In prime time. And then make it a statement. Media, like, we're all on TV, like Florida State. James went, you know, we, we dominated that whole schedule. Like, Wake Forest. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, that's how I got some.

how I broke the NCAA scoring record. Because you had so many opportunities. Yeah, so many kicks. And, man, but like, it was just fun. Yeah, no, I can imagine. A guy, like, obviously, like, you see, you're seeing James, like, in another light right now. Obviously, we know James from Florida State and, you know,

his career in the NFL, he's obviously moved around, but he's become such like a big personality. But you know what? He was that guy at Florida State. Yeah. And he needs to be that guy to play well. And I think when he went to Tampa, like, originally, like, he had to be the first round, the franchise quarterback. So, like, you can't be joking around.

Like, you can't be like. And, like, you almost feel like that seriousness. Yeah. Like, like, took that spark away from who he is. Going back to, like, understanding if you're a coach, if you're a GM, if you're, you know, understand, like, not everyone's going to be the same. Yeah. If you're thinking about someone you want in your head about like, oh,

they got to be serious. And they might not function well in that. Yeah. And like I know like the, you know, you want to be the face of the franchise so you got to be serious. You got to be. But like after Tampa,

I noticed when he went to Saints, like you could, he is more open like publicly. Yes. And like now he's full blown like choking and like happy and like, but that's how he was at Florida State. And like that's how kind of, we all kind of just were for kids.

and like just having fun with it. We just having fun. And like everything gelled. Like we were cool. Like everything just worked. And we go. We beat Wakeford. We beat all these teams.

Like I don't know if you've seen the Jimbo Fisher interview that had with Freddie Stevenson. But he was going off on stats. Like we're the highest point differential. So he said we're the highest point differential, second highest point differential ever in college football. Wow. The only.

person, the only team that's beat us was LSU, like three years ago. The Joe Burrow year. Yes. Yeah. But they had 15 games. We had 14. Okay. And they beat us by one point.

It was a one point difference in point differential between the team? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So stats like that. No, it shows a level of dominance, obviously, like we came in. But then I saw something else like in the last like 25, 30 years, we're number. number one and like by a lot.

Yeah. It was like 39 and a half like point differential. It was a dominant football team. And every, like, I don't know if you've seen the, the, the graphic where it's like, every one of the starters ended up going to the league. I ever long, some people are still there. Some people are. Right.

But dude, we were like. How many, I forget how many first rounders came out of that team, but I think it was like double digits. Probably, yeah. Between like that year and the year after. Yeah. But heading to, to. So we win the AC championship game.

We're cruising. We have award season. Jamis wins, the Heisman, Davey O'Brien, Stork won the best, the Remington Award, best O'LiCenter. Nick O'Leary wins, I think the Remington,

whichever one goes at the tide, the Mackey. O'Leary won the Mackey. I won the Groza. O'Marcus Joyner won the Jim Thorpe, whatever, the defensive team. back. So that was a war season. Yeah, that's crazy.

Everything's like, it's great. The student, the fan bait, like, we're playing Auburn Tigers in Pasadena. And you know, what's funny is I thought we were going to play Alabama. But we played Florida that year. And that's, you know, the last game of the season when you play it right. Of course, yeah. So we were coming back from Gainesville. We had beat Florida. We're coming back from Gainesville.

And it was the game where, where, um, Auburn, Alabama. Was that the kick six? The kick six game? We saw it on the bus. I remember watching that game live. I didn't realize that. Dude, that's what.

So, so Auburn wins. No, no, no. Yeah. Yeah. On the kick six. Yes. And that put them in the SEC championship game,

which led them to getting into the title game. Wow. But if Bama would have won, I think that would have been a whole different story. We would have played Bama, and that would have been obviously huge. But the kick six was crazy. No, that was one of the craziest plays I've ever witnessed live on TV.

We were on the bus and we were watching it. We were like, you know, we're watching on the little screens in the bus, you know? Yeah, because how many times have you seen that moment happen? You're like, okay, whatever, you'll get tackled. And then you're like, oh, my God, he's breaking this and he's gone. Yeah, and we started practicing that after. Yeah, you're like, I'm not going to let that happen. Yes.

Well, the funny thing is we started practicing that after, and coach puts me back to 64 yards. And I'm like, I'm going to try to make this. Yeah. And I make it. And who is the returner? The returner that returned it in the national championship, not Bo. But Kermit William.

He was back there and he just was like, I can't do anything with this one. And Jimbo was like, damn it. He's like, I didn't think you're going to make it. He's like, you got to push you back further. So that's my furthest in practice in a life situation. But no, we practiced well. during, during, uh, whole practice and tally, we went out there, dude, and I think I'll tell people, like, that's the most, like, calm and comfortable, like, obviously other games I was calm and

comfortable, but like, I wasn't really nervous. I don't know why. I think it was, at that point, you feel so settled in. So settled in, but I didn't make it more than it needed to be. It was like, we were just having fun and, like, playing and, like, it's just like it's another game it's just another game I remember like Kirk Curve Street

Lee Corso coming by I was driving the bike you know Nick Savin came up to me and he was like he was like we should recruited you he said we had you

we would be here that's pretty cool because of the kick six that's pretty cool I laughed I thought that was funny that is pretty epic but all this like

happened right before kickoff because you know how they're getting off the field yeah you know there's everyone and like anyone is on the sideline.

100%. And I remember the smoke and everything, but like, I was just like, you know, just put it where you need to and like... Do what you do best. Yeah. And like that's going back to like, you know, success and like, you know... That repetition.

Yeah. Oh, repetition breeds that confidence. And like, you're competitors and you know you're ready, you're prepared. But we started the game and like we weren't doing really well. and like. Yeah, it was a slow start. But then our old QB coach was now with Auburn.

And have you heard the whole thing about still in the place? Well, I know that's a thing. Like nowadays more than it's ever been before. So, so allegedly, like it did happen in that game. Because he knew some of the signals. And he was picking up. I don't know if it's really coming up signals from you guys. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, relaying it over to the defense.

Because, like, James would come up like, they're, like, they're freakishly, like, there went. Two quick spots. Yeah. Yeah. And then, I think, like, Coach Fisher, like, changed up the plays or came with a different. Like, signal package. Yeah, but for some reason, he was like, let's just put up towels. Putting up towels to the calls to the signals.

and we started actually moving the ball. Yeah, things started moving. Interesting. So that was a big thing inside the game. Yeah. And I had a kick early on in the game that was huge because we end up winning by three. Yep. And their kicker, the kicker that I kicked against in my first camp, missed one.

Wow. And I still give them shit to this day. And when I see him, well, like, we won't talk about four. football, but like, whenever it comes up, I'm like, hey, by the way, remember that kick? Or like, all over the ring, like, it's just like a nice little subtle flex right there. Oh, but no, I had another field goal in the third or fourth quarter that was, that ended up, ended up putting us. Kind of being the difference, man.

Kind of being the difference, but really that kick six by Kermit returning it. Huge. The guy on Auburn caught a cramp, and he fell down. down and he just caught a cramp. Oh, wow. And that opened it up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, man, that was, that was amazing.

I was, I was on the sideline. I was really kind of like, dang, like, this is happening. We're like, we were down by like 20, 21 points. Was it that big? At one point, at one point. At one point it was like 213, I think, or 243. I remember because I watch it, like, every now and do you really? I got, at least like two times a year.

I'll just put it on the back and just like. Oh, hell yeah. Are you kidding me? Glory to be right there. Because it's one of the craziest national championship games. 100%. If you can remember, like, in the past, like, 20, 30 years, like, we were, I thought, like, we're getting crushed.

Like, we going back to half, in halftime, we come back, like, things go right. That dude catches the cramp. We return it. Right. You know what I mean? It's like that momentum shift right there. That momentum shift. And then the last drive, dude.

Amis goes in there, you know, all right, guys. Like, here we go. And we're going to do it. I forget specifically what he said. He said something. I forget. No, all the plays were drawn out, like Rashad catching it, running up.

And we didn't need a field goal, so I'm like, I'm useless now. Yeah. You know, we need a touchdown. But my field goals put them in position. Put them in that position to be able to. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because if we did it, then it's like, well, we're done. Like, they scored, we're, the game's over.

So, but we had prepared the two-minute, like, every week, every week. It was for this moment, right? For this moment, man. And that last play was the KB. And Brian Stork does, has painted some of the paintings of the final play. I forget what it's called, but he writes it on his. On his art. Yeah, on the art.

And, dude, cover of Sports Illustrated, like, he scored. He scored. And, like, everyone, like, goes crazy. And we're like, we got to kick the extra point. because there was still time on the clock Yeah yeah yeah Yeah, yeah, we got to go right there At that point you're already

Like in that celebration mindset Like holy shit we just pulled this off Yeah, yeah yeah And then like we kick it and we're like Was that time expired? I think I had to kick off again. There was a little bit of time Yeah, yeah, there was a little bit of time

So I had to go kick off again I got to go kick off kicked off held them They didn't return it Yeah And yeah man And then that was pretty much it after that much it like it's really like one that's got to be one of the most like surreal moments surreal moments

because in the moment we didn't know the history that we were that we were making you how easy not how easy but like we were able to accomplish it you thought oh we're just going to do it again next year right like like we're we have the same coach like you know we're running back with a lot of guys yeah like maybe some guys are leaving but like we're going to get recruits coming in because We were national champions. You know, we had Jalen the next year, Ramsey. True. Still, man, like that one group of guys, like, we did it that year.

That next year, we came up short against. It was a dominant run, though. It was a dominant run. Go undefeated up until the Rose Bowl against Oregon, against, you know, Marriota, who obviously, you know, had a great college career and made it into the NFL as well and has succeeded in the NFL. Yeah.

But I mean, shit. I mean, most college football programs would love that. And I remember there was a time because I was, was it was a, I was a, yeah, I was a sophomore that second year. So freshman year was the national championship year and then sophomore year. And I remember like talking to one of my boys. It was a Clemson weekend in Talley the second year, right? And we were like, oh, like, what happens if we lose? Like, what are we going to do?

And then we look at each other like, I don't know. We haven't lost yet. No, dude, I know. It was crazy. Yeah, we didn't know what losing was for a long time. And I think that's ultimately what was part of our, not demise, but us losing out in. At that point, like the math starts to kick in. It's like it's just a matter of time before it goes down.

Like it's hard to win already as it is. It's hard to win for that long of time. Like mistakes are going to happen and a good team is going to be able to take advantage at one point. certain breaks can only go your way. Like it's, it's like, it's math. And that whole year, we were kind of like, a lot, squeak and stuff.

Oh my God, bro. The Louisville game. There was so many games that year that were like, holy shit, we just escaped that. Yeah. Even Clemson Halloween weekend was like a down to the water. When Carlos ran it at the end. I thought I was going to have to hit the game winner.

Yeah. Carlos ran it. I was like, like, good stuff. Yeah, because that's when James was out. Sean was quarterback. Dude, like, that's what you're fighting against. Exactly. And the fact that you continue to get through that is wild.

It's wild. Yeah, man. So, like, we were fighting through stuff that year, barely squeaking out wins, but we would get them. Yeah. Get them. And, like, coach would be like, you know,

we didn't play good. Like, we didn't, but, like, we ended up coming out with the W. And, like, that's all that matters. Like, but Oregon, I remember when we were out here, we didn't have really good practices leading up. I think we were kind of just a little overcome. jumping in.

We're one, like, you know, it's like, we'll find a way to win. Well, you haven't lost it so long. It's like, how do you, like, where's the motivation at that point, too? Yeah. Like, obviously there's motivation every, you know, week to week to just continue to win. Yeah. But sometimes you need that little kind of like knock down to be like shit. This is what it feels like.

Yeah. And like, think about, like, the freshman that year were like, we haven't lost. Yeah, exactly. So they just think, like, oh, we're good. And like, so, like, we didn't have a good week. I remember Coach Fisher being like this week of probably. practice out here sucked. Like, you guys need to, like,

figure it out, like, because, and I think we went in there, dude, on our heels. Like, I think we were just like, oh, we'll fix it. Like, you know what I mean? Like, we'll be fine. Yeah. Oregon came in there.

Ready to punch. Like, they were ready. And we, like, I think we were just behind the ball. That was Christobal was there, right? That year? Christopher. Was Christopher head coach of Oregon at that time? Oh, oh, no.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right? Because Christopal was before Willie. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He might have been, yeah. But dude, they were, they were, they, but nothing was going our way. Like, we were just once.

No, there was a lot of bad breaks in that game. Obviously, the James play with, like, kind of like the slip fumble. And it just, it just kind of felt like we can never get that, that, that momentum. I, yeah. Before half, I hit a field goal. It would have been my career long. It dinks off the upright. Just like.

Just nothing wanted to go. thing very like. The magic just started out of disappearing. It's almost like in that moment we're kind of like, dang, we haven't been in this like. Yeah, how do we, how do we get out of us now? We just couldn't get out of it, man. And like, that was the game to get us to another national championship.

And no, but eventually it was going to come and I think it came. Obviously, it stinks, but we needed that and kind of like, we had a whole offseason to sit on it. Yeah. But it shows you like how hard it is to win a national championship. And like, for Nick Saban to do it, like, how often has he's done it? He's a different, like, but like he's Nick Saban, you know what I mean? Like, but no, it's great to be part of that.

We just had our 10-year reunion. Oh, nice. A couple years ago. That was good. And you're always etched in FSU history. Like, everyone knows the 93 team. Everyone knows the 99 team. Now it's the 13 team.

And it's good to, you always have a connection with them. and it's good to, you know, we hope that the program does a little bit better this year, but it's always, like, pushing for the guys and, like, you know, because when you were there, you would see the old guys come back. You're like, oh, my God, yeah. Like, it's good to have the players come back and, you know, give that motivation. But we start this year with Bama. Yeah, that'll be interesting.

I'm not going. A lot of people have asked. Yeah. But new stadium. Yeah, a lot of changes in the stadium. But, like, I think there's low expectation for this year. And I think, I think. Lower than like the standard for Florida State.

Lower than the state. I think, you know, with everything that happened last year, plus what happened the year before, you know, undefeated season, you know, it's like, holy cowley did it. Unfortunate things happened with Travis and all that. And, you know, kind of didn't get in, even though we all know they deserve to be in there. Simple math.

You win. Yeah. You go undefeated, your power conference. Like, you deserve to be in there, right? But injuries happen, and then they're like, nope, sorry, you're not going to get in. And then to have that follow-up year or the year after, it was like, what a turn of events. So now it's like, where does this team even stand right now? So, like, last year going out to Ireland, like, everyone was like, oh, yeah, I want to go beat Georgia Tech.

Georgia Tech comes in and you're like, ah, it's ECCC game on the road, tough down, we'll bounce back. We win out, we'll be fine. And it rests history. It was tough to be a fan last year. It was ugly. And this year, like, honestly, like, this year, like, if you're a Florida State fan, just play football. Like, there's their expectations. Yeah, like, but, like, there's, like, you know, like, the quarterback, you know, he's out there.

Tommy. Oh, we're going to, you know, we're going to do that. And, like, Jimbo, like, we didn't ever do that when we were there. But, like, you know, if he has the confidence and, like, that's great. Yeah. But at the end of the day, like, Coach Fisher would be, like, you're going to have to play them on the football field. Yeah.

You know, like that's the real time. So hopefully, you know, they do go out and end up, you know, playing well. And all you want is good football. Of course. Good football. Competitive football. Competitive football. No penalties.

Like, you know, reduced penalties. Like, if you play a good game, you know, game plan well, coach, you know, coach well. And if you lose, that's okay. You're okay. The other team just outright beat you. Yeah. But if we go out there, shoot ourselves. in the foot, you know, like drop passes or like, you know.

Yeah, mistakes that like you can avoid for yourself. Drop a punt, they get it. You know, easy scores for them. That's like. Exactly. You're giving the game away. Exactly. So that's really all you hope for for the season.

You know, good ball and like good competition. Yeah. No expectations. Just go out there, play. And I think that's, that's kind of like the beauty of having the year that you have is like, you just no expectations going into this year. Yeah, exactly. It's kind of like, you want to say like put it like when I was there.

Whereas like the reverse of last year was like expectations high because. because you're like, you kind of got to prove something because you got snubbed of not making into the playoffs having an undefeated season. And then it's like, bar is so high that the pressure starts to hit you and then bad things start happening. And then it's just stacking over and over and over and over again. But I think, too, you're right there. But I think too, now we have to put in more into consideration the NIL. Yeah, true. That kids can transfer because we had Jared verse, braided face, like all these transfers that came in and now they're all gone.

Yeah. And Norvel hit on those, but then the neck is last, can you continue to hit? Because you're going to have guys that leave out of nowhere. Yeah. Guys that leave. And then it's like, can I replace him? Yeah. But kind of before we wrap it up.