Legends Bracket kicks off with battles featuring Ron Simmons, Greg Allen
The first round of competition in the Offensive Playmakers bracket of our Warchant 2020 Bracket Challenge has come to a close, and all eight higher seeds advanced with little threat of an upset.
Monday's two battles featured complete blowouts, as No. 4 seed Peter Warrick cruised to the second round with more than 97 percent of the vote on the Tribal Council and on Twitter. No. 5 seed Warrick Dunn also waltzed through with more than 98 percent on the Tribal Council and on Twitter.
The eight Offensive Playmakers advancing to the next round are: Charlie Ward, Jameis Winston, Dalvin Cook, Peter Warrick, Warrick Dunn, Chris Weinke, Rashad Greene and Amp Lee.
Legends/Special Teams Bracket begins
The competition likely will be stiffer in the next bracket up for battle -- the Legends/Special Teams regional, which features a combination of eight Seminole "legends," which we've defined as players who graduated by 1985 (just before the Dynasty era really began), and eight special-teams players.
We'll start off today with clashes between four of the legends:
No. 1 seed Ron Simmons vs. No. 8 seed Bobby Butler
No. 4 seed Greg Allen vs. No. 5 seed Jamie Dukes
If you need more information and insight, we present bios on each player below:
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In addition to voting on our Tribal Council message board, you can also submit your vote on Warchant's Twitter account. The voting window is 24 hours, and each round offers an opportunity for Warchant subscribers and Twitter users to win a $25 e-card to Garnet & Gold. That prize will go to the person who makes the most compelling and/or original argument for their vote.
If you already know who gets your vote, click here to make your picks on the Tribal Council:
The Matchups
No. 1 seed Ron Simmons vs. No. 8 seed Bobby Butler
Ron Simmons was one of the most important signees in Florida State football history and is credited by many with helping Bobby Bowden launch his legendary tenure with the Seminoles. Simmons was a one-man wrecking crew on the defensive line, earning Freshman All-America honors in 1977 and then being named a Consensus first-team All-American in 1979 and '80. Simmons was so dominant that he went on to become the first FSU defensive player to have his number retired, and he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988. During his four-year career, the Georgia product racked up 383 tackles, which still ranks No. 5 all-time in school history. He also ranks No. 4 all-time with 24 career sacks, and he's tied for fourth with 44 career tackles for loss. Simmons played briefly in the NFL and USFL before moving on to a very successful career in pro wrestling.
Bobby Butler was one of the first in what would become a long line of great Florida State defensive backs. While Simmons was punishing offensive linemen in the trenches, his teammate Butler was leading the Seminoles' secondary. With exceptional ball skills and legitimate track speed -- he actually was a sprinter on the FSU track team during the offseason -- Butler recorded 11 career interceptions and earned All-America honors as a junior and senior. He also was a terror on special teams and still ranks No. 1 in school history with five blocked punts. Butler went on to be a first-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons and enjoyed a 12-year NFL career.
No. 4 seed Greg Allen vs. No. 5 seed Jamie Dukes
Greg Allen burst onto the scene as a freshman in 1981 and went on to become one of the most dynamic and prolific running backs in FSU history. Some 35 years after his college career ended, Allen's name remains prominent in the Seminoles' record books. The speedster still holds the school mark for most rushing yards in a game (322 vs. Western Carolina), and he ran for more than 200 yards in three other games -- twice against LSU and once against Arizona State. Allen ranks No. 3 all-time in career rushing yardage with 3,769, trailing only Dalvin Cook and Warrick Dunn, and he's second to only Cook in career rushing touchdowns with 44. His 20 rushing touchdowns in 1982 still ranks No. 1 all-time. Allen produced an astounding 17 100-yard games en route to earning All-America honors as a junior and senior. He was a second-round pick of the Cleveland Browns but only played briefly in the NFL.
Jamie Dukes is one of the greatest offensive linemen in Florida State history, and his college resume is virtually unparalleled. Dukes started 48 games during his four-year career and helped pave the way for some very high-powered offenses. He was only the fifth player in FSU history to receive Consensus All-America honors when he accomplished the feat in 1985, and he received some version of All-America recognition all four years. While he was massive physically, Dukes was very quick for his size and went on to an impressive 10-year career in the NFL before going into broadcasting.
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About the tournament
We've broken down the field of 64 into four 16-team brackets:
* Offensive Playmakers
* Defensive Playmakers
* Linemen (offensive and defensive)
* Legends/Special Teams
The first three "regions" are pretty self-explanatory. The final one is a combination of eight Seminole "legends," which we've defined as players who graduated by 1985 (just before the Dynasty era really began), and eight special-teams players.
The special-teams players were broken down further into two four-team brackets -- kickers/punters and "specialists" (return men or players who specialized in blocking kicks).
* CLICK HERE for a printable bracket
(Note: Players who already held a spot in one of the other categories were not eligible to also be selected as specialists. That is why Deion Sanders, Peter Warrick and Terrell Buckley are not listed there.)
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Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council