Florida State Seminoles 2018 Football Preview

Florida State Seminoles 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statement: The only word that really can explain the 2017 season for Florida State was disaster. The Seminoles needed a win over Delaware State, and later ULM, just to get bowl eligible, and all of that came as part of an injury that knocked starting QB Deondre Francois out in the first game, a loss to Alabama that they were not in when he was healthy. When all the smoke had cleared, Jimbo Fisher took the first train out of Tallahassee, and took the Texas A&M job. Willie Taggart, a self professed life-long Seminoles fan, took the opportunity to leave Oregon after just one year on the job, and is trying to build something from the ashes of what happened. It's not an impossible job, as FSU is still a prime job, but how much damage was done with Jimbo's wondering eye, and how long will it take to get everyone back in the boat?

Breakdown Offense: The Francois injury should not have decimated the Seminoles as it did, as they had what should have been plenty of talent on hand to work around it. The simple fact is that the talent on hand was overrated in every conceivable way, and the roster was dotted with players who were completely out of their element, especially on offense, where inconsistency plagued the team all season long.

Francois is not a sure thing to win back the QB job, a she has some off-field (drug related) issues to deal with, and it seems as if he has already lost the trust of Taggart. James Blackmon has now had an entire season under his belt, and while things weren't always perfect, he mostly held his own, and seemed to be in a decent groove to tend the season. Still, he onlyt averaged 185 yards passing per game as a freshman last season, and completed just 58.2% of his passes. He is a work in progress, but that seems to be right up Taggart's alley. Bailey Hockman got some reps in the spring, but neither Blackmon, nor Hockman, set themselves apart, and a battle could rage into the fall.

Cam Akers returns after breaking a school freshman rushing record with 1025 yards and 7 scores. He averaged 5.28 yards per carry on the season, and should be the bell cow back for the Seminoles this fall. Jacques Patrick returns as the primary backup, and rushed for 735 yards and 7 scores. Khalan Laborn had a big spring, and should see some action as well. Under Jimbo fisher, the Seminoles ran the football upwards of 60% of the time or more, and I would expect that number to fall with Taggart, who loves to toss the football around.

Auden Tate moves on after catching 40 passes last season, and the battle to replace him falls between Tamorrian Terry or Keith Gavin. Gavin has not lived up to his billing in the program so far as a junior, and terry has serious injury concerns. This is a spot worth watching for that battle alone. Nyqwan Murray is back after leading the team with 604 yards on 40 catches. He scored 4 times, and can stretch the field, as he averaged 15.1 yards per catch. DJ Matthews caught just 6 passes last fall, but is in line for a larger role as a sophomore this season. George Campbell, a junior who caught 6 passes, and walk-on Deonte Sheffield are the only confirmed depth so far.

Tre McKitty caught one pass as a freshman at TE last fall, but is projected to replace Ryan Izzo at TE. Naseir Upshur left spring camp right behind him for the job, and could push for reps in fall camp.

Derrick Kelly II looks like the projected starter at LT, while Cole Minshew (LG), Alec Eberle (C), Landon Dickerson (RG), and Josh Ball (RT) all appear to have jobs locked down as well. Jauan Williams and Mike Arnold are the backups at the Tackle spots, while Abdul Bello provides relief at the OG spots. Baveon Johnson could push for the job at C, but it appears that Eberle would be the best option there. Experience and depth are an overall concern for the Seminoles up front, so this could be a major area of concern and rebuilding moving forward.

Breakdown Defense: Josh Kaindoh missed spring ball with an injury, but should return at DE in the fall to claim a starting spot after recording 6.5 TFLs as a freshman. Brian Burns led the team in TFLs with 13.5 as a sophomore last season, and will start at DE opposite Kaindoh. Wally Aime' and Janarius Robinson are the backups heading into the summer. They combined for 3.5 TFLs off the bench last fall.

Demarcus Christmas returns after many had him heading off to the NFL after the season. He finished with 4.5 TFLs at DT last fall. Marvin Wilson was projected to start opposite Christmas, but tore his MCL in spring ball, and his status is unknown. Many feel like he will return at some point during the season, but nobody knows when that will be. Fred Jones left spring as the likely backup, and would step into the starting role. Cory Durden expects to get some reps as well after redshirting last fall.

The Seminoles lost 3 starters at LB, and so the unit is in reboot mode. Adonis Thomas and DeCalon Brooks are projecting as starters at the OLB spots, but neither has much experience, with Brooks being a RS freshman. Both had decent springs, but they could be in for a tough go when real games begin. Josh Brown, Amari Gainer, and Emmett Rice are looking for bigger roles at the OLB spots as well. Dontavious Jackson is the starter at MLB. He played in 9 games last fall, but the coaching staff really like his makeup and character.

Stanford Samuels III and Levonta Taylor are projected to start at the CB spots. Samuels played solidly as a freshman last fall, as he finished with 5 PBUs. Taylor finished with 3 PBUs, and they both finished tied for the team lead with 2 INTs each. Carlos Becker II and Kyle Meyers project as the backups.

Cyrus Fagan (FS) and Jaiden Woodby, a true freshman, are projected to win the Safety jobs. Fagan played in 7 games as a freshman last season, so experience is an issue, even if talent is not. AJ Westbrook and Hamsah Nasirildeen are the reserves heading into fall camp.

Breakdown Special Teams: Ricky Aguayo is almost automatic at PK, and returns to the job after hitting 18/21 FG attempts last fall. He also hit 42/44 PATs on the season.

Logan Tyler has developed into one of the better Punters in the nation, and averaged 43.17 yards per punt last fall.

Keith Gavin, who averaged 25.43 yards per kick return last fall, left spring camp with the primary job his. DJ Matthews averaged 11.11 yards per punt return, and fills that role once again as well.

Final Analysis: Willie Taggart is a fixer. He has always taken on programs in the cellar (Western Kentucky, USF) and turned them into big winners within 5 years. Had he stayed at Oregon, I have no doubt that he would have had Oregon in national title hunts before too long. With a rich recruiting ground to work with, and a program name to go with it, Taggart will likely fix Florida State in very short order. He is one of the most underrated coaches in college football, and Florida State was lucky to nab him. He attempted to lure Jim Leavitt to come with him as DC, but Leavitt stayed at Oregon instead, but the defense has enough young talent to build up rapidly, no matter who coordinates it. Florida State will not be down long, so get them while you can.