Linebacker with ties to multiple Florida State coaches enters Transfer Portal
Florida State is looking to the Transfer Portal to shore up its linebacker room this offseason. After landing just one linebacker during the Early Signing Period, as of now, the Seminoles are projected to enter 2022 with only seven scholarship players in the room.
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A new option with ties to two Florida State staff members entered the Transfer Portal on Friday morning. UCF linebacker Tatum Bethune announced his decision on social media a few days after the Knights' bowl win over the Florida Gators.
Bethune led UCF with 108 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, and a forced fumble. He had five games with ten or more tackles, including 18 total stops against USF and 17 against East Carolina. At the conclusion of the season, Bethune was named Honorable Mention All-ACC by the league's coaches.
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The Florida native signed with UCF out of high school after starring at Miami Central. During his time at Miami Central, Bethune was coached by current defensive analyst Sabbath Joseph from 2016-19. Joseph spent seven years with the Rockets as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach prior to his time at Florida State.
When Bethune made the move to the college level in 2019, his linebackers coach and defensive coordinator for the next two seasons was Randy Shannon. Shannon wasn't retained by new head coach Gus Malzahn and is now the linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator in Tallahassee.
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The ties to Bethune and Florida State are something to monitor moving forward. He would have the opportunity to join another in-state program and there is a ton of familiarity with Joseph and Sabbath since they've been involved in coaching Bethune for five of the last six years.
This is a recruitment to watch closely as Bethune could decide quickly and enroll at his new school in January. It's anticipated that he'll have two years of eligibility remaining.
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