Nick O’Leary He hesitated and hesitated for a few years before committing to re-enroll in State of Florida.
His decision was motivated by two factors.
The former Seminole football All-American wanted to fulfill a promise he made to his mother. And set an example for your young children.
“If one day I tell my kids they need to graduate and I don’t have my degree, what’s the point?” O’Leary said.
“It’s a good thing to cross it off.”
Ten years after playing at FSU, O’Leary, 31, will graduate this weekend with a degree in Sociology. Although he didn’t attend the ceremony, the North Palm Beach native is proud of his accomplishment.
O’Leary was 30 hours away from graduating when he re-enrolled in 2023, when he also served as a student assistant coach for the offense under head coach Mike Norvell.
O’Leary said he learned the importance of time management between football, online courses and married life.
“Getting back into the routine of having to do that job again — doing it was the hard part, but you don’t have a choice,” O’Leary said.
“You have to do it and do it at the right time.”
FSU football star Nick O’Leary, one of the all-time greats at tight end
O’Leary, one of the program’s most heralded tight ends, if not its best, helped the Seminoles win the 2013 national championship during his junior season.
He was a consensus All-American and the school’s first winner of the John Mackey Award, given annually to college football’s most outstanding tight end, as a senior. O’Leary, also known as a devastating blocker, finished his four-year career with 114 receptions for 1,591 yards and 18 touchdowns in 54 games under coach Jimbo Fisher. O’Leary’s marks in receptions, yards and touchdowns are school records for a tight end.
In the NFL, O’Leary played for the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars and ended his career in 2020 with the Las Vegas Raiders. He finished with 53 receptions, 668 yards and four touchdowns.
O’Leary returned to Tallahassee and joined Norvell’s staff last year, helping with the offense and tight ends. O’Leary enjoyed the experience, but admitted it took a long time. The Seminoles went undefeated and won the ACC championship, but missed out on the College Football Playoffs. They lost to Georgia in the Orange Bowl without most of their star players opting out of the game.
“Coach Norvell is doing an incredible job,” O’Leary said. “It was a good experience. The coaches and kids really work and try hard. … Being snubbed like that (CFP) wasn’t fun at all. Everyone saw what happened.”
O’Leary also highlighted how much college football has changed since he played. He saw the worlds of the transfer portal and Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), describing it as “a new time” and “where things need to be resolved.”
Grandson of golf legend Jack Nicklaus, O’Leary has returned to Palm Beach and is working with Nicklaus Design. An avid golfer, O’Leary enjoyed the opportunity to learn the elements that help create great golf course design. While at FSU, he played Seminole Legacy Golf Club, which underwent a comprehensive renovation of its golf facilities by Nicklaus Design.
“I entered his (Nicklaus) world of golf design and I want to learn and work my way to see where it takes me,” O’Leary said. “I’ve played a lot of golf… I want to see how golf courses are made and what you think about when you design them.”
Here are tributes to Florida State football’s Nick O’Leary
2011 College Football News – Freshman All-American – Honorable Mention
2013 CBS Sports – 3rd Team All-American; Lindy’s – 3rd Team All-American
2014 American Football Coaches Association – 1st Team All-American; Associated Press – 1st Team All-American l Walter Camp – 1st Team All-American; CBS Sports – 1st Team All-American; SBNation.com – 1st Team All-American; Scout.com – 1st Team All-American; Sports Illustrated – 1st Team All-American; Football Writers Association of America – 2nd Team All-American; The Sporting News – 2nd Team All-American; USA Today/Sports Weekly – 2nd Team All-American; NCAA – All-American Consensus Source: Nolefan.org
2024 Florida State Football Schedule
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August 24 vs. Georgia Tech *Dublin, Ireland at noon, ESPN
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September 2 vs. Boston College at 7:30 p.m., ESPN
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September 14 vs. Memphis
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September 21 vs. California
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September 28th at SMU
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Oct. 5 vs. Clemson
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October 18th at Duke
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October 26th at (U) Miami
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November 2 vs. North Carolina
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November 9th at Notre Dame
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November 23 vs. Charleston Southern
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November 30: Florida
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December 7: ACC Championship
This article originally appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat: Nick O’Leary graduating from Florida State 10 years after his football days
