Nole Gameday

Former FSU Football OL Transfers For Second Time, Commits To Southern Miss

The former Seminole was with the program from 2019-21 and will make his third stop in his college football career.

Jackson Bakich

Offensive guard Dontae Lucas at FSU football practice on March 6, 2019. Img 0857
Offensive guard Dontae Lucas at FSU football practice on March 6, 2019. Img 0857 / Wayne McGahee III/Democrat

Former Florida State football offensive lineman Dontae Lucas announced that he will be transferring to Southern Mississippi. This is the third stop in his career after making the switch to South Alabama in January of 2022. He was part of FSU’s 2019 recruiting class.

Lucas hails from Overtown, Florida, part of the greater Miami area, and played high school ball at the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He was listed at 6’3”, 323 pounds coming into college.

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As a high school recruit, Lucas boasted a three-star ranking, good enough for 46th in the state of Florida. As a transfer prospect, he retained his three-star status.

In 2019, the offensive lineman played in 11 games for the Seminoles and started seven of them for former head coach Willie Taggart – at both right and left guard, according to FSU Sports Information. Furthermore, Lucas was named Second-Team All-American by The Athletic as a true freshman. He had a PFF score of 61.7, the second best score of his career so far.

In 2020 and 2021 combined, the former Seminole appeared in 10 games for head coach Mike Norvell. His average PFF score at FSU was 52.5.

Lucas improved his PFF score during his two seasons at South Alabama with a 52.9 rating in 2022 and a career-best 62.1 in 2023.

Lucas will reunite with his former Florida State teammate, quarterback Tate Rodemaker, who announced his departure from Tallahassee ahead of the Orange Bowl and landed at Southern Mississippi.

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Jackson Bakich

JACKSON BAKICH

Born in Orlando but raised in Lake County, Florida, Jackson Bakich is currently a senior at Florida State University. Growing up in the Sunshine State, Bakich co-hosted the political talk radio show "Lake County Roundtable" (WLBE) and was a frequent guest for "Lake County Sports Show" (WQBQ). Currently, he is the Sports Editor of the FSView and host of "Tomahawk Talk" (WVFS), a sports talk radio program covering Florida State athletics in Tallahassee.