Rodemaker takes center stage as final act of FSU’s season begins

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - December 2019, Mike Norvell takes the reins as the 11th permanent head coach of Florida State football. In the long term he’s charged with stopping the Seminoles’ multi-season freefall. In the short term?

Salvage FSU’s recruiting class.

That assignment included a task his predecessor was unable to accomplish... Sign a quarterback.

Thankfully for Norvell he’d already had his eyes on one just an hour and a half up the road... Tate Rodemaker.

“I actually offered him at Memphis,” said Norvell of his scouting of Rodemaker. “He was one of the guys I liked a lot with his playmaking ability. You see someone that can live in the pocket and throw on time. He’s not afraid of stepping into a throw.”

Rodemaker was the All-American quarterback. A unanimous first team All-State QB, under center at Valdosta High School the winningest program in the history of high school football. He’d do so under the tutelage of his father Alan, who coached the VHS Wildcats to the 2016 GHSA 6A championship.

The all-star athlete with the mind of a coach’s kid.

“He grew up in the fieldhouses. He grew up around ball his whole life,” said Justin Rogers, head coach of the Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets, whose prior stop at Colquitt County included a handful of classic battles against Rodemaker and Valdosta. “He never got rattled. He was a coach on the field, got the ball where it needed to be, was a field general and he’s still that same coach’s kid.”

“He doesn’t really say too much,” said Seminoles tight end Jaheim Bell who starred along side Rodemaker with the Wildcats of the QB’s lead by example nature. “If a coach yells at him he’s just going to look at you, not really say anything and just go out and ball.”

“He’s a really high competitor”

The three star had previously been a hard commit to South Florida, with strong ties to then Bulls Offensive Coordinator Kerwin Bell. The connection dated back to the coach’s wildly successful stint as head coach at Valdosta State where his high flying offense would help the Blazers scorch their way to the program’s fourth D-II national championship a year prior.

The sure lock for Tampa would however suddenly face an uncertain future as USF Head Coach Charlie Strong was fired and Bell would not be retained.

Rodemaker would sign with the Seminoles.

“I like Coach Norvell. I was the first one he offered,” Rodemaker told WCTV on Early Signing Day in 2019. “He got there and I was the first one committed.”

“I got offered exactly one week before signing day,” reminisced Rodemaker in present day of his whirlwind recruitment. “I took the official visit the very next day and I committed the day after that. That was a pretty crazy week. My whole life changed.”

The QB enrolled in January with just a handful of spring practices in hand before Covid-19 swept the globe. Still, Florida State’s hurt and underwhelming quarterback room provided issues in a tumultuous 2020 campaign.

It was enough to give Rodemaker a start against Jacksonville State. 8-12 passing and one interception later, he was benched for Jordan Travis.

The Louisville transfer would keep the starting job and turn into one of the greatest to ever play the position at FSU. Rodemaker would only see the field in sporadic clean up duty and emergency situations. The QB with the classic pedigree now looked pedestrian.

“It’s a lot different,” contemplated Rodemaker of his situation now versus his freshman campaign. “I’ve grown a lot since then. I kind of want to forget that game but my confidence has really grown since then.”

Still, Rodemaker would continue to be a practice standout while backing up Travis. Rodemaker stayed ready until a Friday in Louisville, Kentucky in September 2022 when he’d be needed again.

“It helped a lot,” said Rodemaker of his night relieving Travis against the Louisville Cardinals. “Getting in there and showing that I can play a big game, helping lead my team to a victory.”

“It helped my confidence a lot.”

After inheriting a 21-14 road deficit, Rodemaker would lead a heroic comeback. The third year QB completed six of ten passes, throwing two touchdowns to one interception and charging the Seminoles to a 35-31 victory over the ‘Cards.

A prove it moment, passed with flying colors.

“Tate has earned trust throughout the last four years because of how he shows up and what he does,” remarked Norvell of Rodemaker’s consistency. “Does it help that when he’s had opportunity he shows that preparation and how he executes? Absolutely.”

Now, Rodemaker stands to put the pedigree to the test one more time. The arch-rival Florida Gators stand in the way of fifth ranked Florida State and an undefeated regular season, the latest hurdle in FSU’s patented climb. A pressure to perform, dealt with since his days in Wildcat gold and black.

“The closest thing to college football is Region 1, South Georgia football,” quipped Rogers about playing in the pressure cooker that is high stakes high school ball in the bottom half of the Peach State. “The ones that are fortunate enough to go on and play big college football? There’s no doubt they’re prepared for those moments because they get a good taste of it here.”

“Playing in front of 14,000 fans every Friday helped set up this. It’s a lot easier,” remarked Rodemaker of his nights as the star QB at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in Valdosta. “If I had played in front of 1,000 fans it’d probably be different but I feel like this is not a big change.”

As Florida State hopes to remain unconquered in Florida’s Swamp, behind a quarterback molded in Georgia clay.