This veteran FSU football coach will deliver spring commencement address Saturday
Odell Haggins is the mainstay of Florida State football.
He connects the program’s past to its present as a former player and the longest-tenured assistant football coach in the country.
The beloved Haggins is always quick say it’s never about him, that it’s always about FSU.
Haggins, 57, will get the chance to honor graduates and his university Saturday as one of five speakers scheduled to deliver commencement addresses this weekend.
“It’s probably going to be the most heartfelt speech given at a commencement,” former FSU assistant football coach Jim Gladden said.
“A model student, a model coach, a model citizen at Florida State; Odell has done everything the right way.
“There have been no shortcuts with him.”
FSU associate head football coach Odell Haggins set to deliver commencement speech
Haggins is scheduled to deliver the commencement address to graduates of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the colleges of Nursing, Health and Human Sciences and Education at 2 p.m. Saturday.
About 6,560 students are expected to participate in the six events during the two-day celebration.
“When Odell told me he had been asked to give a commencement speech, I just hugged him,” former FSU defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews said. “What an honor. I am proud of him and proud for him.”
Haggins has been a member of FSU football’s coaching staff since 1994. He has also served as associate head coach and has twice been named interim head coach, leading the program to bowl berths both times.
The Bartow native played at FSU from 1985-89 under Bobby Bowden and was an All-American noseguard/defensive lineman.
Haggins, however, nearly left FSU following his redshirt freshman season when asked to moved from linebacker to noseguard.
“We had to go get him at the bus station because he wanted to go home,” Gladden said. "We just encouraged him to give it (new position) a try."
Haggins settled in and helped push FSU into national prominence.
The Seminoles posted a 39-8-1 (.823) record with Haggins on the defensive line, and he was part of four bowl-winning teams. He earned Kodak, Walter Camp and UPI All-America honors as a senior in 1989.
Former FSU football player, assistant Odell Haggins loyal to Seminoles
After a brief stint in the NFL, Haggins returned to FSU, completing his degree and joining Bowden’s staff.
Haggins has been inducted into the FSU Athletics Hall of Fame, the Polk County Sports Hall of Fame and FSU Circle of Gold.
And while he has had chances to leave FSU during his career, he chose to stay every time.
“He has a heart of gold, and he bleeds Garnet and Gold,” Gladden said.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Odell Haggins to deliver FSU commencement address
