Should FSU Football Give Derwin James Snaps on Offense in 2017?

FSU football will be happy to have Derwin James back in the secondary this season – but should the ‘Noles give him a look on the other side of the ball?

It was a sight that every FSU football fan was more than excited to see this past Saturday during the annual Garnet and Gold spring game: Derwin James, one of the best defensive players in the country entering last season, took the field and reminded everyone what was missing from the secondary last season for the Seminoles.

It was one of the first times James had been on the field of Doak Campbell Stadium in a helmet and pads since suffering a knee injury during the second game of last season against Charleston Southern – an injury that, despite everyone’s best efforts, turned into a season ending one for the player who shined as a true freshman in 2015 after being a coveted five star recruit.

During spring drills, it was documented that James played a variety of positions on defense – taking snaps at corner back, defensive end and linebacker in addition to his natural position of safety.

But is he ready to take on the offensive side of the ball?

It was a thought that was presented by Sports Illustrated last week, saying that it was time to let Derwin James take control of the FSU football offense:

"Fully recovered, James has resumed all the defensive duties he once had. He’s also returning kicks. If Fisher will consent, James also would like a role on the offense. “We’ve talked about offensive roles like receiver to give defenses a different look,” James said.Offensively, he could play receiver. Or tailback. Or tight end. Or as a wildcat quarterback. In fact,  offensive line is the only place James’s teammates believe he might struggle."

Florida State Seminoles Football

Could Derwin James take snaps on the offensive side of the football for Florida State and be a success? The betting odds say yes based on the fact that he is a sheer athletic freak who could dominate anything he did on the field. He would be a big target in the open field who defenders would have a hard time stopping.

At the same time – and maybe I’m just being overly worried with this one – we haven’t seen James take the kind of contact that he will see when FSU football takes on Alabama in the season opener – or Miami two weeks later…or Louisville in the middle of October. It’s tough to say that a guy who hasn’t played a legit down in exactly seven months from today should be used all over the place right away.

There is no problem with it happening once in a while – maybe even once or twice a game. But making James a consistent part of the FSU football offense would be a huge mistake early on. It would put him in unnecessary danger before we know what he is capable of in actual game competition.

It’s a sexy idea to do such a thing considering it got former Michigan star Jabril Peppers a ticket to the Heisman Trophy ceremony last season (and we all know James had better numbers than Peppers in 2015 and likely would have last year as well) – but at this point, it’s not the BEST thing for both James and the Seminoles.