FSU football will get the much-anticipated fall camp underway on Tuesday, August 1.
I can feel it in the air like Phil Collins. This is a day we’ve been waiting for since forever, or at least since the spring game.
FSU football is just at a month away from taking the field against Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide. They are around touchdown underdogs, but the Orange Bowl should teach folk not to doubt the ‘Noles.
The smack talk is already beginning from Alabama with their players playing the Warchant in the locker room and mocking it. FSU players are signing off social media as common place under Jimbo Fisher.
There are fewer questions overall than last season, but there are still holes to fill. We take a look at the five storylines going into fall camp.
Backup QB
We already know Deondre Francois is locked in as the starting quarterback after a great redshirt freshman season.
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He won the ACC Rookie of the Year award, passing for 3,350 yards with 20 touchdowns against seven interceptions.
He also used his legs a bit in the season although it wouldn’t seem that way since college rules count sack yardage in rushing totals(that’s stupid btw).
Last year we knew Francois was going to be the starter with Sean Maguire being injured going into fall camp. However, we knew Maguire wouldn’t be out too long, so FSU had some experience behind Francois if needed.
That’s not the case in 2017. JJ Cosentino would be the presumable backup quarterback, but he’s shown absolutely nothing in his time at FSU.
In fact, former four-star true freshman and early enrollee Bailey Hockman could be in line to be the backup after a strong spring.
He looked more comfortable in the spring game than Cosentino and is ahead of the curve according reports coming out a spring camp.
A strong fall could see him emerge as the backup to Francois.
Special Teams
Will special teams be better in 2017 than the past few years at FSU? They’ve been down right terrible and the ‘Noles need to see improvement in both Ricky Aguayo and Logan Tyler.
That should happen with the experience they gathered as true freshman last season. Aguayo was good for the most part outside of the North Carolina game. Tyler needs to add more distance and hang time to his punts.
The other big questions are who’s going to return punts and kickoffs?
True freshman running back Cam Akers and sophomore receiver Keith Gavin are listed as the starters for kickoff returns. Remember Gavin returning Michigan’s kickoff to set up the go ahead touchdown in the Orange Bowl as a true freshman?
Sophomore defensive back Levonta Taylor is listed as first team punt returner with Derwin James listed as the backup. We thought Taylor would get a chance last season to return punts but that never came to fruition.
He was electric in high school returning punts, so this could be a significant upgrade over the past few seasons.
Field Cornerback
Marquez White had held down the field cornerback position for the ‘Noles the past two seasons before being selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the NFL Draft in April.
He had a better junior year than senior season, but that’s still a lot of experience to replace. Luckily, FSU cross trains its defensive backs and there are a number of players that could step in and play the position.
Sophomore Kyle Meyers is listed as the starter with sophomore Carlos Becker listed as the backup.
These two will compete during fall camp and FSU will be in a good spot with either player in that role. Meyers came on strong last season, playing in all 13 games with Becker playing safety and special teams.
Becker caught the interception that sealed the win against Michigan in the Orange Bowl.
Offensive Line
The much maligned FSU offensive line. Where do I start? First of all, hopefully they all took Deondre Francois out to eat or something for the punishment he endured last season.
Yes, some of it was Francois’s fault, but there were too many instances of the line getting blown off the ball or missing assignments.
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It looks like the only starter that will be replaced is two-time Jacob’s Blocking trophy winner Roderick Johnson. The first string starters:
- Josh Ball-LG
- Cole Minshew-LT
- Baveon Johnson-C
- Landon Dickerson-RG
- Rick Leonard-RT
Leonard and Dickerson were starters last season with Dickerson coming off a ACL injury that saw him miss most of the season. Johnson will try to hold off Alec Eberle who was the starting center last season and coming off off-season surgery.
Minshew started the final three games of the season and Josh Ball redshirted last season. This will arguably be the most athletic and physical offensive line Jimbo Fisher has had at FSU.
The question will be can they function together at a high level as a unit?
Overall Health of Team
Teams go into fall camp to get better, to answer questions and to prepare themselves to the upcoming season. However, one of the most important things is to come out of fall camp healthy.
As with most college teams, several FSU football players had surgeries or some type of procedure done in the off-season.
- Tarvarus McFadden
- Ermon Lane
- Nate Andrews
- Derwin James
- Alec Eberle
Those players either had procedures done or spent the off-season rehabbing from procedures last season. I’m sure I’m missing a couple too.
Josh Sweat was limping around at Jimbo Fisher’s camp a couple of weeks ago and we know his history with leg/knee injuries.
We’ve talked about FSU needing good injury luck early in the season since they are playing three physical teams in the first four games of the season.
It’s imperative they come out of fall camp as close to 100 percent healthy as possible.
Final Thoughts
Last season we had high expectations, but we fill our expectations were a bit lower than most. FSU had a lot of questions that we pointed out back then.
However, we fill more optimistic going into this football season. We have a talented and experienced quarterback. There are talented players in the backfield to assist with the void of not having Dalvin Cook.
The offensive line should be better this year. The wide receiver group could be the most talented group in the Fisher era, but depth is a concern there. Also, the tight ends are talented and experienced.
The defense should be lights out as they have one of the best defensive lines and secondaries in the country.
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Special teams should be improved too. The ‘Noles have a tough early schedule, but if they can emerge with just one loss in the first four games they will be in good shape to make the ACC championship game barring any crazy injuries.