FSU football: 10 big things that will define 2024 season
By Kelvin Hunt
Special Teams
FSU was mostly great on special teams in 2023. Keon Coleman saved them at punt returner, and they had excellent punt return defense. Their kickoff return defense needs to improve a ton. Alex Mastromanno is one of the best punters in college, and Ryan Fitzgerald had a magnificent bounce-back season kicking field goals. I expect the latter two to be fine. However, it's what FSU looks like at punt and kickoff return. Jaylin Lucas will likely be the returner for punts, and he was great at it while with Indiana.
If he can match or surpass what Keon Coleman brought last year, that would be a major boost. If FSU can get better production from its kickoff returns, that would be helpful to an offense that doesn't have many proven playmakers going into the season. Special teams are where we see a lot of hidden yardage come into play during games. Mastromanno punting at a high level and Jaylin Lucas returning punts at a high level could help FSU steal a win this season. Remember how big Keon Coleman's punt return against Miami was in 2023? What about Deuce Spann's kickoff return for a touchdown against Duke?