The last time someone other than Bobby Bowden coached Florida State, most of us were either not even born, or were toddlers. But like all things, Bowden’s coaching era finally came to an end at the end of last season after 34 seasons as the lead Seminole. Now all of the reigns have been officially handed off to Jimbo Fisher, who has been the coach in waiting for the past few years. And he also has a new defensive coordinator after Mickey Andrews, who was along side Bowden for the past 26 seasons, retired this past offseason. In steps Mark Stoops, who spent the last six seasons doing the same job for his brother Mike at Arizona.
Offense
The Seminoles were the second ranked offense in the ACC last season, and 28th overall. The key returning piece is a Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Christian Ponder. It was possible that Ponder would have bolted for the NFL after last season, but a shoulder injury in the Clemson game sidelined him for the season. Ponder was able to complete just under 69% of his passes, for 2717 yards, with a 14-7 touchdown-interception ratio. Ponder was also named ACC preseason player of the year.
The running back position is pretty deep. Jermaine Thomas was the leading rusher last season with 832 yards on 163 carries. Thomas also scored nine touchdowns rushing, and also had a receiving touchdown. Ty Jones also ran for 251 yards last year, and freshman Lonnie Pryor pitched in 156 yards and four touchdowns as well. This unit is very deep, and Thomas could have a 1000 yard season within reach.
The receivers were expected to mostly be in tact, but Jarmon Fortson was booted from the team as practice was starting. He is expected to be replaced by sophomore, who only caught one pass last season. The most experienced receiver on the team in junior Bert Reed, who caught 60 passes last season, but didn’t score a touchdown receiving, but did have two rushing touchdowns. The other receiver is expected to be Taiwan Easterling, who caught 35 passes. The tight end is expected to be Beau Reliford, who caught 11 passes. With Reed and Easterling being under 6-0, Reliford, who is 6-6, figures to be a good red zone target.
All five starters on the offensive linemen return from last season. The line is anchored by senior guard Rodney Hudson, who was first team All American and winner of the Jacobs Award last season. He is joined on the left side by tackle Andrew Datko, a member of the all ACC third team last season. Center Ryan McMahon has started every game in all three years, and has proved to be a solid center. On the right side of the line are guard David Spurlock and tackle Zebrie Sanders. This is a very experienced line, and is among the best offensive lines in the country.
Defense
The defense has a lot of work to do. It was last in the ACC in total yards allowed by nearly 40 yards per game. The Seminoles were 108th nationally in total defense. They allowed each of their last nine opponents to score at least 21 points in a game. But a new face was brought in to coach the defense, and there are expectations of better things on the defensive side of the ball. Both defensive ends will return in Everett Dawkins and Markus White. However, the defensive ends tallied only four sacks last season, so they will need to have a pass rush from their ends to be successful. Moses McCray tore his ACL in the beginning of practice, and will miss the season, so there will be two new defensive tackles. Sophomore Jacobbi McDaniel is expected to be a monster in the middle this year. Anthony McCloud figures to start as well with McCoy’s absence.
The top two tacklers from last season are back in linebackers Nigel Bradham and Kendall Smith. Bradham led the team with 93 tackles last season, and Smith had 85 tackles. They did lose arguably their best defensive player in Dekoda Watson, and his spot is up for grabs. Nigel Carr was slated to take that spot, but he was arrested in the offseason, and is facing multiple felonies. He is suspended indefinitely, and that could open the door for another one of college football’s great names, Mister Alexander. Alexander only had 17 tackles, but five of them were sacks.
The secondary has a little work to do. They lost Patrick Robinson, easily their best player in the secondary, and now he is suiting for the defending Super Bowl champions. His spot is expected to be replaced by sophomore Greg Reid, who was first team freshman All American. The down side to him is he is only 5-8, so he will be at a disadvantage against the league’s taller receivers. He will join returning starter Ochuko Jenije. The senior was tied for the team lead with four interceptions. Both safeties are gone from last year. Sophomore Nick Moody figures to be one of the starters, and will be more of a rover. Despite being a backup last season, he is among the leaders among returnees in tackles with 33. The other safety position is a battle between sophomore Jajuan Harley and junior Terrance Parks.
Special Teams
The Seminoles had a tough time replacing one of the best kickers in school history in Graham Gano. Sophomore Dustin Hopkins was a bit shaky last season, only converting 19-27 field goals, and missed four extra points. But he should improve with a year of experience.
The punting duties will be handled by junior Shawn Powell. Powell averaged 41.6 yards per punt, a 36.1 net, and put 13 punts inside the 20. Powell also had four punts over 50 yards, so he does have a pretty strong leg.
The kickoff and return duties were handled last season by Greg Reid, and he was dangerous when he had the ball. Reid had an 18.4 yard per return on punts, and returned one punt for a touchdown. He also averaged 25.5 yards per kick return.
Schedule
With the exception of the opener against Samford, The Seminoles are really testing themselves in the non conference. The go to Oklahoma in the second week of the season, and follow that up with a home game against BYU. Per usual, they close the season against Florida, but they get them at home this year, and have a chance to win this game for the first time since 2006. The big conference games are October 9th at Miami, October 16 against Boston College, November 6 against North Carolina, and November 13 against Clemson.
Fantasy Player to Watch
If you want one player from Florida State, you have to look at Christian Ponder. He was on the verge of passing for 3000 yards last season before his season ending injury. And I think assuming he stays healthy, he can eclipse the 3000 yard mark this season. A lot of the season’s success rides on Ponder.
Will’s Thoughts
Jimbo Fisher officially has control of this team now. We can speculate all we want as to whether he did in recent years, but he does now. And he inherits a team that is very talented, especially on offense. He has a three headed running attack, and some solid receiver. But the question is about the defense. The defense was so bad that they couldn’t stop a pee wee football team last year. But there is a new face of the defense, and I think this defense will improve this year just enough to make them the team to beat in the ACC Atlantic.
