FSU football: 5 players from 2019 class need to shine in 2021

Dontae Lucas

Dontae Lucas was the highest-rated offensive lineman signed in the 2019 recruiting class. Lucas appeared in 11 games with seven starts as a freshman in 2019.

He suffered a broken ankle in the 2019 Sun Bowl against Arizona State and probably wasn’t able to rehabilitate that injury like normal due to the pandemic.

The 2020 season saw Lucas appear in eight games with seven starts, though his play wasn’t on the same level as his freshman season.

When Lucas is focused, he’s talented enough to be one of the best offensive guards in the ACC. However, he’s struggled with some maturity issues among other issues off the field.

There was a time when Lucas was close to not being on the team in 2021, but it looks like he was able to get his act together and figure out what his No. 1 priority is at FSU.

That’s being a good student and developing as a football player to accomplish his dream of playing in the NFL and taking care of his family.

Lucas plays with a lot of emotion and historically hasn’t been able to channel that emotion in the right direction. It has often resulted in dumb penalties in crunch-time situations.

He could be an integral part of the offensive line in 2021 if he’s healthy and has his mind right. The offensive line is different when that’s the case, and the Noles need that now more than ever.