OFFENSE
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Deondre Francois
QB/Florida State |
Florida State knew what the had in the brilliant Dalvin Cook at running back in 2016, but could not have been more pleased with the play of redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francois. Francois threw for 3350 yards, with 20 TD's against only 9 INT's. Among his greatest attributes beyond his calmness in the pocket was his toughness, taking numerous vicious hits from "look out' blocks thrown by an under performing offensive line. Two starters return up front, but the unit should be stronger, led by G Landon Dickerson. Alec Eberle will be the center, with Cole Minshaw and Brock Ruble at the other guard. Derrick Kelly has a leg up on Josh Ball for a tackle spot while Rick Leonard comes back over from the defensive line to take the right tackle spot. Ryan Izzo, at TE, is potentially All ACC at the position. Francois will have a talented backfield. Jacques Patrick will be at tailback, no doubt sharing time with talented freshman newcomer Cam Akers. Amir Rasul and Ryan Green are the backups. Jonathan Vickers, an outstanding and versatile player, will be at fullback. Nyquan Murray leads a strong but thin receiving core. Murray is primed for a breakout season, which could garner All America honors. Auden Tate is a tall target with deceptive speed, a dangerous weapon in the red zone.Keith Gavin and George Campbell are backups. Davante Phillips was a guy much was expected from at the position, but he ran afoul of the law and his status remains unclear. The unit has great promise, but has some holes that could open up, mostly surrounding depth. The running game, although decent, figures to back up without Cook, so Francois will have to pick up the load. He can do it, but there is little room for error. We look for about the same as a year ago with respect to production, netting about 35 points per game.
DEFENSE
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Tarvarus McFadden
CB/Florida State |
Last season, the unit started out slowly, giving up a bunch of points to a high powered Ole Miss offense, but when Derwin James went down early in game two against a cupcake team, it was not quite noticeable how big a loss he was, not just from a talent standpoint, but much more importantly from a leadership standpoint. The Seminoles were sandblasted the following week at Louisville in as ugly a defensive display I have ever witnessed following FSU football. It took several weeks to get it corrected, and sadly it cost FSU another game with North Carolina passing their way to a high scoring win in Tallahassee. Will the unit regroup and return to dominance in 2017. Good question.Up front, the Seminoles could be stout. A pair of strong tackles in Derrick Nnadi and Demarcus Christmas are flanked by a pair to quarterback terrorizing ends in Brian Burns and Josh Sweat. All four are potential All ACC candidates if not more. Matthew Thomas returns at linebacker along with Roderick Hoskins. Thomas has missed a lot of fall camp, and without him the 'Noles will have a set back. Emmett Rice backs up Thomas. Jacob Pugh mans the SAM spot. Derwin James will anchor a very strong secondary, perhaps the nations best. Tarvarus McFadden was among the nations leaders in interceptions in 2016, earning All America honors. McFadden is back and primed for a big season. Trey Marshall, Kyle Meyers, Ermon Lane and AJ Westbrook are among the quality backups, as is Nate Andrews who is expected back after injury. Levonta Taylor, backed by Calvin Brewton, are at the opposite corner. The unit has a chance to be quite salty, with talented players are each level. Significant improvement from the uncharacteristic 25ppg given up in 2016 is expected, and will be necessary if FSU expect to return to the playoff.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker Ricky Aguayo was solid in 2016 but not outstanding, even giving way on some 50+ efforts. He is not automatic, finishing 19-26. More will be expected from him. Punter Logan Tyler was again solid, but he will need to seek improvement as well, averaging just 40 yards per punt. The return game was also less than spectacular, especially puzzling given the Seminoles array of fleet footed shill people. Tarvarus McFadden and Nyquan Murray look to handle punt returns. Several candidates are aiming to return kickoffs. Keith Gavin has a big, game changing return against Michigan in The Orange Bowl. Derwin James will give it a go, with WR George Campbell and FR RB Khalan Laborn also ready. Increasing the gains in the hidden yardage department can go a long way, and this is an area FSU can make some gains.
INTANGIBLES
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| Seminoles |
Although the Seminoles closed strong last season, with only last minute home loss to eventual National Champion Clemson in the seasons second half, there is a bad taste in the mouth of many in the program after consecutive 3 loss seasons. The talent level appears quite solid, so the goals continue to be set high. The team seems to have a nice blend of experience with new emerging talent. The kicking game is strong as well. Although the schedule is a bear, no significant back to back contests are on the schedule. As is the case with most teams, the health of starting quarterback Deondre Francois is most important.
HONORS CANDIDATES
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S Derwin James
Photo/PalmBeachPost.com |
Back from an injury which sidelined him for almost all o 20-16, safety S Derwin James returns as a concensus All America player in the defensive backfield. James is a top five NFL pick. Deondre Francois was so impressive as a redshirty freshman at quarterback that he could challenge for conference honors, if not national honors. Add WR Nyquan Murray to that list as well. Derrick Nnadi will seek national honors as well., Tarvarus McFadden is a preseason first team All America selection. Ryan Izzo is sneaky good at TE. Others with opportunities are for possible All ACC honors candidates are DE Josh Sweat, LB Matthew Thomas, OG Landon Dickerson and DE Brian Burns. RB Cam Akers should make some serious noise as a freshman.
NEW ARRIVALS
RB Cam Akers is the prominent name on this list. While he will not likely start at running back, he will see plenty of action right from the get go. Akers will be a household name among Nole fans in short order. The defensive coaching staff loves S Hamsah Nasirildeen, but he is playing a stacked position, and legacy CB Stanford Samuels III is penciled in at second team. DE Josh Kaindoh should see action, as should DT Marvin Wilson, who is a man among boys. LB Adonis Thomas, RB Khalan Laborn, LB Leonard Warner and WR DJ Matthews are others that appear good enough to find the field.
FINAL ANALYSIS
Florida State is a very good football team and has a chance to win it all, They are thin in certain areas and will need for things to break right; get balls bouncing their way. The schedule is very tough, but the rough games are sufficiently spread out. FSU opens against Alabama in Atlanta, in a clash of titans. Bama is favored, but FSU is quite capable of winning and a win would set a serious tone for what can be accomplished. Nobody likes to lose, but the loser of the game will not be harmed if they take care of their business the rest of the way. We think FSU can win it, but we know Alabama can, so we will think 0-1. That is OK. A very much improved Miami comes to Tallahassee two weeks later, and that is a must win. A very dangerous NC State visits DOAK, but the Wolfpack have won here before and are not intimidated. It will not be easy, but we will say 3-1, before FSU wins at Wake and at Duke before Louisville visits. The 'Noles owe the Cards some payback, so we expect FSU 6-1 here. At Boston College on a Friday Night will be a win, as will the following visit from Syracuse. 8-1. FSU then travels to Clemson, and while the Tigers are top ten, without Deshaun Watson, we think FSU wins this one. Delaware State is handled as FSU prepares to beat Florida down in Gainesville to finish up 11-1. Reaching the ACC championship game is the goal, and we have FSU in it, and winning it. So, we have FSU 12-1 with a playoff trip. Maybe a rematch with Alabama?
GAMEDAY GALLERY
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