FSU football: Improved or not? Position rankings compared to 2021
By Kelvin Hunt
Special Teams Improved over 2021
Man, outside of field goal kicking and punting, I’m not sure this unit could be worse, and those two areas were not elite by any means.
The punt returning was awful, but the coaches brought Mycah Pittman from the transfer portal to address that issue. He should be a significant upgrade at the position if he doesn’t let punts hit the ground. Winston Wright was brought in to address kickoff return, but I’m not sure he is an option with his recovery from the car accident.
Heck, the kickoff returns would improve if they simply fair caught every one of them. Special teams cost FSU football at least two wins last year, and an improved unit could work wonders in conjunction with a better offense and defense.
All of the hidden yards gained could result in more points ultimately scored by the Noles. I do hope to see Ryan Fitzgerald become a tad more consistent with his field goal kicking, and Alex Mastromanno needs to consistently get a little more hang time on his punts. A yard or two more distance-wise wouldn’t hurt either, but I won’t push my luck. I think this unit has to take a step forward in 2022.