She was the only two-time winner in the national meet this season and was named the USTFCCCA Women’s National Field Athlete of the Year. Williams, a native of Kingston, Jamaica, earned enough accolades and awards to fill a wall.

She was also the USTFCCCA South Region Athlete of the Year, and the ACC’s Outdoor Field Performer of the Year. Williams, a sophomore, became the first Seminole to win both the long jump and triple jump titles in the same year and the second athlete in NCAA history to accomplish the feat. She accounted for 20 of FSU’s 40 team points, which enabled the Seminoles to finish fourth nationally.

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And those are your nominees, folks. Stay tuned for a chance to vote on who you think should be The Chopping Block male and female athletes of the year.

More specifically, one of the primary reasons for the turnaround was Gilmartin’s left arm, which proved to be the Seminoles’ best and most reliable arm. Gilmartin became the ‘Noles’ No. 1 starter just three weeks into the season and finished with a 12-3 record with a 3.49 ERA.

A native of Moorpark, Calif., Gilmartin led the ACC in wins and was in the conference’s top 10 in complete games, opponents batting average, innings pitched and ERA. For his efforts, he was named a second-team All-American, a freshman All-American and Freshman Pitcher of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Gilmartin was also named first-team All-ACC. The best part about his season: He has at least two more of them left.

Thacker and Watson certainly didn’t have to talk about it. They could have offered a no comment. Instead, though, they were frank and honest, and expressed regret about how their mistakes might affect Bowden. This academic fraud scandal has been difficult for everyone involved. The athletes were suspended. Their teams were hurt by their absence. And just when it has seemed like the case is ready to go away, to disappear, it resurfaces, bringing with it more burdens.

This one, the weight of Bowden’s legacy, might be the heaviest of all for those who had a role.

-This is now the second full week that the freshmen have been participating in workouts and early indications are that the class is making a good first impression. Senior DT Budd Thacker said freshmen defensive tackles Demonte McAllister and Jacobbi McDaniel have looked especially strong.

-Speaking of Thacker, I spoke with him for a bit. He is recovering nicely from off-season shoulder surgery and said he’s about 90 percent. He has lost about 15 pounds and weighs a little less than 270, which is where he hopes to be during the season. He’s still rehabbing that shoulder and the rehab mostly involves stretching. He sometimes spends more than an hour per day stretching.

-The skies were overcast and some thunder sounded over Tallahassee the late afternoon so the team moved inside Doak Campbell Stadium and spent some time running up the stadium ramps. To get back down, the players took the steps. And then ran back up the ramps again. Over and over.

-At the end of workouts, senior LB Dekoda Watson was sporting a stylish championship belt – think the one you might get for winning a heavyweight boxing title – over his shoulder. Belt was nice. Had a Seminole head in the middle of it and some quality faux gold material surrounding it. Watson had the belt because the linebackers had beaten the tight ends in a competition between the two position groups.

-Spent some time with QB Christian Ponder. He said the team already has film of every one of its 2009 opponents and the ‘Noles have already started to study the tape. Most of the emphasis, of course, has been placed on preparing for the season-opener against Miami on Labor Day night.

-Ponder had good things to say about freshmen receivers Rodney Smith and Willie Haulstead. Smith, from Miami, stands about 6-foot-5 and has already made several nice catches down the field, Ponder said. Ponder said Smith is adept at catching the deep ball and out-jumping defenders. Haulstead, meanwhile, has impressed Ponder with his ability to make athletic catches. Ponder said Haulstead reached behind his body to make a catch during a recent 7-on-7.

-Hearing that the status of Recardo Wright, a senior LB from Dr. Phillips High in Orlando, is in doubt due to some health issues. Wright, who played in every game a season ago and was Derek Nicholson's backup at middle linebacker, hasn’t been cleared to participate in workouts.

That’s it for now.

The contractual terms of Douglas’ deal were not announced.

All in all, though, not a bad day for Douglas. Signs a pro contract and is up for Chopping Block male FSU athlete of the year honors. I wonder which one he’s happiest about.

The balanced ‘Noles were the embodiment of a team but no player was more responsible for FSU’s success than senior forward Jacinta Monroe. These days, Monroe is competing for the U.S. Women’s World University Games Team in Siberia.

During the season, she served as the force that propelled the ‘Noles both on offense and defense. Monroe, a second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, led Florida State in scoring, averaging better than 13 points per game, and she was named to the league’s all-defensive team.

One of the most feared shot-blockers in the conference, Monroe finished the season with 84 blocks, a school record. In the process, she also set the school record for career blocks, with 225. During a victory against a ranked Georgia Tech team in the middle of the season, Monroe blocked nine shots. 

Douglas, the Seminoles point guard, led FSU on offense, on defense and right into the NCAA Tournament, a place the Seminoles hadn’t been since 1998. Leading a team that relied heavily on newcomers, Douglas was the top scorer in the Atlantic Coast Conference (21.5 points per game) and he was named the league’s defensive player of the year.

He finished second to North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson in the league’s player of the year voting but Douglas cared little about the snub. He had accomplished his mission thanks in large part to a maniacal work ethic and sense of competitiveness.

Throughout the season, FSU Coach Leonard Hamilton liked to tell reporters story after story about Douglas’ drive to succeed. When Hamilton would come to work, he said, he’d often see Douglas in FSU’s practice facility early in the morning, running sprints or practicing his jump shot.

Douglas, perhaps the most versatile player in the ACC, had innumerable highlights. He created many lasting memories. His favorite, undoubtedly, was leading the ‘Noles to the NCAA Tournament. After FSU lost in the ACC Tournament championship game, the Seminoles gathered to watch the NCAA Tournament selection show in a restaurant inside an Atlanta hotel.

After a while, the words “Florida State” finally flashed up on the screen. Touched by the emotion of the moment, Douglas cried.

The condition caused him to miss the last few stops of his annual spring booster tour and limited his physical activity during the past month.

The good news is Bowden is feeling a lot better now. In fact, he said that with the exception of numbness he is experiencing on the left side of his face, he has rarely felt better. And just in time for when things are starting to get busy again …

If it took you more than 10 seconds to read that, then, actually, Clark is more than halfway to Germany. He’ll be competing there in the World Championships in Berlin. And he’ll be doing so because he recently qualified at the U.S. Track and Field Championships with a time of 20 seconds flat in the 200-meter dash.

Two weeks before that, Clark, a junior, won his first individual national championship in the 200. He also played a bit of a role on the Seminoles’ 4x400-meter relay team, which also won a national title.

Clark earned All-American honors and was the ACC Men’s Outdoor Performer of the Year. Then he went out and earned him an opportunity to compete in the World Championships.

Back in the fall, Kuijken helped lead the Seminoles to their second consecutive ACC Championship in women’s cross country. Who then that she was just getting warmed up?

Kuijken in the spring dominated in her signature event, the 1500, and she saved her best for last in the NCAA Outdoor Championships. There, she won the national championship in the 1500 with a time of 4:13.05, and beat her closest competitor by nearly a full second.

Oh, and amid all that running, Kuijken managed to get some studying done, too. She earned a  3.76 GPA in psychology and was named a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine first-team Academic All-American in track and field and cross country.