I knew leadership would be a major hurdle going into the 2024 season. I wrote about it in January 2024, wondering who would replace players like Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Kalen DeLoach, Jordan Travis, and others.
FSU had plenty of talent and returned most of its starting lineup, a quarterback with lots of experience, and the coaching staff had players from the transfer portal to take leadership positions in past years.
It looked like the program that had gone 23-4 over the past two seasons would continue to roll. However, by October 1, 2024, I was questioning where the team leadership was.
I knew there was a major problem, and FSU was already 1-4. The dumb penalties returned, players celebrating tackles after guys had run 10 yards for a first down.
The effort wasn't near what we had seen in the past two years. It wasn't a player-led team because the upperclassmen who had gone through the process of helping get FSU football out of the mud didn't uphold the standard.
The lack of effort from some guys was appalling, but nearly all of those players are no longer on the team. FSU added 31 new players this spring and returned some talented young players who got their feet wet last during the disappointing season.
The fact that nearly all of those young players returned is promising, and FSU has some guys who could emerge as leaders. Let's look at my top five candidates.