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FSU Football: ‘Noles need more players with Jalen Ramsey mentality

By Kelvin Hunt

CHESTNUT HILL, MA - OCTOBER 27: James Blackman #1 of the Florida State Seminoles looks on during the first quarter against the Florida State Seminoles at Alumni Stadium on October 27, 2017 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
CHESTNUT HILL, MA - OCTOBER 27: James Blackman #1 of the Florida State Seminoles looks on during the first quarter against the Florida State Seminoles at Alumni Stadium on October 27, 2017 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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FSU football is known for having players with swag and confidence, but that’s been lacking as of late.

As a FSU football fan you’ve probably watched a lot of games the past couple of years, and wondered why many FSU players shy away from openly playing with emotion?

Remember the Telvin Smith’s, Lamarcus Joyner’s, and Jalen Ramsey’s that used to roam the FSU sidelines?

That fire to compete is missing among a lot of the current FSU football squad. A few of the young players have it though, and hopefully that confidence will carry over to others as the team starts to have success.

This team needs more players with the mentality of a Jalen Ramsey. I use Ramsey because he’s the most recent former FSU player that had it in spades.

It has carried over to the NFL and he’s already one of the most feared defensive backs in just over a year and a half in the league. Of course Ramsey made headlines earlier this week by getting into an on-field altercation with wide receiver A.J. Green.

Fisher was asked about the incident but hadn’t heard about it, but went on to talk about what Ramsey brought to FSU mentally:

“Every day…every play for him was like playing for a national….intense, focused…the things I talk about I love. Every play he played he would embarrass you if you didn’t play well in practice. He would completely embarrass you, he didn’t care if it was his buddy, he didn’t care if it was his friend…he didn’t care if it was anybody. He was in that mold with Telvin[Smith], Jameis[Winston], [Lamarcus] Joyner, [Devonta] Freeman, [James] Wilder. If you didn’t wanna play, good I’ll beat your brains in that day.”

Fisher went on to say Ramsey’s competitive nature was crazy and was like that from day 1 when arriving at FSU. He said he sees competitiveness in some of the younger guys but not to the extent of what Ramsey had.

According to Fisher, “He[Ramsey] was one of the most special ones I’ve ever had like that.”

Thoughts

That’s a lot of what’s missing at FSU at the moment. Yes, there’s elite talent on the roster, but does that elite talent have elite drive to be great and competition breeds success.

FSU needs more players with that dog in them and there are some younger players with it. James Blackman, Cam Akers, Stanford Samuels III, Hamsah Nasirildeen, DJ Matthews, Levonta Taylor,  and elder Derwin James come to mind.

But that’s where coaching and understanding what motivates each player to get the best out of him brings the edge. It’s not enough to hold your own.

Next: 3 Ways Jimbo Fisher Can Fix FSU Football

FSU players have to get back to the mentality of dominating the guy across from them. Once that mentality comes back, the ‘Noles will get back to blowing teams out.

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