The Alabama Crimson Tide are still scrambling from the abrupt retirement of legendary head coach Nick Saban, with multiple players transferring out of the program, including offensive lineman Terrence Ferguson.
Ferguson had previously entered the transfer portal prior to Saban's retirement announcement following the team's heartbreaking overtime loss to the Michigan Wolverines in the Rose Bowl. However, according to Hayes Fawcett with On3Sports, Ferguson has officially made his decision on where he'll play next, committing to Mike Norvell and the Florida State Seminoles.
BREAKING: Former Alabama OL Terrence Ferguson has Committed to Florida State, he tells @on3sports
The 6?4 320 OL was ranked as a Top 35 Recruit in the ?21 Class (No. 2 IOL) per On3
Will have 2 years of eligibility remaining https://t.co/B3ckeWthqz pic.twitter.com/DMJXC1O9gA
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 11, 2024
Ferguson was a 4-star recruit by 247Sports in the 2021 recruiting class. Coming out of Fort Valley, Georgia, he was a top-100 player in the country and one of the top players out of the state of Georgia. Despite offers from other top SEC programs, Ferguson decided to play for Saban and the Crimson Tide.
After seeing the field on a very limited capacity his first two seasons, Ferguson saw more opportunities at center and guard in 2023 for Alabama. However, the former top recruit was unable to secure a full-time starting role, which is likely a big reason he decided to transfer to Florida State.
What makes this transfer interesting is that Norvell is now considered a potential candidate to take over for Saban at Alabama. While there are plenty of college football coaches who will be interested in taking over for a top SEC program, Norvell taking the job would cripple a Florida State program that nearly made it to the College Football Playoff this season.
As for Ferguson, a Norvell departure could put his future in jeopardy with a new program. Fortunately for the young offensive lineman, Ferguson has plenty of talent despite limited playing time in Alabama, and he'll be hoping for more opportunities at Florida State, regardless of what the future holds for the ACC program.
