Seminoles to wear helmet decals honoring 'Bandit' star Burt Reynolds

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Seminoles are paying tribute to their No. 1 cheerleader during Saturday's game against Samford.

Florida State's football team will wear helmet decals in honor of "Smokey and the Bandit" star Burt Reynolds, who died Thursday in South Florida at the age of 82.

Reynolds played football at Florida State before going on to become a Hollywood star.

The decals will be in the shape of a license plate and read "Ban One" like the Trans Am he drove in the 1977 classic co-starring Sally Field and Jackie Gleason.

Unquestionably Florida State's most famous alumnus, Reynolds went on to become a champion of his alma mater, helping to establish the nationally recognized film school and frequently appearing on former head football coach Bobby Bowden's weekly television show, introducing great moments in FSU football history. An off-campus dormitory is named for Reynolds.

His love for football was apparent in his movies like 1974's "The Longest Yard" and 1977's "Semi-Tough." In a scene from "The Longest Yard," actress Bernadette Peters tells Reynolds, "I'm just as far from Tallahassee as you are." 

Hollywood's No. 1 box-office draw for five years running (1978 to 1982) was a frequent guest of Bowden's in Tallahassee and had the privilege of planting the burning spear at midfield -- a tradition typically reserved for FSU's mascot Chief Osceola and his Appaloosa horse Renegade. His most recent duties came in 2014.

Reynolds even recruited Bowden to appear on an episode of his television show "Evening Shade," for which Reynolds won an Emmy Award. He also became part-owner of the failed USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits in the 1980s.