FSU Football’s Top Questions Heading Into Spring Game: No. 2

FSU football will conclude spring drills Saturday with the annual Garnet vs. Gold game – here’s a look at some big questions heading into it.

After weeks of knocking helmets under an increasingly hotter environment in Tallahassee, FSU football will finish up their spring practice schedule this weekend with a scrimmage between the ‘Noles inside Doak Campbell Stadium. After over two hours of football, several big questions should be answered as the team closes up shop until the fall.

After finishing off a 2016 season that started disappointing with a five game winning streak – including another victory over Florida and an Orange Bowl win over Michigan – the Seminoles are already a favorite by some to win the ACC, make the College Football Playoff and make it to the national title game this coming January in Atlanta.

Before any of that can take place, FSU football still has plenty of questions left unanswered. From returning players to newcomers to positions that either shined last year or are in desperate need of help, here’s a look at one of the big questions the Seminoles will look to have answered by the end of Saturday’s showdown between the ‘Noles and…well, the ‘Noles.

Florida State Seminoles Football

No. 2 – What kind of Derwin James will we see back on the field after missing almost all of 2016 with an injury?

We aren’t one for making excuses here at Chop Chat when the Seminoles don’t do well, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that much of the early struggles on defense last year had to do with losing James after just a game and a half of action last season. While he might have been able to come back for the Orange Bowl, Jimbo Fisher sat him to get ready for 2017.

Through the first weeks of spring practice, the consensus has been that the Haines City native who was one of the top recruits in the country out of high school could be better than he was as a freshman in 2015. He has been practicing without a brace this spring and says he feels his knee is stronger than ever before.

Already, FSU football coaches have been having fun with him during practice. ESPN.com reports that he spent reps playing at both defensive end and linebacker (similar to the blitz packages used with Lamarcus Joyner in 2013) while also taking second team reps at cornerback to go along with first team reps at his normal position of safety.

Don’t get me wrong…you can probably not expect to see James play every single down this Saturday as coaches continue wanting to make sure he will be back in is normal form this fall. Still, you will likely see a DJ3 who is going to come hard in an effort to show coaches, teammates and even fans that he is ready to make up for lost time.