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TGIF Seminole!

A little bit of everything today — momentum builders, standard-setters, and a few uncomfortable truths.

🏀🔥 Women’s Hoops Finds Its Footing 🔥🏀
FSU stacks its second straight ACC win with a convincing road performance at SMU, led by a hometown takeover from Jasmine Shavers.

🥎👑 Softball Is the Standard — Again 👑🥎
Picked to win the ACC for the 12th time in 13 seasons, with elite continuity, zero transfers, and dominance everywhere you look.

🏃‍♂️🔥 Track & Field Is Flying Indoors 🔥🏃‍♀️
ACC weekly honors, program records, and national marks headline a scorching start as the Noles head to Clemson.

⚾🧠 Diamond Intel: Why “Funky” Might Work 🧠⚾
A deep dive on FAU transfer Trey Beard — deception, data, and why FSU thinks this lefty fits.

🏈📉 QB by Committee? The Portal Reality Check 📉🏈
FSU filled the room, not the ceiling. The grades explain why this plan feels survivable — not celebratory.

🏈🧠 Ernie Sims Lays Down the Blueprint 🧠🏈
The former prototype steps into a leadership role and makes it clear what kind of linebackers — and identity — FSU is chasing.

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Florida State women’s basketball controlled Thursday night in Dallas, pulling away from SMU for a 73–51 road win at Moody Coliseum.

🔥 The Breakthrough Stretch
After a six-point halftime lead, FSU slammed the door with a 24–13 third quarter, turning a close game into a runaway.

🌟 Hometown Star
Jasmine Shavers led the way in Dallas:

💪 Balanced Support

📊 By the Numbers

🧠 Why It Matters
This was a wire-to-wire, confidence-building road win — and another step forward for a group finding rhythm in ACC play.

⏭️ What’s Next
FSU returns home Sunday vs. Georgia Tech at the Tucker Center (4 p.m. ET, ACC Network).

Read more here

Florida State softball was selected as the preseason ACC favorite, with five Seminoles named to the Preseason All-ACC Team — the most of any program.

🔥 By the Numbers

🌟 Preseason All-ACC Selections

No other ACC team had more than three selections.

💥 Elite Core Returns

The trio combined to hit .384 with 19 HR and 139 RBI. Torres (.436) and Harp (.412) formed one of the most productive returning duos in college softball.

🎯 Dominance in the Circle

🧠 Why It Matters
Experience, continuity, and elite production — everywhere. FSU isn’t just the preseason favorite; it’s the standard again heading into 2026.

Read more here

Florida State track & field is back in action Thursday, heading to Clemson for the Orange and Purple Invitational as the Noles look to build on a scorching indoor start.

🗓️ Meet Info

🌟 Who to Watch

🔥 Last Time Out: Jimmy Carnes Invite
FSU stacked results across the board:

👉️ Live results and streaming available Thursday.

The next wave of tech isn’t coming from screens. It’s happening in the physical world with AI-powered devices that move, automate, and live inside your home and building.

And one category is wide open: window shades.

Billions exist in every space, and almost all are still manual. The gap is huge, and RYSE is positioned to lead it.

The last wave in the smart home saw 10× to 22× returns for early investors. RYSE shows the same early signals — $15M+ in revenue, 100%+ annual growth, and 10 issued patents protecting the category.

RYSE is pre-IPO with a reserved Nasdaq ticker, giving investors exposure to multiple potential exit paths in a market that’s just getting started.

If you want exposure to robotics and AI at the physical layer, this is your entry point.

The Target: Trey Beard, LHP, Florida Atlantic Transfer. The Profile: A seasoned arm competing for a spot in the weekend rotation who relies on deception rather than raw power,.

The Scouting Report:

• The Arsenal: Beard admits he is "not a flamethrower." Instead, he utilizes a unique over-the-top arm slot to create "weird angles" that confuse hitters,.

• The "Bread and Butter": His best pitch is a straight changeup—a grip he literally learned by watching Instagram reels during his sophomore year of high school,. He describes this pitch as "setting the speed limit" on the mound; because it slows the hitter's eyes down, his fastball plays much faster than the radar gun suggests.

• The Lab Work: Since arriving in Tallahassee, Beard has utilized FSU's new "Launchpad" and Edgetronic cameras to analyze his delivery. The data confirmed his motion creates "funky spin" and deception that he wasn't even fully aware of prior to the transfer,.

The Decision: Beard committed to FSU after a short meeting with Lincoln Posey, citing FSU's recent dominance with left-handed pitchers (like Jamie Arnold) as the primary draw. He noted that having a left-handed pitching coach makes it easier to relate to the nuances of holding runners and mechanics,.

The Bottom Line: FSU is acquiring a battle-tested veteran (two years of weekend starts at FAU) who learned the hard way that "walks do damage",. Expect a pitcher who frustrates lineups with "moxy" and location rather than overwhelming heat.

Read more here

Florida State is nearly finished assembling its 2026 roster, with 104 of 105 spots filled after an aggressive portal cycle that brought in 23 transfers plus JUCO additions.

Quarterback was the top priority — and the results are… complicated.

🔥 QB Room Additions (Need Rating: 10/10)
FSU addressed the position with volume and variance:

📊 Individual Evaluations

Ashton Daniels — Grade: 86
A functional, experienced QB who can operate an offense — not elevate it.

Bottom line: Daniels can keep FSU competitive, but he needs help everywhere else.

Malachi Marshall — Grade: 88
The upside swing.

Bottom line: High variance — but real starting upside down the line.

Dean DeNobile — Grade: 81
A stabilizer, not a solution.

Bottom line: Depth-only piece.

📉 Report Card: C-

FSU threw numbers at the problem, which is understandable given budget constraints — but it’s not an inspiring outcome.

But this marks the third straight season FSU hasn’t truly invested to land a top-tier quarterback — and the second straight year leaning on a passer with clear accuracy limitations.

🧠 The Reality
This isn’t a disaster.
It also isn’t a breakthrough.

FSU didn’t fail — but it didn’t solve the problem either.

The plan appears clear:

That may be pragmatic.
It just isn’t exciting — and in a win-or-else season, that tension is impossible to ignore.

👉️ Full QB breakdown and roster context available in the complete report.

Florida State officially elevated Ernie Sims to linebackers coach in mid-January — and if his first extended comments are any indication, the job is personal, purposeful, and very intentional.

Sims, now entering his third year on staff, sat down for a one-on-one interview on the Seminoles Unconquered app and laid out both what this role means to him and what kind of linebackers he plans to build.

🔥 Why This Moment Matters to Sims

This wasn’t framed as a career step — it was framed as a calling.

For Sims, this isn’t about running drills. It’s about restoring an identity.

🧱 The Prototype: Speed, Violence, Versatility

When asked what he wants in an FSU linebacker, Sims didn’t hesitate.

He even said it outright: “Ernie Sims is the prototype.”
A linebacker who thrives in space, attacks with purpose, and never comes off the field.

🧠 Scheme Fit = Opportunity

Sims emphasized that the current defensive structure blurs the line between linebackers and edge players — creating chances for dynamic athletes to do damage in multiple ways.

Translation:
If you can run, hit, think, and blitz — there’s a role for you.

🧩 The Four Pillars of Sims’ Development Plan

Sims broke down his coaching philosophy into four clear layers:

The order matters. Sims made it clear: develop the man first, then the player.

🧠 Why It Matters

This wasn’t coach-speak.

It was a blueprint.

FSU didn’t just promote a former great — it put a former prototype in charge of rebuilding a room that needs speed, edge, and identity.

If Sims delivers what he’s preaching, the linebacker position could quietly become one of the most important stories of the 2026 rebuild.

Read more here

Some programs are stacking wins.
Some are setting the standard.
And some conversations — especially at quarterback — don’t get easier just because they’re uncomfortable.

This edition wasn’t about hype.
It was about direction.

Back tomorrow with more clarity, fewer assumptions, and whatever truth the day gives us.

— The Chief