It's November 29th, 2003 as Bobby Bowden leads his 9th-ranked Seminoles into Gainesville for his 28th matchup vs the Florida Gators. The 'Noles have taken four of the last five over the Gators but today they face an 11th-ranked Florida team led by Chris Leak and a feisty defense.
Chris Rix and the Florida State offense have escaped a few controversial fumble calls and weathered an all-around controversial game and find themselves down three with just over a minute left. After mustering a desperation drive including the previous play where Rix converted a 4th and 14, they face a first and ten from their own 48-yard line.
With running back (and current Tennessee Titan) Leon Washington to his left, Rix takes the snap from center David Castillo. He drops back a few steps while surveying the field before evading the pass rush and slipping out of the pocket to his right. With two large gather steps, Rix moves forward a few yards teeing up a Hail Mary sling to P.K. Sam who is trying to find room in the end zone. About 65 yards later, P.K. Sam cradles the ball into his lap while he falls back in the face of a spinning Gus Scott.
TOUCHDOWN FLORIDA STATE.
After gathering himself, Sam jumps to his feet and trots in front of the crushed Gator fans who have gone silent in disbelief. Rix falls to his knees with arms wide open and looks to the sky before his teammates come to congratulate him. The fourth of the stadium that is Florida State fans lose their minds and after a Beitia extra point, the Marching Chiefs erupt with the FSU Fight Song that echoes through The Swamp.
The Gators received the ball back with :55 seconds but time runs out before they can answer. The 'Noles win and storm the field, helmets raised. After some celebrating at midfield, a brawl breaks out but does not last. The 'Noles exit the stadium to boos, raising the alligator head high in the sky, as victors in dramatic fashion.
Chris Rix was a four year starter who, despite being very criticized throughout his FSU career, delivered
one of the greatest plays in Florida State history.
The 'Noles finished the season with an ACC Championship and a 10-win season. The Gators did not win the SEC and ended up losing in the Outback Bowl to Iowa.
I was watching this game with my mother's family. There were about 20 of us cramped into a tiny room and everyone had taken all of the good seats in the room so I was stuck on the floor. When we saw the play, we all erupted. My clumsy self hit my head on my grandma's stupid wooden table, apparently I had my head under it the entire game. Though it did hurt like hell I didn't care. I shook it off and we all rejoiced together like we had won the lottery because there are not many things we hate more than the Florida Gators.
The 2015 Florida State Seminole football team will feature a lot of talent but also a great deal of inexperience. To ease the transition of new faces all across the depth chart, veterans will need to step up. On the defensive line, DeMarcus Walker will be one of the one's tasked with leading a unit that lost 3 starters from a year ago in Desmond Hollin, Mario Edwards, Jr. and Eddie Goldman.
Coming out of high school, Walker was rated a consensus 4-star prospect, U.S. Army All-American, and the 40th ranked overall player in the ESPN 150. The 6'3", 277-pound Jacksonville, Florida native has started 14 of the 26 games he has played in for the Seminoles including the last 7 of the 2014 season. He finished with 38 tackles, six for loss, one sack and one forced fumble in his sophomore season.
(via WLPearce.com) Demarcus Walker had the 2nd-most tackles of any Seminole defensive lineman in 2014.
Comparison: Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers. Heyward is obviously doing extremely well in the NFL and is a little bit bigger but I believe that Walker has the un-tapped potential to be this elite. Both are larger, not flashy defensive ends, but ones that can dominate and disrupt the line of scrimmage consistently. Walker has a lot to prove to deserve this comparison but I think he has the potential.
Career Day: In the last 2014 home game against the team from Gainesville, Walker recorded six tackles, one for loss. He was consistently disruptive to Treon Harris and the Gator offense for most of the game.
Best Moment: In last year's shootout in Raleigh against NC State, Walker sacked Jacoby Brissett early in the second quarter on 3rd and 10 to force a punt that swung momentum in the Seminoles' favor. Florida State was trailing at the time 24-14 and were struggling to slow down the Wolfpack offense. After the offense got the ball back with excellent field position, Jameis Winston and the offense cashed in with a touchdown pass to Christian Green that cut the deficit to three. Walker finished the game with four tackles along with the sack.
Quick Fact: Was named co-defensive MVP with Freshman defensive end Rick Leonard for the 2015 Spring Practice.
Despite losing a great deal of starting talent to the NFL, the Seminoles return a lot of depth to the defensive line. The 'Noles will need to take a great leap forward from last season's embarrassing 17 total sacks, only three of which were recorded by returning players. Walker will, himself, need to take a great leap forward and live up to the hype he received coming out of high school or he could be passed up by the abundance of younger talent behind him.
If you can see past the horrid orange and blue, you will notice a skewed attendance number that the UF athletic department has come up with. Now I'm sure you didn't attend a game in The Swamp last year because you don't like wasting time, but, if you had gone, or even seen one of the few home games in which the Gator's were televised, you would have noticed many instances where the stadium was not only not sold out, but embarrassingly empty.
Take a look for yourself. For perspective the max capacity of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is 88,548 and their record attendance is 90,907.
Exhibit A:
Kentucky just before kickoff. Muschamp is walking back to the sideline. Notice that upper deck. All the white you see is empty seats.
Attendance according to UF: 88,334
Exhibit B:
Eastern Michigan at kickoff. Take a look just past number three's arm, people are supposed to be sitting there. This is opening day. First chance to redeem themselves of the previous 4-8 mark in 2013.
Game attendance according to UF: 81,049
Exhibit C:
South Carolina at the coin toss. (Lost 23-20) Notice the second and upper deck.
Attendance according to UF: 85,088
Exhibit D:
Missouri. (Lost 42-13) Notice the top right corner.
Attendance according to UF athletic department: 89,117
There's a difference between tickets sold and attendance.
Now let's not be too hard on them, we all know that the Gator's aren't the only team that blatantly misrepresents their crowd attendance to make people think it's not as bad as reality tells them. But to brag about it and claim the state of Florida as "Gator Country" because of the misleading numbers is pretty bold, even for you UF. One could argue that with the recent comeback of the once endangered Florida Alligator that Florida is "alligator country" in reference to the animal that is regarded as the most feared predator of the state, but from a football perspective, there's really not a case to claim it as Gator Country. Here's a few facts - not fictional numbers - as to why:
Florida State has won the state championship the last two years defeating both Miami and UF in 2013 and 2014 by a combined score of 132-66.
UF is a combined 13-16-1 vs Florida State since 1989 (25 years).
UF is a combined 4-11 vs Miami since 1979 (35 years).
Jimbo Fisher's record vs UF: 4-1
Al Golden's record vs UF: 1-0
Overall records since 2013:
FSU: 27-1
Miami: 15-11
UF: 11-13
UCF: 21-5
Looking at those statistics it sure would seem that Florida is Seminole Country. #ItsNotSoGreatUF
In the upcoming season, the Seminoles will have a completely different passing attack. With Jameis Winston, Rashad Greene, Nick O'Leary, and five offensive lineman gone to the NFL, Coach Fisher has his work cut out for him on offense. One player that will need to step up in 2015 for the Seminoles to be successful will be junior Jesus "Bobo" Wilson.
Wilson is a 5'9", 181-pound junior receiver and return specialist from Miami. Coming out of high school, he was rated as a 4-star athlete according to ESPN.com. In his first season as a regular contributor, Wilson caught 42 passes for 527 yards and 4 touchdowns in 13 games (7 starts).
(via 247Sports.com) Wilson will be the veteran of the Seminole receivers in 2015.
Comparison: Wilson reminds me of a poor man's Kenny Shaw. Both have been under-the-radar and undersized players for Florida State that make tough, crucial catches. Though he doesn't always make flashy catches, Wilson is a very solid and reliable receiver.
Career Day: The 'Noles trip to Raleigh to take on NC State last season. The Wolfpack jumped out to a 24-7 lead and with NC State's Jacoby Brissett having the game of his life, the Seminoles needed a spark on offense to keep up in the shootout. Wilson stepped up for the FSU offense and caught 6 passes for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns, one of which went for 39 yards.
Best Moment: At the beginning of the second quarter vs Miami last year, FSU is driving to set the tone for the rest of the game. They've dug themselves into a hole of 3rd and 10 approaching the 50-yard line. After Jameis drops back, Jesus finds an open space in the secondary just past the first down over the midfield logo. The Heisman-winning quarterback zips it to Wilson. Bobo hauls it in, stumbles and catches himself while turning around before evading a would-be tackler and diving forward for more yards into four Miami defenders. The play goes for 21 yards and a first down and two plays later Dalvin Cook ran it 44 yards for six points and ended the 'Noles scoring drought.
Quick Background Fact: Wilson is one of 9 players on the spring game roster from the Miami area where FSU has not lost in to the Hurricanes in 11 years.
Wilson will be relied on heavily as one of the leaders on offense in 2015. He and Kermit Whitfield are the only two scholarship receivers under 6 feet tall on the spring practice roster. Wilson leads all returning receivers with 45 career catches and was 3rd last year in receptions. He will be a huge key to the 'Noles' new starting quarterback's success.
The "lost decade" is in full swing on November 11th, 2007. The 5-3 Florida State Seminoles, led by junior quarterback Drew Weatherford, travel north to take on Matt Ryan's second-ranked, undefeated Boston College Eagles.
Weatherford is having one of the best games in his career. He's completed six passes to De'Cody Fagg for 111 yards and 9 to Preston Parker for 93 yards. He would finish with 354 yards and 2 TD. The defense is also playing an outstanding game, taking away multiple scoring opportunities for the Eagles.
It is a rainy night in Chestnut Hill and mistakes are the name of the game for Ryan and the Eagles. Despite two interceptions (Patrick Robinson and Tony Carter) by their Heisman-candidate quarterback, a fumble and a missed field goal, they find themselves down just three points with over a minute left. Just last week, Ryan had commandeered a two touchdown comeback with less than two minutes left in the game to beat Virginia Tech and throw his name into the Heisman discussion. This week he is facing a similar task at home.
On second and seven with 1:20 left in the game, Ryan takes the snap from his own 33 yard line. He drops back before stepping by a pass rusher into a short pass to his running back heading towards the left sideline. #10 Geno Hayes sees Ryan's eyes look to his check-down and breaks to the Eagle player in front of him. By the time Ryan sees the linebacker breaking, he's already thrown the ball. The Junior linebacker who has six career interceptions in the NFL, steps in front of the pass and heads for the end-zone. After out-sprinting a couple of BC lineman, Hayes trots in easily for six and stares down the poncho-covered crowd of Alumni Stadium.
Said crowd goes quiet. The ESPN announcers are in disbelief. Matt Ryan was on the fast track to a Heisman Trophy but the FSU defense had crushed the Eagles' plans. BC got the ball on the following kickoff but it only led to a turnover on downs and a Seminole victory. They needed two scores anyways. 'Noles win by 10.
via MarkWallheiser.com
I was at home watching with my parents. My mom had this bread that she was cooking for the first time during the game and the scent filled the house. She had finished baking it at the start of the fourth quarter, served it up with some butter and boom! Geno runs it back and we win the game. The "lost decade" was hard on our family but this bread, this magical grain which we later called "Victory Bread", was a glimpse of hope. The following weekend brought Virginia Tech, Christian Ponder's debut thanks to a Weatherford injury. We baked the bread and it seemed that was the reason Ponder brought us back... until Ponder fumbled it and the comeback came up short. We didn't care, we loved the bread and kept baking it the rest of the season.
Bread stories aside, this game was so much fun as a fan. It was strange territory as an FSU fan being an underdog, even in the lost decade. The Eagles were touchdown favorites at home, at night. Coach Bowden and the boys played their best game of the year and added Boston College to the list of second ranked teams to lose that season, the 4th in the previous 5 weeks. (Cal, USC, and, yes, USF before them).
Well it's official. The dual threat transfer from Notre Dame announced yesterday that he will be attending Florida State in the fall. I'll be honest, I've fallen victim to the hype. I'm very excited to see this play out in the upcoming months and into the season.
The only way Golson isn't our starter in the fall is if he doesn't master the playbook. You have to think that he wouldn't have transferred here with one year of eligibility left if it wasn't apparent to him that he could start immediately. Jimbo obviously didn't see what he wanted to from Sean Maguire in the spring. This is pretty much a slap in the face Maguire who was all but handed the starting job in the spring and is a huge gamble by Coach Fisher . If Golson comes in and struggles, we could be looking at some chemistry and recruiting issues.
Overall though, Golson seems to be a MUCH better option than Maguire for the upcoming season. With an inexperienced offensive line Jimbo needs someone behind center who can scramble and create plays on the fly - Maguire does not have this ability, Golson does. This move certainly makes our team better across the board and seems to have really excited the team. Word on the street is that Golson impressed many of the Florida State players last year by coming into Doak and nearly knocking off the then-number-one Seminoles.
Along with the accuracy, arm, and athleticism, Golson also brings a great deal of big game experience with him. Obviously the game last year in Doak was arguably one of the biggest of the year but Golson also played in the 2012 National Championship game against a Nick Saban defense. He was one of the few bright spots for the Irish in that game with 270 yards and a touchdown. He will be the only player on the roster with more than one start and I believe this is the biggest reason Jimbo will start him come fall.
If/when Golson earns the starting role, he will be surrounded by plenty of offensive weapons. Last year's leading rusher, now-sophomore Dalvin Cook, and three receivers who combined for 93 catches and 9 touchdowns last year in the 2013 season in Jesus Wilson, Ermon Lane, and Travis Rudolph all return. Not to mention freshmen RB Jacques Patrick and WR George Campbell who had phenomenal spring game debuts.
If Golson can limit turnovers and still be his normal, play-making self in Jimbo's offense, the Noles have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs for the second year in a row.
via 247Sports.com
"After much thought and careful consideration, I will utilize my fifth year of eligibility to join the Florida State University Seminoles. To Coach Jimbo Fisher, the Florida State football team, staff, alumni and fans, thank you for allowing me to become part of the Seminole family. I can't wait to get started. Go Noles!"
- Everett Golson
"After meeting with Everett, I came away very impressed. He is extremely intelligent and a very personable young man. It's a pleasure for us to add him to our Seminole family. We look forward to getting him down here this summer to begin work on helping us continue to be one the nation's elite college football programs."
-Jimbo Fisher
Golson Career Stats at ND:
17-6 record as a starter
59.5 comp. pct.
5,850 yards passing
581 yards rushing
55 total touchdowns
20 interceptions (22 turnovers last season)
The Florida State secondary is traditionally one of the most feared groups of defensive backs in the country. Since his freshman season in 2013, Nate Andrews has played a key role in continuing the tradition of names like Deion Sanders, Terrell Buckley, and Xavier Rhodes, among many others. During his two seasons as the Seminoles' #29, Andrews has intercepted more passes than any other player on the team.
The 5'11", 204-pound defensive back from Fairhope, Alabama is one of seven defensive starters returning to the team in 2015. Andrews has seen time in all 28 games that the 'Noles have played in during his career and started all but one game last season. On top of leading the team in interceptions each year with 7 total, he has recorded 128 total tackles, his career high (12) coming against Boston College last season.
Comparison: Andrews is a Tyrann Matheiu-type player without all of the hype. Simply put, Andrews is a quiet but effective play-maker with a nose for the ball. In his career at Florida State, he has forced 11 turnovers and recovered 3 fumbles.
Career Day: In his first career start vs Wake Forest in 2013, Nate Andrews started a feeding frenzy where the Seminole defense forced the Demon Deacons into committing 5 turnovers in the first half. Andrews was responsible for two interceptions and a forced fumble, two of those turnovers being returned for touchdowns. Andrews also recorded a tackle in that dominating visit to Winston-Salem. The Noles won the game 59-3.
Best Moment: Early in the 2014 season opener against Oklahoma State in Jerry World, Andrews dropped back into a pass from Cowboy quarterback J.W. Walsh, tipped it to himself and walked it into the end zone for a touchdown. The 'Noles needed every point they could get to start off the season 1-0.
Quick Background Fact: Florida State was the first school to offer Andrews. He would later decommit from Minnesota to the Seminoles, choosing FSU over Alabama, Ole Miss, and Tennessee, among others.
This year, Nate Andrew's will be one of the leaders on this defense, a defense that looks to redeem itself from last year's struggles. The secondary has some major shoes to fill considering P.J. Williams and Ronald Darby left for the NFL. Despite not having ideal size or athleticism, he is a major force on this defense and will need to step up along with fellow play maker Jalen Ramsey and a series of young, relatively inexperienced players.
Every Thursday I will try to do a sort of "Throwback Thursday" feature on a big-time moment in Seminole athletics history. Whether a game, specific play, or any related moment, I'll pick one possibly related to something that is happening to the current team or one at complete random. Hopefully it will be one that brings back some great memories for you, the reader, and makes you a little uneasy and anxious until football season is upon us.
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It's Saturday night inside Doak Campbell Stadium, September 18th, 2011. Second-year coach Jimbo Fisher is looking for his inaugural marquee victory facing Bob Stoops' top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. This nationally televised game shows two top-5 teams in a 1 vs. 5 matchup, squaring off in Tallahassee for the first time in close to a decade; this one in front of Doak Campbell Stadium's second highest attendance to date.
The Seminole offense has struggled for most of the night but find themselves down just 13-6 thanks to a valiant effort from their defense. A defense led by names like Brandon Jenkins, Nigel Bradham and Greg Reid. Quarterback EJ Manuel was helped off the field in the third quarter holding his shoulder leaving the fate of the 'Noles up to the offensive line coach's son, red-shirt freshman Clint Trickett.
Trickett was called upon to face one of the nation's toughest defenses. As if the task wasn't tall enough, an emerging Kenny Shaw was knocked unconscious and carted off the field in the second quarter. In his first two drives Trickett commanded the offense to a field goal and a three-and-out. After a series of tackles for loss and a holding penalty on his third drive, the Florida State offense faced a 3rd and 28 from their own 44 yard line with just under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
With Thomas Jones and Lonnie Pryor at his side, Trickett takes the snap from shotgun, drops back and looks to his left. He sees true freshman receiver Rashad Greene bursting out of his break. Trickett zips it 25 yards to a triple-covered Greene with Hail Mary expectations. Out of the pack comes Greene, football tucked in his arm, running for his life towards the student section.
The 84,392 fans in attendance - well, the Seminole fans in attendance - and one horse erupt into vocal explosion jumping up and down like it's 1999. Trickett jumps into the arms of a lineman before taking his helmet off to yell as loud as he can; he knows that he was just part of one of the most electric plays in Florida State history. Greene stares down the students who are losing their minds and beats his chest in the end zone. Players and coaches rejoice at what seemed to be the play that would catapult them to an avenging win over Oklahoma who had embarrassed them the year before.
(via Zimbio.com)
I was in section 8 in the middle of row 36 where my parents have had season tickets since graduating in the '80s. Convincing them to give me that $80 ticket was hardly an easy task, but to say that it was worth it in the end would be an understatement. I was sharing my seat and the four seats next to me with about seven people. Ignoring the fact that I only knew about three of the 20 people around me, I rejoiced with them like old friends. This was one of the greatest moments I've personally ever been a part of. It was also probably the craziest because just 10 seconds before Greene was being congratulated by teammates in the end zone, we were expecting a punt. Somewhere Bobby Bowden would tell us, "Well dadgummit, that's college football for ya."
Despite the loss in the end (and OU's Kenny Stills making an even more impressive catch to put the Sooners up late), this game was a major turning point for Jimbo Fisher's regime as a coach. It showed that we could play with the elite talent that the country offered. It also was the coming out party for Rashad Greene, the first of many clutch plays by arguably Florida State's most clutch receiver of all time.
If you'd like to relive the moment, here is the game in it's entirety (the play starts at about 1:54:30):
You have likely heard the news by now that Everett Golson, the former Notre Dame quarterback, is transferring schools. Brett McMurphy of ESPN (@McMurphyESPN) tweeted yesterday that Golson had narrowed his options down to a list of 10 schools headed by Florida State, Alabama and South Carolina. According to 247Sports.com, "Barring a last-minute change of heart or any influence from elsewhere, [Florida State’s] where he’s headed." I am torn at this decision for multiple reasons, one being that I just wrote that whole other post yesterday without him in it. But seriously, Golson brings a wide variety of pros and cons with him.
(via NYPost.com) Golson has been a part of a 20-6 record at ND including a national championship appearance in 2012.
The 6'0" 200-pound quarterback from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina threw 41 touchdowns and 20 interceptions in his time at Notre Dame (29 and 14 last year). As a red-shirt freshman in 2012, Golson led the Irish to an undefeated regular season and a national championship appearance before being embarrassed by Alabama. In 2013 he was expelled from school for academic violation reasons. He was readmitted to Notre Dame last year and led the Irish to a 7-5 season in 2014. Golson commandeered Notre Dame to an early 6-0 record before losing in
Tallahassee and the season eventually being derailed. Notre Dame finished the season losing 5 of their last 7 games. After their loss to Louisville, Golson was forced to split time with then-sophomore Malik Zaire. The reason for this was mainly centered around the losing but the losing was in large part a result of Golson's turnover problem.
Golson had 8 fumbles last year. Some quick math will tell you that he had 22 turnovers all by himself. According to csnchicago.com (and a good article on is turnover woes), that was more than 85 other teams had altogether before bowl season. This is a major red flag that Golson brings along with him and is a major reason why I'm skeptical about bringing him in. You also have to question the academic scandal that there really isn't a lot of information about - he probably cheated on a test or something. On top of all of this, there are only (perspective) four months until football season. This is really not enough time to learn a playbook that both EJ Manuel and Jameis Winston have publicly said are more complex than their NFL playbooks.
Golson is what you would call a gamer. He's fun to watch and is very crafty. He's a great scrambler and has a good arm but doesn't always make great decisions. Depsite the turnovers, Golson made many crucial plays in Tallahassee last year - most notably the 4th and 18 on the potential game-winning drive. Overall I was very impressed seeing him in person last year.
We went through a lot of the Braxton Miller transfer drama earlier in the offseason and Golson, to me, has the feel of a poor-man's Braxton. Bringing in Golson could bring some energy and excitement to our program but it could also cause a stir with our current depth and recruiting at the position. Also, we probably don't need another player with controversial off the field issues being the face of our program if he were to win the job. I think we've got the talent and depth in place and don't need this distraction. I say don't take him.
But if he does come to Florida State, think about this stat courtesy of @fsujunkie:
Golson's stats last year: 29TD, 14 Int
Russell Wilson's last year at NC State: 28 TD, 14 Int
Wilson's one year at Wisconsin: 33 TD, 4 Int
Jimbo's track record shows there's a possibility Golson can become elite in Tallahassee.
I realize it's May and we are over three months away from the start of the season. I do. But hypotheticals about your favorite sports team are always fun. I was watching the NBA playoffs over a few beers with friends the other night. Seeing as we are all lifelong Seminole fans, the most obvious question of this season came up. Who will replace Jameis? What does the future at the position look like? We talked about it at length, excited about all of the options, debating every possible side of controversy.
Looking at the potential candidates, Jimbo Fisher has lots of depth to choose from. As of right now, everyone expects him to name Sean Maguire as the heir-apparent to Jameis' throne in the fall. But we don't quite see it that way and for Jimbo, it's certainly not that easy. There are a lot of factors to think about when forecasting the position and the potential starters are all very different based on talent, size, experience and personality. Let's take a look (Images and numbers from Seminoles.com):
#10 Sean Maguire (RS Junior, 6'3", 224)
Only quarterback on roster with in-game experience.
21 of 39 for 304 yards against Clemson last year who by the way finished #1 in total defense last year.
Has also played in other games during mop-up duty vs Citadel, Wake Forest, and Oregon.
Spring Game: 22 of 44 for 289 yards, 2 Int (one to a true freshman, another to a walk-on).
This is your veteran. While the numbers were slightly deceiving, he did play well enough against the nation's top defense to win in one of the most intense atmospheres in the history of Doak. He made lots of crucial throws in this game - most notably the one to Rashad Greene late in the game that sent the stadium into vocal explosion. While this performance was extremely admirable, let's not forget that Clemson missed multiple red-zone opportunities and also that Maguire threw what should have been the game-losing interception. Following that interception, Jimbo did not let him throw another pass in the game despite there being time on the clock for a possible game-winning drive. There's lots of different ways to look at this kid's performance on such a huge stage but I see him as someone who would come in and simply be average.
#11 Jonathan Franklin (RS Sophomore, 6'0", 183)
Scout team offensive MVP his freshman year.
All-ACC track and field star.
Missed spring game due to injury.
Franklin is a special athlete who reportedly gave wide receiver a try during practice last year. He was a huge help in preparation to the 2013 National Championship, mimicking speedster Nick Marshall of Auburn. I don't think wide receiver will ever be an option again or he would have stayed there and his freakish athleticism likely won't get him behind center in a Jimbo Fisher offense. Hopefully he can see the field at some point and make an impact; he is a hard worker and a great athlete.
#16 J.J. Cosentino (RS Freshman, 6'4", 237)
Consensus 4-star prospect coming out of high school in Pittsburgh.
Spring Game: 7-11 for 177 yards, 1 TD (65 yard pass to true freshman George Campbell).
J.J. is very interesting to me. He's smart, he knows the system because he has been here for over a year already, he has a big arm and he's also a confident guy. This is a player Jimbo really wanted because he was the only quarterback of the 2014 class. I've heard people call him CoseMarino relating to Dan Marino because he comes from the same high school, plus the big arm, so you can take that for what its worth.
In my opinion, he is pretty raw right now, much like the rest of these quarterbacks. He has the arm, size, and potential and he's been around the program, so I think if he starts and plays this whole year you could see him as a potential first round pick down the road.
Also he tweeted this awhile back which is kind of funny.
#14 DeAndre Johnson (Freshman, 6'0", 177)
Four-star prospect according to both ESPN.com and Rivals.com.
Led Team Armor with 71 yards of total offense in this year's UA All-American Game.
Committed to FSU in 2012 and never wavered despite offers from just about every major college program, also started all four years at First Coast High in Jacksonville, Fl.
Early enrolled this past spring and saw time in the spring game
Spring Game: 8-11 for 155 yards, 2 TD (Very impressive 42 yard bullet to Ermon Lane just before halftime)
From what I've collected, Johnson completely dominated high school - his career record was 46-5. Many people who know more about FSU football have said that they expect Jimbo to eventually move him to receiver. I really like this kid, he seems to work extremely hard and has a charismatic personality that could make him a great leader. He reminds me a lot of Franklin as far as being undersized, crazy athletic and having a laser arm, but I hope he does not end up on the sideline his entire career behind guys who better fit the mold of what Jimbo wants.
Deondre Francois (Freshman, 6'1", 195)
Consensus four-star prospect.
Coached by Chris Weinke at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Threw for 103 yards and a touchdown in the UA All-American game, defeating Deondre Johnson's team 46-6. (4 of 4 when throwing to our own George Campbell).
Francois comes off as the pretty boy, cool kid. He has a great swagger to him and is extremely gifted, probably more so than Johnson, but the question is his determination. His motion is so pretty and natural and he has great accuracy and arm strength. This kid reminds me of Clemson's Deshaun Watson and is likely going to be very special under Jimbo in the coming years.
So there you have it, five guys with legitimate shots to be the next face of Florida State football. One with a little taste of the big time, one with freakish athleticism and three freshman.
Talking about it, none of us wanted Maguire to start. Despite the numbers and victory last year vs Clemson, we all just felt uneasy with him behind center. It felt like he was holding us back as a unit. Jimbo made it obvious that he didn't trust Maguire to throw the ball late in that game after his second interception. I think that he will only restrict this team's ceiling and could take the place of another quarterback that should be developing, not to mention his Spring Game performance was subpar. He knows the playbook, is accurate on short throws, and is also very strong in the pocket, but he is as Richard Sherman would say, "mediocre at best".
If you look at the three freshman, they all have potential to be first round picks, in my opinion. This team has some very special parts to it and lots of offensive weapons. A 1,000-yard rusher in Dalvin Cook along with Mario Pender and highly-anticipated freshman Jacques Patrick in the backfield added to one of the tallest and deepest receiving corps in the nation, whichever quarterback selected will have no shortage of weapons to work with.
I think that Jimbo needs to take a chance on starting one of the younger quarterbacks. He has started a great deal of freshman in his time here and it wouldn't surprise me if he does pass up on Maguire and choose one of these young quarterbacks to take the reigns.
What I think (and hope) is that Cosentino wins out the job this year. With experience under his belt, he should be on his way to the NFL. With a few cupcakes to start the year, Jimbo may do some experimenting early on in the season with a few of the quarterbacks but hopefully the play doesn't force him to struggle with his decision. I believe Francois has the most potential out of this group but if he has an ego I think it would be good for him to get acclimated to the culture in Tallahassee before starting. Next year, of course, we'll have to add Malik Henry to the mix at the quarterback position.
The future is bright, especially with the recent recruiting success that will aid these quarterbacks in their quest. Hopefully this group produces Jimbo's fourth-straight quarterback taken in the first round of the NFL draft.
Do not forget that when Jameis Winston started as a freshman, we were only hoping for a solid season. Fans had no idea that we could be one of the most dominant teams in the history of college football. There is a lot of talent around these quarterbacks so anything is possible. Just saying.
(via seminolepost.blog.palmbeachpost.com) Francois, Cosentino, and Maguire.
