Entering the 2010 College Football season the Florida State Seminoles look to get a foothold back on the National scene. Florida State once again has consensus first team All-Americans in LG Rodney Hudson and PR Greg Reid, and a legitimate Heisman Candidate in QB Christian Ponder. Legendary Head Coach Bobby Bowden has retired and the reins have been given to Jimbo Fisher to lead the Florida State Seminoles back to the elite of College Football. He brings with him the pedigree of Bowden’s priorities, and a little of that southern charm and the process and discipline of Nick Saban.
The Coaching staff has been overhauled with proven winners who can coach and evaluate talent for recruiting. New Defensive Coordinator Mark Stoops brings his defensive expertise from Arizona and new LB Coach Greg Hudson comes to FSU from Eastern Carolina where he was the defensive coordinator. Both Stoops and Hudson bring very sharp minds for winning defensive football coupled with New Defensive Ends Coach D.J. Eliot that was hired away from Rice, and long time Defensive Tackles coach Odell Hagans the Defense looks to re-establish itself to the elite.
Offensively Florida State is stacked. The OL is one of the best in the country led by arguably the best OL Coach in the country, Rick Trickett. The OL will be making holes for a deep and talented Running Back squad led by Jermaine Thomas and Chris Thompson. New Running Back’s coach Eddie Gran comes from SEC where he has excelled in developing and evaluating NFL caliber backs. The QBs get a new face to work with in addition to head Coach Jimbo Fisher with Daymune Craig who Fisher coached at Auburn. TE Coach Cooley has been promoted to Offensive Coordinator, and Seminole great Lawrence Dawsey continues to coach WRs and has added Passing Game Coordinator to his duties.
Florida State Special Teams are now under the direction of Eddie Gran who has the luxury of having PR extraordinaire Greg Reid on the field making plays. Reid is a game changer who can electrify crowds with his uncanny ability to escape the clutches of on-coming tacklers. The Punting game is as solid as Florida State has ever had with Shawn Powell booming away balls and pinning the opposition deep in their own territory. Kicker (to be named) became a reliable and solid contributor after a shaky start.
The off season conditioning has been overhauled with the addition of Vic Viloria as the new Strength and Conditioning Coach. Coach Viloria now has a staff of 12 assistance/experts to oversee the improved Strength and Conditioning Program as well. In addition the workouts are the meals the players eat, now that there is a full time Nutritionist on staff. The player development has increased tenfold since Jimbo has taken over and modernized FSU Football.
So what does all this mean on the field this fall? There is precedence for this type of change and that was when Nick Saban took over LSU, and his current tenure at Alabama. Elite Success did not occur in year one but the change was noticeable and it was clear the direction that LSU then and Alabama now was on the path to elite status. The one thing that appears to be different is that Florida State is in a better position than LSU and Alabama were in when Saban arrived.
With a little insight to the happenings of Florida State Football this off season and the precedence of similar results with FSU’s current process witnessed at LSU and Alabama the predictions for the 2010 Florida State Football team are as follows:
Top 10 New Comers
1. CB Lamarcus Joyner: He will play a similar role to what Greg Reid played last year. He will be on the field in Nickel situations and will be a returner on special teams. He is to talented player to not have on the field as Florida State fans saw with Greg Reid.
2. WR Christian Green: He knows what to do with the ball in his hands as he was a QB in High School. Similar players that Florida State has had that were Wide Receivers in College and Quarterbacks in High School are Peter Warrick and Anquion Boldin. There are really only three WR on the roster with serious experience, Bert Reed, Jarmon Fortson, and Tiwain Easterling so there is plenty of opportunity for the incoming class to prove themselves.
3. CB Mike Harris: Notice 2 of the top 3 are Corners. Remember the constant torching the Florida State secondary took last year? Insert Mike Harris a JUCO Transfer to the secondary to help solidify and restore normalcy to the once vaunted FSU Defense. The prediction is that he starts at corner along with Greg Reid at the other.
4. LB Jeff Luc: “The Beast” already enrolled at FSU in January and is fully integrated into the new processes. He has a head start on playing time as a freshman and he certainly will see playing time this year. He most assuredly will be on kickoff coverage ready to obliterate the returners.
5. LB Christian Jones: “The Hammer” is a physical specimen who will see solid playing time his freshman year. With the most and immediate help needed on the defensive side of the ball Jones should potentially see time at DE if needed. Like Jeff Luc, Christian should be making a statement on Special Teams as well.
6. TE Will Tye: Bo Reilford is the only TE with significant playing time returning. With the graduation of Caz Pyrznaski the Tight End position is available for competition. Will is a freak of an athlete who can create mismatches against slower linebackers and smaller defensive backs.
7. DL Darious Cummings: A diverse lineman who can play both end and tackle. This diversity will lend itself well to getting on the field. Defensive Lineman are a premium and the more bodies that can get into the rotation the better. He has the talent to be one of those bodies.
8. DT Damien Jacobs: Defensive lineman are a premium at every level of football and Florida State is desperate for depth along the line. Jacobs is going to be given the opportunity to play and rumor has it he has a mean streak. He should be able to contribute right away in at least giving others a little bit of rest.
9. DT Anthony McCloud: January enrollee who has benefited greatly from the changes at FSU. He is in shape and strong. You can’t have too many DL and he has put in the work this off-season to garner playing time.
10. RB Debrale Smiley: Last year Florida State failed to score on goal line which cost them some games. The answer is this monster at RB. A short yardage specialist who has some speed if he gets through to put some hurt on teams. He will see the field this year in short yardage situations and with his size that has a high percentage of success for Florida State.
Top 5 returning players who will make a name for themselves this year
1. WR Rodney Smith: If you were at the Spring Game then you may have witnessed the next star WR for the Seminoles. At 6’6” and decent speed he made the deep pass a legitimate threat once again. He dazzled the crowd with many spectacular grabs and looks very confident heading into this fall.
2. DL Demonte McAllister: Hampered by injury last year Demonte took a redshirt. A heralded recruit from Tampa Florida and one of the most sought after defensive lineman in the country looked very good in the Spring Game. He has a knack for disrupting plays and he is big and physical. He may be one of the biggest benefactors to the new nutrition, strength, and conditioning processes.
3. S Nick Moody: Hard hitting Safety is poised to deliver bone crushing hits. Moody is anticipated to be the starting Strong Safety in Stoops’ new coverage schemes. The Fear of coming across the middle will return with the tenacity that moody can bring. Insiders to the Seminole program felt he probably should have started last year and under the new regime the best player plays regardless of class year.
4. DE Brandon Jenkins: He had a productive spring and is one of those who should thrive under new DE Coach D.J. Eliot. An instinctive and quick DE who will be disciplined in the new defense yet play with reckless abandoned. The Sack total for the defense will be improved and Jenkins should have a major part in the resurgence.
5. WR Willie Haulstead: The coaches all agree he is extremely capable of becoming an elite WR. He really has yet to show it on the field. He was out shined by Smith during the Spring Game but Ponder has called him out as a solid WR in the off season 7 on 7 drills. As the season rolls on Willie will get more confident and the production will increase.
2010 Football Season Prediction:
Week 1 Samford Bulldogs (Home): Florida State should win this game and win big. Expect the Defense to be sound but vanilla as to not show much to the following week’s opponent Oklahoma. The offense may start out a little rusty but the expected score should be FSU 45 and Samford 10.
Week 2 Oklahoma Sooners (Away) and FSU 1-0: If you are going to beat Oklahoma then you have a better chance doing it early. This game has that FSU and Alabama feel to it during Saban’s first year. FSU won the battle, but Alabama has won the war. Certainly FSU can win this game but they won’t. This will be a close and hard fought game with the final score being FSU 21 and OU 24.
Week 3 BYU Cougars (Home) and FSU 1-1: Don’t think for one minute that BYU isn’t upset about last season’s whooping at the hands of the Seminoles. They will be very prepared and determined to seek revenge. It won’t happen primarily because they start a new QB and they have released their most potent weapon RB Unga. The Seminoles will win but not in the blow out fashion of last year so with that said the score will be FSU 31 and BYU 17.
Week 4 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Home) and FSU 2-1: The FSU and Wake Forest matchup should start looking like it was back in the 1990s. Sure Wake Forest is solid and they have a good scheme, but it appears FSU has a nasty score to settle with Wake Forest still, especially that 30-0 beating Wake gave FSU at home years back. FSU will win and win big; FSU38 and Wake 17.
Week 5 Virginia Cavaliers (Away) with FSU 3-1 (1-0) in ACC: Virginia is in the rebuilding mode and it better days are ahead of them but not now. Virginia will play a spirited game but it won’t be enough as the Seminoles should start hitting their stride; FSU 34 and UVA 10.
Week 6 Miami Hurricanes (Away) with FSU 4-1 (2-0) in ACC: The game between these two heated rivals has been spectacular lately. Gone is the Monday Night Game and the game is played when both teams should be hitting their stride. This will be a typical hard close football game but the home field advantage will be enough for Miami; FSU 20 and UM 21.
Week 7 Boston College Eagles (Home) with FSU 4-2 (2-1) in ACC: The Eagles have been a thorn in the side of the Seminoles and they have beaten the Seminoles in the last couple of years which has earned them a tiebreaker over FSU for the Atlantic Division. Not this year, FSU’s Defense will rise to the occasion and stop the BC running attack; FSU 27 and BC 10.
Week 8 BYE Week with FSU 4-2 (2-1) in ACC
Week 9 North Carolina State Wolfpack (Away) with FSU 4-2 (3-1) in ACC: NCST is one of those teams that could surprise you and be really good this year or go the opposite direction and be a bottom dweller. Regardless of how the Wolfpack are doing the Seminoles will win; FSU 45 and NCST 24.
Week 10 North Carolina Tarheels (Home) with FU 5-2 (4-1) in ACC: The Tarheels are a legitimate ACC Coastal contender and they want to put that FSU game last year behind them. This is the “Take Back Doak” game to this date. This is going to be a slobber knocker but FSU is going to pull it out because the Tarheel’s QB situation is even close to Ponders capability; FSU 20 and NC 13.
Week 11 Clemson Tigers (Home) with FSU 6-2 (5-1) in ACC: This is the biggest game of the year. Regardless of whether or not this prediction is totally accurate or off by a win or two this game will be the deciding game for the ACC Atlantic Division. The big time weapons are gone for Clemson and FSU will be ready to explode; FSU 30 and Clemson 17.
Week 12 Maryland Terrapins (Away) with FSU 7-2 (6-1) in ACC: This is a trap game leading up to the Gators at the end of the year. Maryland is not very good but seems to play at a high level against FSU. FSU will win this game but it will be closer than expected; FSU 24 Maryland 21.
Week 13 Florida Gators (Home) with FSU 9-2 (7-1) in ACC: Florida not only has beaten FSU 6 straight, the Gators have crushed the Seminoles in most of the games. This will be a close game but unfortunately the Gators will still win it; Florida 31 and FSU 24.
FSU will end the regular season 9-3 Overall and 7-1 in the ACC. FSU will represent the Atlantic division in the ACC Championship game and have a very good chance of being the 2010 ACC champions. It will be either the Orange Bowl or the Peach Bowl this year for FSU.
Ponder will not win the Heisman. He will be the 1st Team ALL ACC QB and no later than a second round NFL Draft Pick.
For FUN!
These are the results for the 2011 NCAA Football Game as simulated on XBOX 360.
Week 1: Samford 13 @ FSU 63 (FSU 1-0)
Week 2: FSU 24 @ Oklahoma 42 (FSU 1-1)
Week 3: BYU 33 @ FSU 28 (FSU 1-2)
Week 4: Wake 17 @ FSU 46 (FSU 2-2)
Week 5: FSU 30 @ UVA 6 (FSU 3-2)
Week 6: FSU 28 @ Miami 31 (FSU 3-3)
Week 7: BC 21 @ FSU 51 (FSU 4-3)
Week 8: BYE
Week 9: FSU 43 @ NCST 20 (FSU 5-3)
Week 10: UNC 27 @ FSU 24 (FSU 5-4)
Week 11: Clemson 48 @ FSU 30 (FSU 5-5)
Week 12: FSU 35 @ Maryland 16 (FSU 6-5)
Week 13 Florida 3 @ FSU 30 (FSU 7-5)
ACC Championship: Miami 26 and BC 10
Heisman Trophy Winner: Terrelle Pryor QB Ohio State.
Christian Ponder breaks FSU single season TD passing record with 37 TD’s thrown.
Bert Reed breaks single season reception mark with 90.
Florida State throttles TCU in the Independence Bowl with a 46-14 trouncing of the Horned Frogs. Florida State finishes the Season 8-5.
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