Florida
San Francisco 49ers pick LB Tatum Bethune in Round 7 of 2024 NFL Draft. Everything you need to know
Florida State linebacker Tatum Bethune has been picked 251 overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2024 NFL Draft.
He began his college career at Central Florida (UCF) in 2019 before transferring to FSU in 2022, playing two seasons in Tallahassee.
Here’s everything you need to know about Bethune.
Tatum Bethune height and weight
Bethune was measured at 5-foot-11-inches and 229 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Tatum Bethune college, hometown
Bethune began his college career at UCF in 2019 before he transferred to FSU in 2022. He has spent the last two years in Tallahassee.
He is from Miami, Florida and attended national powerhouse Miami Central High School.
Tatum Bethune college stats, highlights
There were questions when it came to FSU’s linebacker room at the beginning of the season and Bethune played a major role in keeping play consistent.
In 2023, he recorded 71 tackles, three pass deflections and one interception.
During his entire college career, he’s recorded 340 tackles, nine pass deflections 7.5 sacks and four interceptions. 108 tackles came during his junior year at UCF.
Bethune had two massive games this season. He recorded nine tackles in FSU’s season-opening win over No. 5 LSU, 54-24. At Wake Forest, he had nine tackles again.
One of his biggest moments came in the ACC Championship when he made a game-saving interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter, helping the Seminoles to a 16-6 win over Louisville.
While Bethune wasn’t FSU’s star linebacker, he has proven in the past to thrive in the right team environments and be a constant producer on the defensive side of the ball.
Tatum Bethune NFL Combine results
- 40-yard dash – did not participate
- Bench press (225 pounds) – 16 reps
- Vertical jump – did not participate
- Broad jump – did not participate
- 3-cone drill – did not participate
- Shuttle run – did not participate
Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on X @jackgwilliams.
Florida
Man convicted of 1991 fatal shooting of police officer is set to be executed in Florida
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop is set to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Kearse was initially sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court failed to give jurors certain information about aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing. Kearse was resentenced to death in 1997.
This is Florida’s third execution scheduled for 2026, following a record 19 executions last year. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The highest number before then was eight executions in both 1984 and 2014, under former governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
According to court records, Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish pulled over Kearse for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in January 1991. When Kearse couldn’t produce a valid driver’s license, Parrish ordered Kearse out of his vehicle and attempted to handcuff him.
A struggle ensued, and Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm, prosecutors said. Kearse fired 14 times, striking the officer nine times in the body and four times in his body armor. A nearby taxi driver heard the shots and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.
Parrish was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from the gunshot wounds, officials said. Meanwhile, police used license plate information that Parrish had called in before approaching Kearse to identify the attacker’s vehicle and home address, where Kearse was arrested.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied appeals filed by Kearse. His attorneys had argued that he was unconstitutionally deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability makes his execution unconstitutional.
Final appeals were pending Tuesday before the U.S. Supreme Court.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis, far outpacing Alabama, South Carolina and Texas which each held five executions.
Besides the two Florida executions this year, Texas and Oklahoma have each executed one person so far.
Two more Florida executions have already been scheduled for this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is scheduled to die on March 17, and the execution of James Aren Duckett, 68, is set for March 31.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
Florida
Florida High School Boys Basketball 2026 Playoff Brackets, Schedule (FHSAA) – March 2, 2026
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Florida
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