'A big-time get' ... former FSU star Bryant McFadden raves about Patrick Surtain hire

As a Florida State alum and former star cornerback with the Seminoles, Bryant McFadden was keenly interested in who Mike Norvell would hire to be the Seminoles’ next defensive backs coach.

A number of potential candidates intrigued him, but few would have delighted him as much as when he learned Tuesday evening that it would be Patrick Surtain coming to coach the Florida State defensive backs.

“This is a huge get,” McFadden said by phone Tuesday night. “I’m excited about this hire.”

McFadden, who grew up in South Florida and was playing at Florida State when Surtain was a Pro Bowl cornerback with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, has actually known Surtain for nearly 20 years.

When McFadden was preparing for the 2005 NFL Draft and Surtain was finishing up his time with the Dolphins, the young defensive back reached out to Surtain and asked for advice about the game and making the transition to the NFL.

“They were lockdown-type guys,” McFadden said of Surtain and fellow Dolphins cornerback Sam Madison. “So I became a fan of his work and his work ethic. And then any time I would see him down in South Florida, I was always wanting to talk ball. And he always welcomed that. Even when he didn’t really know me personally, he always welcomed me talking ball with him. And he would share things with me that he had learned.”

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As a student of the game and the cornerback position, McFadden loved the way Surtain approached his craft. He described Surtain as very instinctive and highly competitive as a player, but also fundamentally sound and a believer in proper techniques.

“He just did it the right way,” McFadden said, adding that he continued to seek advice from Surtain even when he was playing in the NFL as well.

“He always shared information with me even though I wasn’t a teammate of his,” McFadden said.

The news of Surtain’s hiring leaked Tuesday evening, but it’s not yet known when Florida State will announce it officially. What is known is that the new secondary coach won’t join FSU’s staff until after his season is complete with the Miami Dolphins; he was hired there as a defensive assistant earlier this year following a lengthy stint coaching high schools in South Florida.

Miami has a Wild Card playoff game scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Buffalo.

There are a number of reasons why McFadden likes the Surtain hire, but one of the biggest is the first-hand knowledge the former All-Pro cornerback will be able to pass along from his experiences in the NFL — both in terms of techniques and also the mental aspect of the position.

“In the NFL, you’re playing against the best players in the world and some of the best coaches in the world. You see a lot that you don’t usually see on Saturdays,” said McFadden, who now serves as an analyst with CBS Sports and co-hosts the “All Things Covered” podcast with NFL star Patrick Peterson. “I experienced that first-hand. Playing at Florida State, which was the cream of the crop in regards to talent, and then you get in the National Football League, and man it’s a whole different level.”

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The next big key is being able to communicate that information effectively to young players, and McFadden is confident Surtain will handle that part exceptionally well.

He said he wouldn’t have kept going back to Surtain to “talk ball” if he wasn’t a good communicator. And he pointed to Surtain’s ultra-successful run as head coach at American Heritage as further evidence of his ability to teach. The Broward County school won three state championships during Surtain’s six seasons as head coach and produced a slew of future college and NFL standouts.

Off the top of his head, McFadden rattled off the names of several former Heritage stars who went on to become elite college and NFL prospects, including Brian Burns (Florida State, Carolina Panthers), Sony Michel (Georgia, several NFL teams), Tyson Campbell (Georgia, Jacksonville Jaguars), Marvin Jones Jr. (Georgia), and Surtain’s son, Patrick Surtain II (Alabama, Denver Broncos).

“That is a football factory,” McFadden said, adding that Surtain will help Florida State not only recruit players from that program but from every top school in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

“It’s not just American Heritage, it’s who he is in South Florida,” McFadden said of the former Dolphins star. “When you look at the other outstanding high schools in South Florida that keep talent on their roster, they know who he is — the coaches and some of the players. So that’s a big-time get for Florida State. He has those relationships already in place.”

While Surtain undoubtedly will help Florida State’s recruiting efforts within the state, McFadden pointed out that he originally hails from New Orleans, where FSU recruiting coordinator David Johnson has already plucked some talented players for the Seminoles. And Surtain played his college ball at Southern Miss, so he has connections in that talent-rich state as well.

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Shortly after hearing about the Florida State hire, McFadden said he reached out to his friend Tuesday night, and Surtain told him he is “excited” about joining the Seminoles after the Dolphins’ season.

That’s an emotion with which McFadden can certainly relate.

Despite being busy on weekends with his job at CBS Sports, the former Seminole star pays close attention to what is happening with his alma mater. And Surtain’s hiring is just the latest positive development for a Florida State football team that went 10-3 this past season and is a trendy pick to start 2023 in the Top 5 or Top 10 of national polls.

“I was excited because of the consistency that I saw,” McFadden said of Florida State’s 2022 campaign. “I was excited because our quarterback took a huge step in his development. And I was excited because I saw structure. And guys playing like they love the game of ball. The way we finished the season — 10 wins — is always a plus. Beating our in-state rivals, both of them, that’s huge. And then everyone coming back to finish the drill, along with a few additions as well.

“So I’m excited, man. If you don’t feel the buzz right now in regards to Florida State football, you don’t love ball. And you don’t love Florida State.”

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.