Sophomore tight end Christo Kourtzidis is transferring from Florida State, his father, Akis, told TomahawkNation.com.
According to Akis, Kourtzidis was not on schedule to be able to play in a game until week six. His weight and strength had dropped considerably after labrum surgery, and he would not have been an effective player. After burning his redshirt for only 12 plays in 2012, Kourtzidis was not excited about losing the second of his four years of eligibilitty to play in six games at 70 or 80-percent health.
Further, other factors combined to create a "perfect storm," Akis said. First, the massive staff turnover, including the departure of position coach James Coley, who recruited Kourtzidis to FSU, hit him hard. Second, the family also now questions (but did not at the time) why Florida State didn't have Kourtzidis have the surgery after the Orange Bowl, instead of waiting until April. For the record, FSU did have Kourtzidis try to rehab the shoulder first.
The Kourtzidis family has no hard feelings toward Florida State, and says that Kourtzidis will take 2013 off to get his shoulder healthy, before playing at another school closer to his California home in 2014.
Kourtzidis, from California, tore his labrum in spring practice. Jimbo Fisher recently indicated that he was on pace to play, but that he would not see contact in fall camp. Shoulder injuries can be difficult, however, and the timetables have considerably more variance than a surgery for a knee injury, for example. There was no guarantee that Kourtzidis would have been healthy for the season.
Kourrtzidis was tight with coach James Coley, who left for an offensive coordinator role with the Miami Hurricanes this offseason.
The move leaves Florida State with two healthy scholarship tight ends: Junior Nick O'Leary, who is fully healthy after being involved in a horrific motorcycle crash (SHOCKING VIDEO HERE), and Jeremy Kerr, a large freshman who was expected to be used in blocking situations. Tight end Kevin Haplea tore his ACL during summer workouts.
Jimbo Fisher said recently that Florida State had no plans to move a player to tight end from another position, but that was before the news of the transfer.
Here is Kourtzidis' bio from the Florida State media guide.
2013 OUTLOOK:Big, physical tight end who is a good blocker off the line as well as a good receiver in the passing game. Suffered a shoulder injury early into spring practice and sat out spring after surgery. Will see more time in 2013 as he was on pace to have a good spring entering his second season in the system.
2012: True freshman who played in eight games seeing time on offense but also on special teams...earned first career start against Savannah State and also saw action against Murray State, Wake Forest, Boston College, Duke, Maryland, Georgia Tech and Northern Illinois...first career reception came - a 13-yard gain - came in the second half against Savannah State.
PERSONAL:Four-star tight end prospect known for strong hands and the ability to catch the ball away from his body, fight for yards after the catch and break arm tackles...can play from an in-line position or flexed out wide as a receiver...excels as a blocker and will only get better at the next level...named Orange County all-region first team by ESPNLA.com...hauled in 38 receptions for 416 yards and four TD receptions as a senior in 2011...caught 29 passes for 429 yards as a junior...earned MaxPreps California Division I all-state first team honors...also picked up All-Orange County and All-Pac 5 Division honors...ranked No. 7 on the Top 50 senior football recruits by OCVarsity.com...rated a four-star prospect ranking as the No. 11 tight end by Scout.com, a four-star prospect as the No. 8 tight end by 247Sports, No. 25 player in the state of California and 219th player on the Top247 list...a four-star prospect as the No. 8 tight end, No. 25 player and 194th overall player by Rivals...earned a three-star rating by ESPN as the No. 26 tight end nationally, No. 61 prospect in the state of California and No. 91 regionally...two-way player at Lutheran HS playing tight end and defensive end...chose Florida State over Cal.