9 weeks away from Florida State's football season opener versus Georgia Tech

Can you smell college football in the air?

Seminole fans, it is almost that time of year again as we are nine weeks away from Florida State taking on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Dublin, Ireland on August 24th.

It is funny how time passes by so quickly. The Seminoles will be looking to prove the doubters wrong after the College Football Playoff committee decided to snub the program of an opportunity to compete for a national championship.

While it will be PTSD for the program for quite some time, head football coach Mike Norvell and company have to find a way to turn the page and move forward to what could be a special 2024 campaign for Florida State.

The Seminoles only returned 56% production from a season ago. There is no Jordan Travis, Trey Benson, Johnny Wilson, Keon Coleman, Jaheim Bell, Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Fabien Lovett Sr, Tatum Bethune, Kalen DeLoach, Renardo Green, Jarrian Jones, and Akeem Dent walking through that tunnel anymore.

However, Florida State has done well with the transfer portal and the Seminoles still have pivotal players on their roster that return from last year.

Since Florida State football is returning in nine weeks, I thought it would be appropriate to feature the two players on the Seminoles' roster who wear the number nine jersey: Redshirt senior running back Lawrance Toafili and redshirt sophomore linebacker Omar Graham Jr.

The Seminoles added Alabama's Roydell Williams and Indiana's Jaylin Lucas from the transfer portal, and it seems like Toafili is somewhat of a forgotten piece in Florida State's offense. The MVP of the ACC Championship Game will be looking to show off his versatility in his final season in Tallahassee.

As for Omar Graham Jr., he struggled with injuries in 2023 but he still gutted it out when he appeared in all 14 games and recorded 23 total tackles. The linebacker position room added Alabama's Shawn Murphy and Auburn's Cam Riley via the transfer portal this offseason plus they have pieces such as DJ Lundy, Blake Nichelson, and Justin Cryer. Graham Jr. has an opportunity to shine in 2024 though.