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New year, new me seems like an appropriate catchphrase for Jammie Robinson in 2023.
The Florida State safety revealed in a New Year’s Day announcement on social media that he will forgo his final season of college eligibility and declare for the 2023 NFL Draft.
In two seasons with the Seminoles, Robinson established himself as one of the better players in the ACC. The University of South Carolina transfer earned first-team All-ACC honors and led FSU in tackles in both seasons.
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The 5-foot-10, 203-pound Robinson brought impressive versatility to the Seminole defense, lining up at various positions on the field beyond safety. He tallied 99 tackles, five tackles for a loss, one sack, six passes defended and an interception across 13 games this season.
Robinson decided against opting out of the Cheez-It Bowl, recording a game-high 13 tackles, along with a sack, to lead No. 13 FSU (10-3) to a 35-32 win over Oklahoma (6-7) at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Thursday.
With that victory, the Seminoles captured their first 10-win season since 2016 and 25th in program history.
Most mock drafts project Robinson to be a middle-round pick in the NFL Draft, which will be held on April 27-29 in Kansas City. Robinson already accepted an invite to play in the Senior Bowl, a college football all-star game in Mobile, Ala. on Feb. 4.
Cheez-It Bowl transcript:FSU Football: Transcript from the postgame press conference vs Oklahoma in Cheez-It Bowl
Florida State’s 2023 safety outlook
With Robinson gone, FSU has quite the void to fill at safety.
The Seminoles also are somewhat thin at the position, even with starter Akeem Dent and top backup Shyheim Brown returning.
Only three of FSU’s scholarship safeties – Travis Jay, Dent and Brown – are eligible to come back next season. Jay, who began his Seminole career at cornerback before moving to safety, did not receive any snaps this past season.
Two high school recruits who are projected to play safety – Conrad Hussey from St. Thomas Aquinas High in Fort Lauderdale and Kenton Kirkland from Raines High in Jacksonville – signed with FSU during the three-day early signing period in December.
Reserve safeties Jarques McClellion (expired eligibility), Sidney Williams (transfer portal) and Sam McCall (transferring to Texas A&M) will not return to the Seminoles.
More on FSU NFL Draft decisions:Florida State standouts Jared Verse, Jammie Robinson explain their NFL Draft decision process
Seminoles’ other upcoming NFL Draft decisions
Robinson represents the first FSU player to announce his future plans since the end of the season.
Defensive end Jared Verse, defensive tackle Fabien Lovett and wide receiver Johnny Wilson will be worth monitoring as well. Those three players could declare for the NFL Draft but have yet to announce their decisions.
The NFL Draft underclassmen deadline is Jan. 16.
Reach Carter Karels at ckarels@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @CarterKarels. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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