Before the late Burt Reynolds became a Hollywood icon, he made his name with Florida State football

Sad news surfaced on Thursday as it was announced that Hollywood icon Burt Reynolds had passed away at the age of 82. According to NBC News, his agent said that he died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Florida.

While a good portion of the nation (over a certain age at least) celebrated Reynolds for his exploits on the silver screen, there’s a fairly deep connection to game of football for the famous actor. While the general public might know him for his role in the movie The Longest Yard (1974), the man known around Tallahassee as ‘Buddy’ first made his name as a football player for Florida State.

Reynolds’ career with the Seminoles started off in 1954 and he was eventually inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1977. Per his bio on FSU’s website:

Buddy Reynolds began his Florida State football career with a 33-yard pass reception against the Georgia Bulldogs as a freshman in 1954. A knee injury forced him from the lineup in mid-season and he missed the entire 1955 campaign following surgery. He returned to Florida State in 1957 but once again was sidelined by injury, which ended a promising career. He went on to become one of the most successful actors in box office history and earned an Academy Award nomination in 1999. For years he has hosted a segment of the Bobby Bowden Show along with close friend Gene Deckerhoff and he has remained a ardent supporter of Seminole Athletics and the entire university.

The suave movie star has regularly shown up to the sidelines of big FSU games over the years and often recalled his time in pads while telling stories on talk shows. ESPN College GameDay viewers are well aware of the factoid that Reynolds was famously the roommate of Lee Corso when the two were in Tallahassee together and the latter was a star defensive back.

RIP Burt. 🍢 pic.twitter.com/HbJU0xGMKm

— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) September 6, 2018

RIP to Burt Reynolds, a man who became so much more than Lee Corso’s roommate. Here the two are on the 1956 Florida State football team. pic.twitter.com/7UGDe9VeUl

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 6, 2018

Reynolds discussed his play on the field and rather quick exit from FSU football due to injuries in 1957 in the video clip below:

https://youtu.be/-VAuk7TnFLA

No official word as to what the school might do to honor Reynolds going forward but it’s a safe bet that his memory will be celebrated starting on Saturday when the team takes on Samford at Doak Campbell Stadium.

RIP Burt.