TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State’s leading rusher, Trey Benson, will enter the NFL Draft and is opting out of the Orange Bowl game. Benson made the announcement on Sunday on his Instagram.
One of the Seminoles’ top defensive tackles, Fabien Lovett, also announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he would enter the NFL Draft. Lovett didn’t clarify if he was opting out of the bowl game on Dec. 30 against Georgia.
Benson had a long rehab journey following major knee surgery at Oregon in 2020 but showed in his first few practices at Florida State what he was capable of achieving. He racked up 990 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022 and followed it up with 905 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns in 2023.
He was perhaps at his best in rivalry games: Benson had a combined 10 touchdowns in Florida State’s four games against Miami and Florida, including three TD runs in the November 2023 victory at The Swamp.
Lovett had 22 tackles and four tackles for loss this fall. He wrapped up a career in which he had 93 tackles and six sacks, most of them at Florida State after his transfer from Mississippi State following the 2019 season.
One of Florida State’s top receivers, Johnny Wilson, declared for the NFL draft last week and opted out of the bowl game. Wilson had back-to-back 40-catch seasons at Florida State and will participate in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.
