Mike Norvell Offers His Thoughts on Derrick McLendon's Departure from Florida State
The Seminoles lost a valuable member of their defensive line on Tuesday afternoon when redshirt junior Derrick McLendon II was removed from the roster. It's anticipated that McLendon will enter the NCAA Transfer Portal and explore his options elsewhere after not practicing with the team since the Seminoles returned from spring.
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After developing into a starter and a vocal leader on the team, Florida State will have to go a little further into the cupboard to replace McLendon.
Following practice on Tuesday, head coach Mike Norvell offered his thoughts on McLendon's departure from the team and where the Seminoles stand.
"Wish him all the best. There's choices to be made and as we go through college athletics, it's definitely a new age but Derrick did a lot of good things for this program. He's going to leave as a graduate so I'm very proud of him for that and he's going to explore situations that might be the best fit for him," Norvell said on Tuesday. "We're going to be very competitive here. We've got a lot of great players that are going to push daily. Derek did all of that to be able to play for us and to be able to do the things that are necessary. I wish him all the best wherever he ends up here at his next stop."
The Georgia native appeared in all 13 games, with 12 starts, in 2022 and totaled a career-high 37 tackles, five tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery. He was one of six Seminoles honored with the Bill McGrotha award, which is presented to the top humanitarians on the team, following the season.
McLendon was a reserve during his previous three seasons in Tallahassee. In total, he ends his time in garnet and gold with 38 appearances over four years. McLendon recorded 60 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, seven sacks, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries at Florida State.
He originally signed with the program under former head coach Willie Taggart before sticking with the Seminoles during the transition to Mike Norvell.
The 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive end is expected to have two years of eligibility remaining after earning his bachelor's degree at the conclusion of the fall semester.
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