FSU Football’s Best Players For The 2016 Season: No. 1
By Jason Parker
Here is a look at some of the best players for FSU football heading into the 2016 season.
When FSU football kicks off the 2016 season in just over one month against the Ole Miss Rebels from Camping World Stadium in Orlando, there is plenty of expectation for what the year will have in store for the Seminoles. Coming off a national championship just three years ago, Florida State is expected to be one of the early favorites for a spot in the College Football Playoff after the regular season.
How far the Seminoles will go (and if they can win the fourth national championship in program history) will depend on the play of their talent roster. With arguably the deepest group of talent in the history of FSU football, the 2016 ‘Noles could go down as the best team in school history of things play out as expected.
The question remains unanswered, though: who are the best 10 players on the 2016 FSU football roster. It’s a hard question to answer, with talent on both sides of the ball including maybe the best players at certain positions in the entire country.
It’s a question that saw talents like wide receiver Auden Tate, cornerback Tarvarus McFadden and quarterbacks Malik Henry and Sean Maguire not make the final cut…which should tell you something about the talent that did make our list.
Here’s our countdown of the best 10 players on the 2016 FSU football team.
No. 1 – Dalvin Cook (Running Back)
Junior / Miami, FL (Central)
Two seasons ago, Cook stepped on the field in Tallahassee and went for over 1,000 yards on the year, a 2014 campaign that was highlighted by a two touchdown performance in a comeback win over his hometown Hurricanes. After a Rose Bowl to forget when it came to turnovers (even thought he went for over 100 yards in the game), Cook was determined to make up for it in 2015.
All he did was set the school’s single season rushing record by going for 1,691 yards on the ground with 19 touchdowns (just one shy of tying the record in that category). While doing so, Cook set records and put himself in the conversation for best back in college football while missing nearly two full games due to injury.
In 2016, Dalvin Cook is likely going to be the healthiest that he has been since playing for FSU football. That fact alone should be enough to scare other teams on the Seminoles’ schedule. That means a 1,800 or 2,000-yard season is in play. It means the ‘Noles become an instant contender for the national title and it means No. 4 should be in the running for all the big awards, including the Heisman Trophy.
While the Seminoles are loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, it isn’t exactly a state secret that the team will go as far as Dalvin Cook’s legs will take him. If it is a repeat of 2015 or even better, FSU football will be hoisting a national championship trophy this January in Tampa. Cook won’t be flying under the radar like he did at the start of the 2015 season, so it’s going to take some extra work to have a repeat year for the full 12 game regular season schedule.