FSU Seminoles

Florida State's team RecruitingNation class ranking has fallen for the third consecutive time Thursday.

Since the middle of July, the Seminoles expectedly lost commitments from Maquedius Bain and Sojourn Shelton. Neither was thought to be in the class on the first Wednesday of February, 2013.

But the true reason the class ranking dropped is due to additions by other teams in the rankings.

Clemson moved up from No. 12 to No. 11 and sits immediately ahead of the Seminoles in the pecking order. LSU, too, moved up from 11 to 10.

Both programs have added commitments. Florida State has not.

The Seminoles additions will come, with two prominent names in the mix.

Defensive end Davin Bellamy is set to announce his choice Aug. 11. And top prospects such as outside linebacker Matthew Thomas have Florida State at the top of their list.

Should coach Jimbo Fisher have a successful season on the field this fall, FSU fans can expect this ranking to wind up being much higher when all is said and done.

Even the coaches are buying into the Florida State hype.

The coaches who vote in the USA Today coaches’ poll have validated what many others have already determined -- Florida State is a preseason top-10 team that should finally be able to separate itself from the rest of the ACC this year.

Only three league teams were featured in the poll, which was released today: No. 7 Florida State, followed by No. 14 Clemson and No. 20 Virginia Tech. Don’t be surprised if NC State and/or Georgia Tech eventually play their way in before the mid-point of the season. Both received votes, along with Virginia. North Carolina is ineligible for votes this year because of NCAA sanctions.

The burden is on Florida State this year, though, to represent the ACC on a bigger stage. The Seminoles are a national title contender. The focus, though, will once again be on heavyweights LSU, Alabama and USC. It’s going to be difficult for Florida State to change that. The SEC is still king, as it has five of the top 10 teams and leads all conferences with seven ranked teams.

One area, though, in which the Noles are equal to the SEC programs and arguably better, is on the defensive line. The staff has recruited well enough that Florida State’s defensive line is as good as any in the country and could be the best this year. Whether or not the Noles stay a top-10 team, though, depends heavily on how good the young offensive line can be.

It will also likely depend upon Clemson and Virginia Tech.

With the start of fall camp just days away, Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher added a lot more intrigue to the proceedings Wednesday when he announced senior cornerback Greg Reid had been dismissed due to a violation of team rules.

Florida State held a team meeting Wednesday morning in which players were informed of Fisher's decision to part ways with Reid, who has endured several off-field incidents during his time in Tallahassee. With Fisher banning players from using Twitter, some took to Facebook to express their thoughts.

The severity of the latest round of charges wouldn't have required so much as a suspension on its own. But Florida State clearly was ready to move on from the distraction.

Reid won't face a court date until Sept. 5, and Fisher has spent the past few weeks suggesting he was still collecting information about the incident, but Wednesday's decision underscored the notion that he wasn't interested in the final verdict.

The dismissal comes as something of a surprise given Reid's role and tenure, but Fisher and other veterans have made it clear that this year's hopes for a conference championship will not be derailed by off-field distractions.

That didn't stop several members of the Seminoles from weighing in on Facebook to convey their concerns.

"(Reid is a) HUGEEEE PIECE THAT WOULD BE MISSED!" defensive tackle Jacobbi McDaniel wrote. "(He's) like another brother to me but these last couple weeks what I have seen. He is a changed man n I promise ya that. Seen it with my own eyes."

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Florida State cornerback Greg Reid didn’t give coach Jimbo Fisher much of a choice.

Strike one: He was suspended for the season opener last year for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

Strike two: He was arrested last fall for resisting arrest and perjury charges. (Granted, they were dropped.)

Strike three: He was arrested last month and charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

Fisher didn’t say specifically why Reid was dismissed from the team, other than a “violation of team rules,” but it doesn’t matter. It was time for Reid to go, and despite the value he adds to the Noles’ special teams, Florida State will be better off without him. Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe has a name for players who continually seem to find themselves in trouble: knotheads. Reid, you might say, is a bit of a knothead.

This is another example of Fisher laying down the law in Tallahassee. Just last month he banned his players from using Twitter for the rest of the season. By giving Reid the boot -- a three-year starter who will be nearly impossible to replace in the return game -- he has also shown no player is bigger than the team and its goal of winning a national title. Fisher knows this team has a chance to be great and the last thing it needs is distractions to accompany the pressure that already comes with being a top-10 preseason team.

Losing Reid is a significant blow to Florida State’s return game -- most of you already know that. Reid is one of the nation’s top punt returners. But he wasn’t even the best corner on the team. That honor belongs to Xavier Rhodes. Defensively, coordinator Mark Stoops has enough talent on the roster to find a capable replacement for Reid. The return game will have a more glaring hole.

It’s not as deep of a hole, though, as the one Reid dug himself.

Florida State starting cornerback Greg Reid has been dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules, the school announced on Wednesday morning.

Reid, a three-year starter for the Seminoles and one of the team’s top special teams players, has had several off-field incidents during his career. Most recently, he was arrested in mid-July and charged with driving with a suspended license, a seatbelt violation and misdemeanor possession of marijuana, according to the Lowndes County (Ga.) Sheriff's office.

Check back with NoleNation for updates.

Penn State junior tight end Kevin Haplea intends to transfer to Florida State, said a source close to the situation, in the wake of NCAA sanctions handed down against the Nittany Lions.

Haplea, 6-foot-4, 248 pounds, played in every game last season and filled a big role in blocking for running back Silas Redd -- who ran for 1,241 yards and seven touchdowns during 2011 and is transferring to USC.

Haplea caught three passes for 21 yards and a touchdown last season. The No. 18 tight end in the 2010 recruiting class, Haplea (Annandale, N.J./North Hunterdon) was a three-star prospect.

The junior will be eligible immediately upon joining the Seminoles. Haplea had not redshirted and will have three years to play two seasons for Florida State.

FSU lost two senior tight ends after last season. Nick O'Leary caught 12 passes for 164 yards as a freshman. Defensive lineman Dan Hicks moved to tight end during the offseason. The Seminoles have passed to tight ends more since Jimbo Fisher took over as head coach, with 12 catches by tight ends in 2009 and 21 last season.

Twelve catches as a freshman were enough to earn Nick O'Leary a bit of recognition on his own right, but the questions invariably come back to his famous grandfather, legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus.

At the annual ACC Football Kickoff last week, EJ Manuel's glowing reports on O'Leary inevitably concluded with the question: Has Manuel's tight end set up a phone call with Nicklaus yet?

"Not yet," Manuel laughed. "But if he did call me, I'd be extremely happy. That'd be sweet."

Manuel may have been a bit star-struck by the thought, but there's little doubt which member of the family has the FSU quarterback the most excited.

O'Leary started just two games last season, yet quickly established himself as a legitimate target in the passing game with 164 yards and a touchdown.

That was just the tip of the iceberg, Manuel insists. O'Leary has spent the summer winning the confidence of his quarterback, despite a deep cast of receivers around him.

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