Verbal Comit #9

Mainland DB Cortez Davis 6'5" 200lbs committed to the Noles during their second Junior Day.

Running Backs and Special Teams Coach Eddie Gran

Mark Stoops Press Conference

BAM! Comitment #8

Jacksonville First Coast has produced another Florida State Commitment. DT Derrick Mitchell 6'5" 285lbs and runs a 4.8 forty yard dash has verbally announced FSU as his destination. He was and is recruited by Odell Hagans. He also had offers from Alabama, Clemson, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina.

WOW! Comitment #7

DT Nile Lawrence Stample 6'1 299lbs has committed to the Seminoles.He bench presses 400lbs and has a 4.9 forty time. "GROWN ASS MEN!" He is from Nova High School in South Florida. The Noles are getting after it in a big way.

get on BOARD or get RAN OVER... Moving at LIGHT SPEED, don't BLINK!

Coley Twitter

Comitment #6

OL Sterling Lovelady 6'2" 283lbs from Navarre Florida (Panhandle) has committed to the Seminoles. He is the 2nd OL of this class and continues the Florida kids going to Florida State. He was recruited by Rick Trickett.

What Happens at a Junior Day

The kids and parents arrive in the morning and check in some as early as 8:30. They are free to look around inside the athletic center and football facilities until 11:00 at which time they are all brought together for a meeting.

In the meeting they are introduced to the Garnet and Gold guides who will tour them around campus, the entire coaching staff, Director of Athletics Randy Spetman, and other support staff such as life skills, and academic support.

The meeting is wrapped up by watching the 'Big Hits' highlight film. I tried to look for this highlight film but I can't find it yet.

Around noon they board buses and get a guided tour of the entire campus by their Garnet and Gold guides.

Next is lunch looking over Doak Cambell Stadium and a speaker for Academic Affairs briefs them.

After lunch they are shown the weight room and given an in-depth presentation about the facility and how it benefits the student-athlete.

Once that is done the players then break up into their position groups and spend an extended period of time with their position coaches. FSU has had more than 100 prospects at this event in the past but wanted to reduce this down to about 50 prospects in order to give more individualized attention to prospects and parents. I have read this was a huge success.

After meeting with their position coaches some of the current players come in and are available for questions. The recruits are able to ask any and all questions and get an honest viewpoint from a current football player.

A 3-D Highlight Film is shown after the player questions and I here this 3-D movie is incredible. Once again I can't find the movie.

Coach Fisher speaks to the entire group towards the end of the day and then all visitors walk out on Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium before leaving for home.

FSU Junior Day off to Hot Start!

Florida State Football is hosting a Junior Day today and ATH Karlos Williams 6'2" 210lbs has verbally committed to the Seminoles making him the 5th 2011 commitment. He is the younger brother of RS Sophomore LB Vince Williams who I think will be a monster at LB for FSU. Karlos will more than likely play Safety for Florida State. Alabama, Georgia, Miami, and LSU also offered Karlos. It looks like he will be a 4 Star but rankings have not yet been assigned.

There are approximately 50 High School recruits at FSU today for Junior Day.

All 5 current commitments are from the State of Florida.

Fisher Doing it His Way

The crying has already started. Jimbo Fisher's process of limiting the media has got some spoiled brats crying. Most notibally is the Orlando Sentinal's Mike Bianchi who whines like a little baby over his lack of access to the Seminoles. I love how he kisses Skip Holtz's ass and gets irritated at Jimbo. Keep it up Jimbo. He is using Nick Saban's way of dealing with the media and this Seminole Fan says if Fisher is bringing the same processes and methods Saban uses then GOOD! Saban's process is the best in College Football and has produced National Championships. I personnally care about wins and not FSU being the best host to the media.

Here are some Comments from Seminole Fans to Bianchi on his article:

Boohoo Jimbo Fisher won’t let us get quotes from his coaches so we can use them out of context and alter their original meaning so that we may create some headlines. Isn’t the media supposed to be unobjective and unbiased anyways? I think you all forget that these days. Quit writing about your complaints and just cover some damn topics already.

(Bill Braski)

Aww, poor lil reporter…he actually has to analyse what is released instead of going from coach to coach until he’s got something worth mis quoting.Get over it, crybaby. Jimbo is here to get FSU SOUNDLY BEATING all those other teams again, and he gives less than a farthing for your comfort and ease. The stories that are released are the stories you will get. Period. Actually do some work, stupid. & Get over it, you lazy as****e. Jeezz, what a whiner. Grow up, little reporter boy. A FSU fan for over 35 years, and just getting started on your butt, reporter boy!

(Dr. Baker)

Who cares, as long as we win. Winning fixes all. FSU will lose exposure because of this? Yeah, just look at Bama, you can hardly find any media coverage of them, right? Wrong. If we start winning a lot of games, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about exposure. UF gets a lot more exposure because they have a new player getting arrested for assaulting women every week. There’s lots to write about! They can keep that exposure.

(Andrew)

It would appear Seminole Nation is behind Jimbo and the Seminoles. I haven't seen this in a long time and its great to see. GO NOLES!

Defensive End Depth

One of the most glaring weaknesses for the Florida State Seminoles Defense was at the Defensive End position. The ends routinely lost containment and struggled to put together a consistent pass rush. FSU used linebackers to rush off the edge to get pressure on the QB and look for some of that this year as well.

What did Florida State do to address the weakness at Defensive End? First they hired a "real" defensive ends coach in D.J. Eliot. He will immediately correct the containment issue or I should say he better fix the containment issue. Another difference in philosophies is that Jimbo Fisher wants 270lb DE and to quote jimbo he wants "grown ass men". The following is the expected DE on the roster for next season:

Everett Dawkins : RS Sophomore 6'2" 258lbs will easily be 270lbs with the new Strength and conditioning improvements. He can play DT as well and will move there if depth becomes an issue but FSU likes him at the weak side DE.

Dan Hicks: Sophomore 6'4" 251lbs and should be around 265lbs by the time the season starts. Good athlete that was rated as a tight end but with D-Line depth an issue he will play there. Jury is out on his ability.

Jamar Jackson: RS Junior 6'4" 240lbs and should be 260lbs by the season opener. If Dawkins has to play DT look for Jackson to be the starter but right now he will probably backup the weak side DE. He needs to step up this year and have a great spring.

Brandon Jenkins: Sophomore 6'2" 240 lbs that should be around 260lbs by 2010 kickoff. Look for him to be the backup strong side DE. He is probably the typical speed pass rusher that FSU fans are used too. Very talented player who needs to get better fast.

Jonathan Johnson: RS Junior 6'6" 245lbs and should be 260lbs by the season. Not much info on this guy but he has a good frame and may become the biggest beneficiary to the new S&C program.

Demonte McAllister: RS Freshman 6'3" 263lbs. A true monster that was hampered by a knee injury which led to is red shirting. Depending on how big he gets he could play DT. This kid has NFL First Round potential and FSU needs to unleash him upon the ACC and UF.

Markus White' Senior 6'4" 261lbs. Projected as the starting Strong side DE. He should benefit greatly to having a real coach. he looked lost and confused on the field most of the time. He has an NFL body but a Mickey Mouse game. He needs to be a man this coming season. Not a given he is the starter considering the new coaches will play the best player not the best looking player in uniform.

Craig Yarborough RS Junior 6'2" 236lbs and will still be undersized at 255lbs if he gets that big. He plays with a good motor and never quits but is not a FSU Caliber DE.

Incoming Freshman:

Darious Cummings 6'3" and reports are he is now 270lbs of solid muscle. His Dad is very involved with him in a good way. He will play right way in the D-Line rotation even some at DT. Future STUD!

Bjoern Werner 6'4" 264lbs. See what Fisher means as "grown ass men" coming into FSU. These two freshman DE are monsters. I think Werner will Red shirt to get him acclimated to college ball. He has only played American Football a couple of years. Solid Upside.

Projected Starters:

Weak side DE: Everett Dawkins
Strong side DE: Markus White (He better be improved or he won't be)

DE that will be in the rotation and get solid playing time:

Jamar Jackson
Brandon Jenkins
Demonte McAllister
Darious Cummings

I give the DE grade a (C-). I am sorry but all I have in my head writing this article is the lack of pass rush and zero containment all year. To be honest with you a (C-) is probably generous but I am going to let FSU DE earn a better grade by proving it and not based on ability. This group must be better in order for FSU to be ACC Champions.

Good News and Bad News

Good News

Florida State has made an incredible leap into the 2011 Recruiting. With all coaches working hard on the staff instead of just 4 or 5 look for Florida State to have an excellent class for 2011.

ESPN is starting to give the Noles positive press. ESPN raved at Coach Fisher and his quick turnaround in hiring a quality staff and finishing 6th according to them for recruiting.

The academic scandal is over. There should be no more talk about it in the press. FSU has moved on.

Spring Game is April 10th at 5pm. Fisher would like 60,000 fans to show up. I hope my work schedule will allow me to go.

Bad News

Top reserve lineman Brandon Davis who filled in nicely when Rodney Hudson was injured will finish his degree and enter the workforce and skip his senior season. This is good news in that he will finish his degree but this hurts OL Depth and makes it even more critical that FSU sign at least 6 OL Recruits this 2011 class.

OT Zebrie Sanders had hip surgery and will miss spring practice. Bad news for missing spring but he will be 100% in 3 months and it will give other OL crucial playing time in spring to build depth.

E.J Manuel will miss another Spring Practice and Ponder will be limited coming off his surgery. Not sure how I feel about this because Ponder probably doesn't need it but E.J. could use this. Clint Trickett and Will Secord will get a very good opportunity here.

Defensive Tackle Depth

As FSU fans we all understand the importance of the defense and how it must get improved fast in order to be the ACC Champion. Arguably the most important position on any defense is the DT. These huge athletes keep OL occupied so they don't get to the linebackers and the great ones disrupt plays at the line of scrimmage. The NFL pays huge dollars to these beasts for just this very reason and FSU has supplied many great ones over the years. It would appear that Florida State has some good ones coming back and just in the nick of time.

The DT rotation will be:

Moses McCray (Junior this fall) 6'2" 300lbs

Jacobbi McDaniel (Sophomore this fall) 6'0" expected to be no less than 285lbs by start of season.

Everett Dawkins (RS Sophomore this fall) 6'2" expected to be 285lbs by start of the season.

There are some DE on the roster that can be put at DT as well and they are:

Demonte McAllister (RS Freshman this fall) he was injured during his freshman year and I believe FSU red-shirted him but not absolutely 100% sure on this. 6'3" 263 lbs. We should find out by the spring what FSU's intentions are with this kid. He was as highly regarded out of high school as Jacobbi was. He will be special.

Incoming Recruits that are DT or can play both DT and DE. These kids will see the field this year and have to make significant contributions.

Damien Jacobs(Freshman) 6'3" 294lbs. He is the typical DT prospect that FSU will now look for and that is BIG, BIG, and BIG. FSU will not compromise Size, Strength, physical, and athletic ability at the DT anymore and they shouldn't have too. He will be a beast. Rumor has it he is mean and has a chip on his shoulder.

Darious Cummings (Freshman) 6'3" and is already at 270lbs. Florida State told him what they want their new DE to be at (270) and he is there. This allows him to play inside at DT if need as well.

Anthony McCloud (RS Sophomore JC Transfer) 6'3" 295lbs. Another typical DT recruit that fits FSU's new mold. He is already enrolled and is participating in the NEW AND IMPROVED Strength and Conditioning program. He will be a beast.

Here are some others recruited but one will definitely be red shirted and I expect the other one too due to his short time playing American Football. Both will contribute significantly just not this upcoming season.

Cameron Erving 6'5" 285lbs. Will easily be 310lbs by the time he sees the field after his RS Year.

Bjoern Werner 6'4" 264lbs. He can get to 290lbs if FSU wants him for DT but I expect him to stay around 275Lbs and stay at DE but he could contribute at both. He is from Germany and has limited American Football time but he is physical and is a beast so the red shirt may not be given to him.

Expected DT Starters (Denoted by *) and Rotation with some emergency players as well.

Moses McCray *
Jacobbi McDaniel *
Everette Dawkins
Anthony Mcloud
Damien Jacobs

Emergency DT
Darious Cummings
Demonte McAllister

I give the DT a grade of (B) going into the Spring. It would be nice to have two more on the roster above 6'0" and 300lbs for more depth. FSU may add one more prior to the season starting in Junior College DT Charles Deas who is 6'5" 315lbs. He needs to finish his Associates Degree and I haven't heard any word on his progress.

FSU Update

Here are some tidbits of information concerning FSU Football:

FINALLY: FSU concedes to the NCAA and forfeits 12 Football Wins and a Track National Championship. This should have been done long ago and is another huge sign FSU Football is moving forward to the future.

Offensive Coordinator James Coley and Passing Game Coordinator Lawrence Dawsey were recognized by Rivals as one of the best 25 recruiters in College Football. I would personally add Jimbo Fisher to that list but it didn't include any head coaches.

ACC Schedule was released and Florida State's schedule is listed below. Conference Games of note are:

Boise State @ Virginia Tech 9/6 Labor Day Night
LSU @ North Carolina 9/4
Florida State @ Oklahoma 9/11
Georgia Tech @ Kansas 9/11
Miami @ Ohio State 9/11
Virginia @ USC 9/11
Clemson @ Auburn 9/18
BYU @ Florida State 9/18
Maryland @ West Virginia 9/18
Cincinnati @ NC State 9/18
Wake Forest @ Stanford 9/18
Alabama @ Duke 9/18
Miami @ Pittsburgh 9/23
North Carolina @ Rutgers 9/25
Notre Dame @ Boston College 10/2
South Carolina @ Clemson 11/27
Florida @ Florida State 11/27
Georgia Tech @ Georgia 11/27
South Florida @ Miami 11/27

There are other out of conference games but these are the best match ups.

GO NOLES and GO ACC in these match ups!

FSU War Party (A Must See)

Watch the Free Event War Party.

2010 Official Schedule

Sept. 4 SAMFORD TBA
Sept. 11 at Oklahoma TBA
Sept. 18 BYU TBA
Sept. 25 WAKE FOREST TBA
Oct. 2 at Virginia TBA
Oct. 9 at Miami TBA
Oct. 16 BOSTON COLLEGE TBA
Oct. 23 Open
Oct. 28 at NC State (Thurs.) 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 6 NORTH CAROLINA TBA
Nov. 13 CLEMSON TBA
Nov. 20 at Maryland TBA
Nov. 27 FLORIDA

Note: I have started the 2011 Commitment list which already has 4 players. Rivals has not yet ranked 2011 players. Once they do I will update their ranking.

National Signing Day (Whew!.....its Over!)

Well it feels like the Cat 5 Hurricane just left and we are scrambling to see what we still have. First I really have to give New Head Coach Jimbo Fisher major credit. His task of hiring a new coaching staff, changing processes, and recruiting I have to give his effort an A+. The results we will see but he has proven that FSU will not be out-worked.

The 2010 Recruiting Class is:

Chad Abrams DB 6-0 183 - 5.7 Lakeland, FL
Terrence Brooks DB 5-10 165 - 5.7 Dunnellon, FL
Darious Cummings DE 6-2 245 4.8 5.8 Titusville, FL
Greg Dent ATH 6-0 180 - 5.8 Belle Glade, FL
Cameron Erving DT 6-5 285 - 5.6 Moultrie, GA
Dan Foose OL 6-6 310 - 5.6 Paramus, NJ
Christian Green ATH 6-2 200 4.46 5.9 Tampa, FL
Jarred Haggins ATH 6-0 175 - 5.7 Lakeland, FL
Mike Harris DB 6-0 185 - 5.8 Torrance, CA
Damien Jacobs DT 6-3 294 5.1 5.6 Houma, LA
De'Joshua Johnson WR 5-11 150 - 5.8 Pahokee, FL
Christian Jones LB 6-4 220 - 6.1 Winter Park, FL
Lamarcus Joyner DB 5-8 166 4.53 6.1 Fort Lauderdale, FL
Jeff Luc LB 6-1 230 4.67 6.0 Port St. Lucie, FL
Anthony McCloud DT 6-3 295 - 5.5 Fulton, MS
Holmes Onwukaife LB 6-3 220 4.51 5.7 Cedar Park, TX
Tank Sessions TE 6-5 230 4.79 5.6 Decatur, GA
Kenny Shaw WR 6-0 160 4.5 5.9 Orlando, FL
Debrale Smiley RB 6-0 235 4.65 5.6 Fulton, MS
Telvin Smith LB 6-3 196 - 5.8 Valdosta, GA
Clint Trickett QB 6-2 175 4.82 5.6 Tallahassee, FL
Will Tye TE 6-3 230 - 5.6 Salisbury, CT
Bjoern Werner DT 6-4 264 - 5.6 Salisbury, CT

Committed but no LOI yet

Nigel Terrell LB 6-2 215 4.46 5.6 Pelham, AL

FSU Recruiting Class is Ranked #6 by ESPN and #10 by Rivals which means absolutley nothing.

The Bell Cows of this class

Lamarcus Joyner
Christian Jones
Jeff Luc
Christian Green

The players that FSU needs to be successful to win (not counting the the Bell Cows)

Darious Cummings
Anthony McCloud
Mike Harris
Damien Jacobs
Telvin Smith
Will Tye
it is really all of them but I am highlighting these guys due to the position, but it is time for the recruits to pan out and produce as a whole and it looks like Jimbo has got kids that will do it.

FSU did take a couple lumps today as 2 recruits I thought would be Seminoles selected other schools:

Corey Lemonier DE 6-4 223 5.06 6.0 Hialeah, FL went to Auburn
Demar Dorsey DB 6-1 175 - 5.8 Lauderdale Lakes, FL went to Michigan

Go Noles!

Fisher is the Man!

More changes at FSU and the fans are responding including this one who will join the Seminole Boosters and put my money where my mouth is. Go Noles!

Revival Signs

Telvin Smith

Telvin Smith Confirms he will sign with FSU