FSU Football: Top 5 most important offensive players for 2022

FSU football is fewer than 70 days away from its opening game against Duquesne. The 2022 summer hasn’t measured up to the hype and recruiting momentum generated by the staff last year, but the Noles could pick up a couple of important commitments this month.

It won’t be long before fall camp begins in what will be a make-or-break season for Mike Norvell and his staff. Although, it’s mostly for Mike Norvell because some changes need to occur on the staff because several coaches are liabilities on the recruiting trail.

If Mike Norvell doesn’t show enough progress in 2022, he’d be hard-pressed to find quality coaches to make the coaching changes he needs for 2023.

Without those changes, FSU isn’t going to get the players necessary to compete for conference and national championships.

The good news is they should be an improved team overall, and I expect the offense to improve over last year for several reasons.

There’s more talent, and the coaching staff should know the strengths and weaknesses of each player better with so many players returning. Here are my top five most important offensive players to find success.

Camren McDonald 

The last west-coast Nole from the 2018 recruiting cycle appears as a super senior. It would be easy to look at Camren McDonald’s production over the last two years and settle for that as the ceiling.

However, I believe there’s a little more in the tank for 2022. We know 2020 was a COVID year, which came with its own set of issues, and 2021 saw FSU struggle in the first few games at the quarterback position.

Camren McDonald has had 23 and 24 receptions respectively, and around 250 receiving yards and two touchdowns over the past two years.

The lack of an identity hurt the offense and McDonald, but he had five catches for 72 yards in the last two games of the season. Some issues have been on the quarterback, some on the offensive line, and some have been with McDonald struggling to get open.

However, Jordan Travis took some strides as a passer last year, and the offensive line should improve over last year with more depth.

It’s McDonald’s final season, so he knows it’s a year he’ll need to impress if he wishes to play professionally anywhere.

Trey Benson

FSU football will have two running backs with experience in Mike Norvell’s offense in Treshaun Ward and Lawrance Toafili.

I expect both to play roles in the offense as both possess different skillsets. Toafili has good speed and is elusive in the open field, although slight of build, and Ward has great vision but lacks the top-end speed to change the numbers on the scoreboard.

Oregon transfer running back Trey Benson seems to be a great blend of both. Benson opened their eyes at spring practice and in the FSU spring game. A nice blend of size, power, and speed could be just what Mike Norvell ordered with the loss of Jashaun Corbin.

Actually, Benson is bigger and faster than Corbin, but the lack of top-end speed is likely why Corbin went undrafted a few months back, although he did break a few long runs for touchdowns in 2021.

Benson’s injury seems fine, and he had the requisite size to carry the ball more than Ward and Toafili over a season. We saw Toafili get nicked last year, only to appear in nine games, and Ward seemed to fall off towards the end of last year after a strong start.

A productive Trey Benson means the FSU offense is doing a lot of damage in 2022.

Mycah Pittman

If you watched FSU football over the last 2-3 years, it’s easy to see the passing game has been non-existent. Poor play from OBs, the offensive line, and a lack of talent at the wide receiver position have all been contributors to the issue.

However, FSU coaches addressed two of the three concerns with additions on the offensive line and at wide receiver. The hope is Jordan Travis can stay healthy and continue to progress as a passer in 2022.

The first wide receiver addition from the transfer portal was former top 100 player Mycah Pittman. Pittman flashed at Oregon, but injuries and poor QB play limited his production.

However, he flashed a lot at spring practice and looks to be one of the most important pieces to the offense, especially if Winston Wright doesn’t fully return until later in the season.

Pittman has shown the ability to make contested catches in different ways. We could see him attack across the middle, or on screen passes in the flats.

What do I like most about him besides his sure-handedness? He doesn’t dance around and goes straight up the field for positive yardage. He’s someone I think FSU football can count on to make plays in the passing game.

Entire Offensive Line

What can I say about the FSU offensive line? It’s an area the coaching staff spent a lot of time addressing in the transfer portal and the prep 2022 recruiting class. The Noles return some important pieces in Dillan Gibbons, Darius Washington, Robert Scott Jr, and Maurice Smith.

The additions of Bless Harris, Kayden Lyles, D’Mitri Emmanuel, and Jazston Turnetine from the transfer portal give the Noles eight bodies with college experience.

They have 2-3 more in Thomas Schrader, Bryson Estes, and maybe Rod Orr or Lloyd Willis that could play some snaps if needed.

It’ll be the first time in years this unit will have at least 7-8 capable bodies to hold up physically against opposing defenses. A lot of these players can play interchangeable all across the line, which should help if an injury occurs.

The good news is there’s enough depth initially that all of the freshmen offensive linemen from the 2022 recruiting cycle should get at least one year to develop before getting thrown into the fire too early.

The latter is one of the re-occuring issues pointing to the lack of development and depth. An average to slightly above average offensive line means FSU wins more games than people think in 2022.

Jordan Travis

Jordan Travis is not only the most important offensive player, but he’s the most important player on the team. He’s why the Noles won five games last year and the key to all of these important pieces improving on offense enough to potentially win 7-8 games in 2022.

The number one thing for Jordan Travis is his availability. His propensity to get hurt limited him the past two years in games and at practice which made his development slower.

However, we saw him turn the corner last year as he gained confidence, even with a banged-up offensive line and limited options at wide receiver.

All of these parts work in unison. If the offensive line can pass protect better, that gives the wide receivers more time to get open. If they can run-block, that forces the defense to respect the run, which opens the pass even more.

However, the key to it all is the play of Jordan Travis. Mike Norvell and staff have tied their careers to him.

A Jordan Travis that throws for 2,500 yards and runs for another 500-600 yards should be enough to win enough games to get the Noles over the hump in 2022.