FSU’s Goldman entering draft

Florida State defensive lineman Eddie Goldman will enter the NFL Draft and forgo his final year of eligibility, Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher officially announced Wednesday.

NFLDraftScout.com, a property of The Sports Xchange distributed in partnership with CBSSports.com, ranks Goldman as No. 20 overall in the 2015 class and the No. 3 defensive tackle. He is projected to be chosen in the first round.

Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com described the 6-foot-3, 320-pound Goldman as arguably Florida State’s most talented defender in 2014.

Despite his stout frame, Goldman has good initial quickness and appears to be just scratching the surface of his potential, according to Rang.

Goldman finished the 2014 season with 35 tackles, including four sacks and eight tackles for loss. He also had a forced fumble.

“Eddie was a tremendous leader, student-athlete and, most importantly, a tremendous person for FSU,” Fisher said in a statement released by the school. “I can’t thank him enough for his contributions over the last three years on the field and for his leadership by example. I expect Eddie to have a tremendous professional career and I’m very excited for him and his family.”

Goldman captured All-ACC accolades and All-America honors from Sports Illustrated and the Associated Press (third team).

For his career, Goldman totaled 62 tackles, 12 TFLs for loss and six sacks over 27 starts and 36 total games.

Goldman helped lead the Seminoles to a 39-3 record during his three-year career, winning three ACC Championships and the 2013 national championship.

FSU finished 13-1 in 2014, capping the season at the first-ever College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl before losing to Oregon 59-20.

Other Seminoles players who already announced decisions to enter the draft this year are quarterback Jameis Winston, defensive end Mario Edwards Jr., and cornerbacks P.J. Williams and Ronald Darby.