TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Tom Nugent, one of college football's foremost innovators who introduced Florida State to major-level competition, has died at the age of 92.
Cause of death was congestive heart failure. A funeral was scheduled Monday, the Tallahassee Democrat said.
"When you look at naming the father of Florida State football, it should be Tom Nugent, and I say that without any disrespect for Coach (Bobby) Bowden," said ESPN college football analyst Lee Corso, who played and coached under Nugent.
"In his thinking as a coach, Tom Nugent was ahead of his time, and I mean light years ahead of everybody."
Nugent, who coached at FSU during the 1953-58 seasons before leaving for Maryland, created the I-formation when he was at Virginia Military Institute and was the first coach to have his players line up in a two-deep "typewriter" huddle.
He also is credited with many of the concepts of the spread and motion offensive formations that are used today.
