There are not many constants with FSU football teams these days. Better recruiting, better development, and better on-field results mean that more players are garnering interest from NFL teams and leaving for the draft. It’s not hard to see why — such a decision is financially beneficial and signals placement among the best in the game. It’s simply the best option.
Unfortunately, this causes problems for the team that is forced to play less experienced (and sometimes less talented) players. Thankfully, FSU has dominated on the recruiting trail these past few years, meaning there are suitable replacements at nearly every position. That being said, a fellow Noled Out writer already reviewed some of the issues facing the football team as spring practice begins. Some positions identified as noteworthy were quarterback, secondary, defensive line, offensive line, and wide receiver. Yeah, it’s going to be one of those years.
The solace for a lot of these positions is that there is a good enough mix of experience and talent that the position will be cleared up by the end of practice. For the receivers, you’ve got Travis Rudolph, Ermon Lane, and Jesus Wilson returning, having combined for over 1,300 yards and nine touchdowns last season. While not the flashiest stat-line, it is important to remember that all three of those guys first saw major playing time last season (two of them were freshmen). They have returning experience that will be valuable to the younger guys joining the receiving corps.
Quarterback has been discussed ad nauseam, so it’s not necessary to go over all the options at the current disposal. Defensive line at least has some returning experience with Derrick Mitchell, Nile Lawrence-Stample, Demarcus Walker, and Chris Casher. Add in situational guys last year that will see serious reps this year like Lorenzo Featherston and Jacob Pugh and the defensive line will be a smaller concern. Replacing Goldman and Edwards is easier said than done, but at the very least there is known talent for a replacement.
Secondary will probably be the most fun to watch unfold, largely because of shifts in the defense. Jalen Ramsey got moved to corner and Trey Marshall will be put into the star position, something many have been expecting ever since he committed to Florida State. Both Tyler Hunter and Nate Andrews return, so that’s at least three players who have some sort of veteran role. Derwin James (the highest rated safety in the history of Rivals.com) might also jut himself into the lineup if he proves to be too good to leave off the field. Freshmen will be competing for starting spots, so don’t expect a dominating pass defense next season.
That really leaves only one part of this team with serious questions and not many answers: The offensive line. After losing five starters to the draft (tight end included), next season’s offense will look completely different in the trenches.
The only returning player is the left tackle Roderick Johnson who was phenomenal last year. His insertion into the starting lineup was a huge reason the line play was salvaged mid-season and opened up a rushing attack. He is far and away the brightest spot heading into spring practice. At last count, that means FSU must find players at the left guard, center, right guard, right tackle, and tight end spots. No position on the team has lost that much a proportion of their players.
Some say that Ryan Hoefeld could hold a lead on the center position, but that is by no means a guarantee considering his performance last season. He was regularly blown up by any decent defensive lineman and just wasn’t ready to take over when opening day starter Austin Barron got injured. Look for the 4-star center recruit Alec Eberle to compete for the position if Hoefeld hasn’t made enough strides.
That leaves a few more positions needing to be addressed. Two highly touted JUCO recruits Chad Mavety and Kareem Are each look to be contenders for starting positions on the line. Tomahawk Nation’s Bud Elliot noted that both recruits received ta redshirt classification for the previous season, so both have another year of eligibility. Are is a guard while Mavety is a tackle, so both could conceivably be on the line at the same time if it works out that way. Besides those two, some recruits from the previous cycles will finally have their chance to step up and compete.
Corey Martinez out of Tampa Catholic is one of those. Martinez is listed as a 4-star guard/center prospect, but one would think it’d be a waste of his potential if he gets put at center when there are two other options for the spot. Both Eberle and Hoefeld would have to bomb at practice for that to happen. It’s very unlikely he gets put somewhere other than guard.
Another option would be Wilson Bell. Bell is a lesser known recruit, having been a 3-star coming into FSU from high school in Alabama. Some positive news for Bell would be that he gained weight and is now 318 pounds, as opposed to the barely 300 that he was when first enrolled. Hard work and improvement go a long way in determining who coaches notice more.
A line of Johnson-Martinez-Eberle-Mavety-Are would be the way too early guess if one were quizzed right now about it. Rick Trickett is still one of the best in the business for offensive line coaching, so fans should still retain some glimmer of optimism at the upcoming group. Though this still does leave one question:
Who’s playing tight end?
While it might be cheating a little, tight ends still have to learn blocking schemes, so they count in that respect. Quite frankly, the position is wide open. John Mackey Award winner, Nick O’Leary leaves a huge legacy that will probably not be replicated for seasons to come. FSU currently has five tight ends listed on the roster, though only three have a real shot at becoming the starter (the other two don’t even have their bios filled out on their pages). Those three are Mavin Saunders, Jeremy Kerr, and Ryan Izzo. Kerr has the advantage of more experience because he’s a redshirt sophomore, while Izzo and Saunders have an advantage of being more natural pass-catchers. The spot is completely up for grabs, so this one is almost impossible to call.
The game begins and ends in the trenches. Without a decent line, running back Dalvin Cook will be unable to show his dynamic abilities, and whoever is in at quarterback will struggle mightily with bad protection. Even the most talented of passers can suffer from bad offensive lines (see Christian Hackenberg last season). Thankfully, FSU has all the tools in the world to mitigate any huge drop off that might occur — though it is still the most concerning of any position group coming into the season.
