Lorenzo Featherston to Be Declared Medically Ineligible to Play for FSU

Florida State defensive end Lorenzo Featherston's career with the Seminoles ended on Monday when head coach Jimbo Fisher revealed he's in the process of being declared medically ineligible because of a severe knee injury.

Safid Deen of the Tallahassee Democrat reported the news. Fisher shared the information on Featherston's status at a Seminoles Boosters event in Jacksonville, per Deen.  

Fisher had warned the public March 30 that Featherston may not be able to return to the gridiron.

"I don't know if he'll be able to come back. It'll be interesting to see," Fisher said, per the Orlando Sentinel's Brendan Sonnone. "We knew it and it’s been bothering him pretty bad, so we've got to evaluate it."

An injury-plagued 2015 campaign limited Featherston to only four games, and he wasn't in action in Florida State's spring practices because of his ailing knee.

Per 247Sports' Chris Nee, Featherston suffered a serious knee injury in high school. He also underwent arthroscopic surgery before the 2015 season began and had been listed as the starter at the Seminoles' "Buck" position, a defensive end-linebacker hybrid spot on the front seven, according to Deen.

Featherston was a unique player who flashed potential as a true freshman in 2014, racking up 19 total tackles and five for loss, per CFBStats.com. At 6'7" and 218 pounds, Featherston's length and athleticism figured to lead to a starting spot.

Unfortunately, he will have to continue rehabbing aggressively to get an opportunity elsewhere if he decides to continue playing football.

Given his size and resultant ability to be a disruptive force off the edge, there's reason to believe some program would take a look at Featherston if he ever checks out medically.