‘This is home’ … former 5-star RB Antone Smith cherishes rare return to Florida State

As longtime Florida State defensive tackles coach Odell Haggins finished shouting instructions to a group of his players between drills Monday morning, a visitor on the sideline yelled back in his direction.

“Why are you always yelling?” the visitor said.

The voice might not have been familiar at first, but the face definitely was.

“Deuce!,” Haggins responded with a smile after he glanced toward the sideline and noticed former Florida State running back Antone Smith in attendance.

Smith, who spent eight years in the NFL from 2009-16, hasn’t been back to Florida State for many practices since his playing days ended. He did come back once this past spring, and he said he was excited to return again on Monday.

It not only gave him a chance to see how much the FSU campus, the Seminoles’ athletics facilities and the city of Tallahassee have changed, it also provided an opportunity to reunite with several familiar faces.

Former Florida State teammates Ernie Sims and Gerard Ross are on the FSU support staff, Haggins is still on the coaching staff, and former Seminole quarterback EJ Manuel was at practice as part of his role with the ACC Network.

Smith got to spend time chatting with each of them, and none of those conversations meant more than the one with Haggins, who helped recruit Smith out of Pahokee High back nearly two decades ago.

“There’s so much he’s done for me personally,” said Smith, who wore No. 2 in high school and carried the nickname “Deuce” from high school to college. “If I was having a bad day, I could sit down [with] a players’ coach. Someone that actually played the game.”

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Smith’s signing with FSU was a Signing Day shocker in 2005. He was Florida Mr. Football, a Parade All-American, a five-star prospect and arguably the No. 1 all-purpose back in the country.

Because Florida State already had Leon Washington and Lorenzo Booker on the roster, and because the Miami campus was much closer to his family geographically, most thought Smith was a lock for the Hurricanes. But he instead chose the Seminoles and went on to rush for 2,255 yards and 26 touchdowns over the next four seasons.

In his final game against UM, Smith ran 27 times for 105 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Seminoles to a 41-39 victory. One year earlier, he ran for 114 yards on 22 carries against the ‘Canes.

Looking back at his recruitment, the 5-foot, 9-inch Smith said he liked Florida State’s history of success with smaller running backs and he appreciated the opportunity to play for a coaching legend in Bobby Bowden. He ended up choosing the Seminoles over Auburn, Georgia, Miami and Florida.

While there’s no telling how his career might have turned out had he picked one of those other schools, Smith said he still loves the fact that he chose to be a Seminole.

The buildings on campus look different. So do most of the faces on the coaching staff.

But the feeling of being a ‘Nole remains.

“This is home,” Smith said. “This is definitely home. No question.”

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Talk about this story with other die-hard Florida State football fans on the Tribal Council.

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