3 Florida State players who must elevate their game to help Thomas Castellanos

Media day is over, training camp starts in a few days and August 30 will be here before you know it. Now that quarterback Thomas Castellanos has decided to stand on business, it's time to move on from the offseason chatter. Castellanos is putting a lot of pressure on himself this season, but he can't do it alone. If the FSU offense is going to be successful this season, these are the three guys that need to step up:

RB Gavin Sawchuk

In a perfect world, Sawchuk would be the feature running back in this offense. He is a proven performer with better upside than Roydell Williams or Caz Holmes. If FSU fans get their way, it will be a three-headed monster at running back with Sawchuk, Ousmane Kromah and Kam Davis providing the power. FSU wants the Sawchuk that they saw in the 2022 Cheez-It Bowl that gained over 700 yards and averaged over six yards per carry in 2023. If they can get that level of production and chunk-play ability from him, it will take a lot of pressure off Castellanos. 

WR Duce Robinson

​The passing concepts in Malzahn's offense are all about having big, physical receivers to make big plays downfield. Robinson fits the bill perfectly. He's 6-foot-6, 220 pounds and in two years at USC he averaged 18.2 yards per catch and seven of his 41 career receptions were for touchdowns. Expect Malzahn to dial up the deep ball when Robinson is in single coverage or situations where they believe he can go up and grab those 50/50 balls. The Castellanos-Robinson connection has the potential to be an explosive one. 

WR Squirrel White

It was between White and tight end/h-back Randy Pittman. Both players are guys that will line up all over the field, but what gives White the edge, if he's healthy, is his home-run threat ability. There isn't an upside projection for White - he's a proven commodity in college football with 131 receptions and over 1,500 yards in three seasons. When healthy, Whitehas shown the ability to make spectacular catches on the outside or turn the small gains into big ones. Malzahn is going to try to get White the ball in every way imaginable, both on the perimeter and down the field. White is the type of player you can build an offensive gameplan around.