Former Florida State defensive back announces transfer to SEC program

The first player to depart from Florida State to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal at the conclusion of the regular season was true freshman Sam McCall. The move came after he previously had declared his intentions on social before backpedaling and sticking with the program through the Seminoles' victory against Florida.

Nearly a month after his decision, McCall has found a transfer destination. On New Year's Eve, he announced that he was committing to Texas A&M, via social media.

GIG’EM ⚪️🟤 @AggieFootball @TJRushing20 pic.twitter.com/5nh8PTWTG3
— JOKER🃏 (@alabama313) December 31, 2022

An interesting choice as it was presumed that the Florida native would stay within his home state at Miami or Florida or follow old friend Travis Hunter to Colorado. In the end, McCall elected to join a couple of former Florida State staff members in College Station - head coach Jimbo Fisher (2010-17) and defensive backs coach TJ Rushing (2020).

Originally the top recruit in the Seminoles' 2022 recruiting class after Hunter defected during the Early Signing Period, McCall arrived early at FSU but never mustered enough to crack into the defensive rotation. He bounced around at cornerback and safety in practice but wasn't as technically sound or naturally instinctive as fellow true freshman Azareye'h Thomas and a host of veterans in the lineup. McCall finished the year with five tackles, one pass deflection, and a forced fumble.

Regardless of his struggles on defense, the coaching staff attempted to keep McCall involved in the game plan with reps on special teams as the starting kick returner. He recorded eight kickoff returns for an average of 17.8 yards per attempt, where he displayed plenty of inconsistencies despite his athleticism.

McCall played 70 snaps on defense in his eight appearances, with the majority coming against Syracuse and Louisiana. He's expected to have four years to play three at Texas A&M.

Florida State is returning a plethora of veterans at cornerback in 2023 and has Edwin Joseph, KJ Kirkland, Quindarrius Jones, Ja'Bril Rawls, and Conrad Hussey signed in its recruiting class. The Seminoles are also pursuing Virginia cornerback transfer Fentrell Cypress II heavily.

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