Noles News: Florida attorney general files lawsuit against NCAA fighting FSU, UF penalties over NIL (2024)

Remembering Marcus Outzen

We start today’s Noles News off with some sad news, as former Florida State quarterback Marcus Outzen passed away Tuesday evening.

Nicknamed “Rooster” because of his red hair, he stepped in as starter after a season-ending injury to Chris Weinke during the 1998 season. A week after the redshirt freshman’s first start, a win over Wake Forest, Ouzten led the Seminoles to a win over Florida. The Gators, 9-1 on the season, were simply loaded on defense and many feared that FSU would get run out of its own house — Outzen managed the game well, going 13-22 for 167 yards with one touchdown (one of the top plays in Florida State history, a miracle connection with Peter Warrick) and zero interceptions as FSU prevailed 23-12 in one of the most memorable games in the FSU-UF rivalry.

The Seminoles faced off against Tennessee in the BCS National Championship, but fell short in a 23-16 loss.

Over his time at Florida State, he went 72 of 121 for 1,074 yards and five touchdowns with six interceptions.

From the Tallahassee Democrat:

“Marcus was a good friend to a lot of people,” former FSU teammate Bobby Rhodes said. “People liked him, on and off the field. This is so sad.”

Brad Dempton, Outzen’s best friend and college roommate at FSU, pointed to Outzen’s character and integrity. He added Outzen’s wife Tara and their three children were at “the center of his world.”

“Marcus’s legacy is not only in his achievements but in the love he shared and the lives he touched. Indeed he loved them deeply in return,” Dempton said. “Throughout his life, Marcus cultivated a vast circle of friends who admired his genuine care and the respect he showed to all.”

He was also an avid golfer, often playing with Dempton and former FSU and Tampa Bay Bucs receiver Barry Smith. Dempton also pointed to the special connection that Outzen’s father, Eric Outzen, had with his son and his friends.

“He had a magical connection and was instrumental in the development of this amazing kind of human,” Dempton said.

Added Smith: “We are all speechless.

“Marcus loved Florida State, a great family fan and so passionate. I am devastated for his wife and kids. Every time you saw him, he always had a great smile.”

Recruiting

Have questions about what’s been going down in the world of Florida State recruiting, be it 2025, 2026 or some other year that makes you realize how old you are? Head to the latest edition of our official recruiting thread:

Florida State Recruiting: Class of 2025 Commitments

QUARTERBACK: 4 star Tramell Jones Jr (FL)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 5 star Solomon Thomas (FL)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Javion Hilson (FL)

LINEBACKER: 4 star Ethan Pritchard (FL)

Football

Another week, another lawsuit filed around Florida State football — this time, it’s Florida’s attorney general Ashley Moody taking action over penalties handed out to FSU and UF over NIL infractions.

First-of-their-kind NIL penalties were handed down to the Seminoles, with the school being forced to disassociate from NIL collective Rising Spear as well as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Alex Atkins being dealt a three-game suspension to start the 2024 season.

From her press release:

In the midst of actions against Florida universities over alleged NIL violations, Attorney General Ashley Moody is taking legal action against the National Collegiate Athletic Association for violating antitrust laws. Until recently, the NCAA did not meaningfully enforce its unclear and constantly changing NIL policy. Suddenly, only days after the NCAA published a series of posts on X updating its NIL guidance, news broke that the NCAA was pursuing both UF and FSU for purported NIL violations.

These arbitrary actions—which will have a chilling effect on the ability of Florida’s student athletes to discuss and negotiate fair NIL agreements—underscore the urgent need for today’s lawsuit. The multistate action alleges that the NCAA has imposed restrictions on the ability of student athletes to benefit from name, image, and likeness deals. Attorney General Moody argues these restrictions should be stopped immediately.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “It appears no one could ever comply with these ever-changing and unfair regulations that limit the ability of student athletes to negotiate in good faith. I am taking legal action to reverse the unlawful restrictions the NCAA has placed on Florida universities and our collegiate athletes.”

The NCAA prohibits prospective student athletes from discussing NIL opportunities with schools and collectives prior to enrollment. These restrictions, which are plainly illegal, prevent Florida student athletes from:

• Negotiating with collectives,

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• Reviewing NIL offers prior to making enrollment decisions, and

• Learning about the full scope of NIL-related services schools might offer upon enrollment.

Joining Attorney General Moody in the action against the NCAA are the states of Tennessee and New York, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

ESPN took a look at the most impactful transfer for each top 25 team, with no real surprise on Florida State’s end as quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was chosen for the Seminoles:

Why: Receiver could make sense here considering the Noles lost Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson to the NFL after productive 2023 seasons, but the quarterback drives Mike Norvell’s offense, just look at what happened when Jordan Travis went down. Uiagalelei feels like he’s played college football forever after ranking as the No. 1 pocket passer in the 2020 ESPN 300. He’ll step in as a starter in Norvell’s balanced offense after Travis was drafted. Uiagalelei enjoyed a resurgent 2023 season with Oregon State, throwing for 2,638 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He’s at his best when he has time in the pocket to process coverage and Oregon State did a good job keeping him clean.

What to expect: There is a big enough sample size to know Uiagalelei will struggle if pressured and his accuracy is streaky. He won’t have to shoulder the load at Florida State and can rely on a balanced offense with a strong running game. Uiagalelei can be more of a facilitator than a difference-maker like he was for the Beavers. His experience alone makes the Seminoles a conference contender next season.

Baseball

An update on Florida State’s MLB players, via FSU Sports Info:

Cole Sands, P, Minnesota Twins

Sands pitched in two games against the White Sox and the series finale versus the Angels this week. Against Chicago he pitched 1.0 inning, striking out one batter and gave up one hit in his first appearance. Two days later he earned his first win of the season in a 1.0-inning showing. In Anaheim, Sands struck out three, suffered two hits and one earned run over 1.2 innings. He currently holds a 1.35 ERA and has struck out 19 batters over 13.1 innings of work this season.

Luke Weaver, P, New York Yankees

Weaver made two appearances this past week. Versus the Oakland Athletics, he pitched 2.2 perfect innings, striking out three batters. In Milwaukee he pitched 2.2 frames, finishing with two strikeouts, allowing only one hit and one walk.

Cal Raleigh, C, Seattle Mariners

Raleigh’s week was highlighted by a multi-hit game versus the Texas Rangers, which included his sixth home run of the year. He also added two RBI in the contest bringing his season total to 13.

DJ Stewart, OF, New York Mets

Stewart has gotten a hit in the Mets last two games versus the St. Louis Cardinals. He reached base a total of four times and scored one run in those games.

Tyler Holton, P, Detroit Tigers

In Holton’s one appearance this past week he allowed two hits and five earned runs in 0.1 innings versus the Kansas City Royals.

Taylor Walls, INF, Tampa Bay Rays

Walls started the season on the 10-Day Injured List and has since been moved to the 60-Day Injured List following hip surgery this offseason.

Softball

Florida State softball came up short in an impressive rally vs. the Gators last night, snapping a six-game winning streak vs. Florida:

FSU softball freshman Jaysoni Beachum as named a Top 25 Finalist for the 2024 USA Softball National Player of the Year:

Beachum is the first true freshman in Florida State history to be named a Top 25 Finalist for the award and is the only freshman on the list this year. Beachum was also named Softball America’s Freshman of the Month for the third consecutive month on Wednesday morning.

Beachum is in the midst of one of the greatest freshman seasons in school history. Beachum is hitting a blazing .447 with 14 home runs and 59 RBI including seven home runs in her last 10 games. Beachum has already broken the freshman RBI record and is on pace to break nearly every freshman hitting record at Florida State. Beachum is also nearing the overall RBI record for a single season at Florida State which is held by Maddie O’Brien who drove in 83 runs in 2014. Beachum is also in line to finish with the highest batting average in school history which is currently held by Danielle Cox who hit .432 in 1999. This season, Beachum ranks in the Top 20 nationally in batting average, hits, RBI, on base percentage and total bases.

Beachum has also been outstanding in the field and is continuing FSU’s long legacy of stellar third base play. Beachum has made 49 starts at the hot corner and has just five errors on 135 attempts for a .967 fielding percentage.

Beachum will look to become FSU’s third National Player of the Year and the first FSU hitter to win the award. Jessic van der Linden won the award in 2004 and Lacey Waldrop won the award in 2014.

All Sports

Florida State men’s basketball added a pair of portal picks on Wednesday — UTSA Roadrunners transfer Justin Thomas and South Dakota transfer Bostyn Holt:

Holt’s game—not his talent— reminds of Kyle Anderson (who himself is a poor man’s Scottie Barnes). He uses his body in the paint to get position and shoot over the top of smaller defenders. and gets to the free throw line a lot. He has nice court vision and uses size to pass over people, with actually a pretty nice assist rate.

Thomas does seem capable of initiating offense in limited capacity, and appears to be pretty decently quick laterally and his block/steal rates at Milwaukee support that. He gets to the free throw line a ton, which is a theme across every single portal addition this year, and looks comfortable out to 23 feet off a screen or even off the bounce — he did shoot 44% from 3 at Milwaukee, but only on 54 attempts (and only 35% in conference play.)

Thomas was actually a top 250 type recruit (3-star) but in the 2020 class, so evals were all over the map that year. He definitely “looks” like a typical FSU player — long, and finishes in transition well. He’s also a little loose with the handle, but very versatile.

No. 9 FSU men’s tennis is set to kick off its NCAA Tournament run starting tomorrow:

The Tallahassee regional will include Florida State, Florida, UCF, and North Florida beginning on Friday, May 3. No. 25 Florida and No. 36 UCF will play at 1 p.m. before Florida State will face No. 70 North Florida at 4 p.m. Winners of the Friday matches meet on Saturday at 4 p.m. to advance to the super regionals. FSU swept Florida 4-0 earlier in the season, defeated UCF in 2019 in their lone postseason matchup, and holds a 13-match winning streak over North Florida.

This marks the fifth time in program history that FSU will host a regional. 2024 ACC Coach of the Year Dwayne Hultquist has led the Seminoles to their 20th appearance in the last 21 tournaments. Last season, FSU swept Baylor in the first round to record a fifth-straight second round appearance when qualifying for the championship.

The Seminoles claimed their first-ever ACC Championship this season with four victories in four days, defeating No. 65 Virginia Tech, No. 11 NC State, No. 7 Wake Forest, and No. 2 Virginia to become the lowest seed to win the championship. FSU finished the regular season 21-7 with 15 victories away from home and 10 wins against ranked opponents.

Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc is coming off one of the best comebacks in collegiate tennis, winning five straight games down 5-2 in the third set to win the ACC Championship and knock off No. 2 Virginia. He was named the 2024 ACC Player of the Year, earned his second straight All-ACC Singles First Team honor, and claimed the No. 3 seed in the 2024 NCAA Singles Championship.

Cornut-Chauvinc and Joshua Dous-Karpenschif were named to the All-ACC Doubles Second Team and qualified for the 2024 NCAA Doubles Championship for a second straight season. Jamie Connel was named to the All-ACC Third Team off a 20-win season and won all four of his matches at the ACC Championship.

No. 20 Florida State women’s tennis will face UNC Asheville (16-3, 5-0 Big South) in the NCAA Tournament on Friday:

Florida State finished the regular season with a 16-8 record and reached the semifinals of the ACC tournament.

Graduate Senior Vic Allen has been dominant this season, as she has earned 14 victories in both singles and doubles. Allen is ranked 21st in the singles and 19th in the doubles with sophom*ore Millie Bissett. Bissett also enters this weekend with 13 singles victories.

Ellie Schoppe comes into this weekend with 15 wins in singles and 11 in doubles. Schoppe is the 36th-ranked national singles player.

Sophom*ore Kristyna Lavickova has earned 11 victories and is currently on a nine-game win streak.

Anna Arkadianou leads the team with 16 singles wins and 10 doubles victories. Arkadianou is ranked No. 70 in doubles with Allen.

Florida State has 19 program victories in the NCAA Tournament dating back to 2000, including 17 from head coach Jen Hyde. Hyde has led the Seminoles to two quarterfinals in two of the previous five seasons.

UNC Asheville comes into this weekend’s matchup having won the Big South Conference Championship. Senior Linge Steenkamp leads the team with 15 singles victories and has totaled 13 wins in doubles.

Friday’s match begins at 10 a.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. No. 4 Georgia and Alabama State follow with a match at 1 p.m. The winner of each match will meet in the second round on May 4 at 1 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on Seminoles.com.

Florida State men’s golf was selected as the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Stanford Regional:

The announcement was made during Wednesday’s NCAA Men’s Golf Championship selection show on the GOLF Channel. The Seminoles must finish in the Top 5 of its 14-team regional, which also includes Ole Miss (2), Illinois (3), Texas A&M (4), Stanford (5), UCLA (6), SMU (7), Missouri (8), Fresno State (9), UNLV (10), Augusta (11), Liberty (12), Sacramento State (13) and Siena (14).

This year’s NCAA Men’s Golf Championship is held at a new site at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa located in Carlsbad, Calif.

The Seminoles continue their impressive run of making 18 consecutive NCAA Regionals. FSU has made three consecutive trips to the NCAA Finals (Top 30), including reaching the match play semifinals last season and the match play quarterfinals in 2021.

A Seminole has won each of the last four stroke-play tournaments heading into NCAA Regionals. Sophom*ore Luke Clanton won three straight tournaments at the Seminole Intercollegiate (March 12), the Valspar Collegiate Invitational (March 26) and the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial (April 9). Senior Frederik Kjettrup was named co-champion of the ACC Championship on April 21.

FSU went to the Morgan Hill Regional last year near San Jose, which was won by Clanton.

The combination of Clanton and Kjettrup has formed one of collegiate golf’s best duos in the country, with Clanton holding a 69.30 stroke-play average and Kjettrup at 70.56. Clanton is ranked No. 2 nationally while Kjettrup is 37th.

Senior Gray Albright has come up big this year, sitting third on the team with a 71.22 stroke average and earning a victory at the Watersound Invitational.

Cole Anderson, Brett Roberts and Tyler Weaver help round out a strong and potent FSU lineup. FSU won the Jackson Stephens Cup back in the fall with a 3-2 victory over Arizona in match play. FSU also owns match-play wins this year over Florida (3-2) and Georgia Tech (3-0).

The Seminoles won the Valspar Collegiate Invitational for the time in program history, shooting 19-under while Clanton earned the player title and received an invitation to the 2025 Valspar Championship on the PGA TOUR.

Clanton earned ACC Golfer of the Month honors for the second straight month:

The Hialeah, Fla., native played in two tournaments last month, winning the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial against an elite field, then securing a fifth-place finish in the stroke-play portion of the ACC Championship. At the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial, Clanton earned his third consecutive victory – becoming the first Seminole ever to accomplish that feat.

Clanton shot a 15-under (68-66-64) in winning his third straight tournament in Charlottesville, then followed with a 5-under at Charlotte Country Club (69-67-72) in helping the Seminoles reach the finals of match play vs. North Carolina.

For the month, Clanton shot in the 60s in five of his six stroke-play rounds. He is currently the second-ranked golfer in the nation according to the Clippd rankings used by the NCAA, and has a year-long stroke average of 69.30 which would break the lowest single-season mark in program history.

In the spring, Clanton has been honored with several awards: Besides being named ACC Golfer of the Month twice, he was named to the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup, selected as a Ben Hogan Award Semifinalist and was honored as the SwingU Golfer of the Month.

Clanton is the sixth Seminole to win three times in a season, joining FSU legends John Pak (2018-19), Brooks Koepka (2011-12), Christian Raynor (1994-95), Bobby Cochran (1993-94) and Nolan Henke (1986-87).