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Remembering when Bobby Bowden, Burt Reynolds hit recruiting trail together | Commentary

After Bobby Bowden passed away a few days ago, somebody asked me: What will I miss most about the Florida State legend?

Probably my favorite one is the time Bobby solicited the help of his good friend Burt Reynolds, the late, great former FSU football player and booster who was once Hollywood’s biggest male sex symbol.

As Bobby told the Orlando Touchdown Club a few years ago, when he first arrived as FSU’s head coach in 1976, NCAA rules allowed famous alumni to have personal contact with recruits on behalf of the school. And so Bowden asked Reynolds if he would fly up to Ohio and help recruit a blue-chip running back.