Florida State offensive lineman Jayden Todd is being recognized for far more than what he does on the field.
After helping save a man’s life last month, Todd was honored by the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office. The story, first detailed by Ira Schoffel of Warchant, came out of what started as a fishing trip on the Homossa River and quickly turned into an emergency.
Todd said he saw a man unconscious in the water, held up only by a life jacket. Another man was trying to pull him back to the boat, while two women were waving for help.
“They were saying to call 9-1-1, we think he’s having a heart attack,” Todd recalled.
Todd didn’t wait around. Before his boat had fully stopped, he jumped into the river and swam to the other watercraft.
“They weren’t able to pull the guy up from the water because he was a bigger guy,” Todd said.
At 6-foot-6 and 314 pounds, Todd brought exactly the kind of size and strength that changed the situation in a hurry. Jake Fischer, a corporal with the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office Special Enforcement Unit, said Todd’s help made a major difference.
“Moving someone who is unconscious in the water is very hard,” Fischer told Warchant. “If it was anybody else, it would have been very difficult to get him back in the boat.
And they said Jayden just did it with ease. Him being able to do that was a huge part of saving that guy.”
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West has made relationships a major part of his decision-making, which gives Florida State a clear opening if it can keep building trust over time. The challenge is obvious, though: Mike Norvells uncertain tenure and the programs recent struggles to consistently secure top in-state talent hang over this pursuit, and those are the kinds of questions that can linger deep into a quarterback recruitment. [Read more 🡒]