FSU next year

[Detrimental]

I think FSU is going to be decent. E.J Manuel needs to stop forgetting the plays though and maybe FSU will become relevant in the ACC.

Love me some Greg Reid. Not sure what's going on with Willie Downs though.

[dexmonkey]

im not sure about joyner at safety. guy can play but hes not big enough for my tastes as a safety. like him alot more as a cb. and reid wont be nickel. hewill start and harris at nickel. although i do like harris more as a starter over reid.

detrimental
willie downs never made it into school. i think hes in juco somewhere

[Detrimental]

Greg Dent = stud

Terrance Parks anyone?

[Runole]

Greg Dent = stud

Terrance Parks anyone?

I think Benjamin could be special as well.   Parks I think will be starter in the beginning but I think Joyner and possibly Karlos may be challenging him.

As to Joyner being a safety think Ahmad Black..

[Biggs3535]

Truthfully like many UF "locks" at that time Urban was running a little game whereby a recruit would orally commit to FSU out of the blue and then change his mind after a UF visit. Pretty effective even if a little bush league. Happened with several recruits..

Link?

[GameTime]

Because no way a 17 year old kid could change his mind.  Nope, just ask bert reed and greg reid.

[dexmonkey]

yeah i wouldnt go that far. while im sure some kids decided thats what they wanted to do, i doubt the coaches actually actively encouraged them to do it. recruiting is a dirty business sometimes and im sure its happened but without proof you cant really say for certain theyve ever done it.

[Runole]

Truthfully like many UF "locks" at that time Urban was running a little game whereby a recruit would orally commit to FSU out of the blue and then change his mind after a UF visit. Pretty effective even if a little bush league. Happened with several recruits..

Link?

Torrey Davis,  John Brown, Pouncey Twins  all committed to FSU out of the blue most unexpectedly.  Most Nole Fans were elated but it was wtf?   A couple of weeks later they all de-committed and made statements of how solid they were as gator commitments.  I found that rather strange from my view.  This all occurred before they even started their final football season in high school.   Certainly there would be no link since it is just speculation on my part.  Knowing UF's history with recruiting and their history with dirty deeds done dirt cheep with FSU, I find my speculation very plausible.

Like the gator grad that pretended to be a NCAA investigator and went to several FSU recruits homes in 1985 or perhaps it was gator fans buying tickets from Hassan Jones and reporting it which of course made Jones ineligible for a Bowl game. No sewer is deep enough for UF fans and boosters to go there.

[Runole]

Because no way a 17 year old kid could change his mind.  Nope, just ask bert reed and greg reid.

Certainly agree  and if it had occurred after a long drawn out recruiting battle or a recruit changing his mind shortly before signing day I would agree with you but those commitment and quick change occurred in the Summer before their senior years were barely started. 

[Biggs3535]

Certainly there would be no link since it is just speculation on my part.

I'm quite shocked you admitted this.

[Runole]

Certainly there would be no link since it is just speculation on my part.

I'm quite shocked you admitted this.

What can I say I am of the belief that a leopard never changes its spots..  Once you lie and get away with it becomes normal procedure. When you brag about it and state HELL YES WE CHEAT...  it becomes a total part of the UF culture.

[Biggs3535]

What can I say I am of the belief that a leopard never changes its spots..

Your continued lunacy is proof of this very belief.  See below:

Once you lie and get away with it becomes normal procedure. When you brag about it and state HELL YES WE CHEAT...  it becomes a total part of the UF culture.

Of course none of this has anything to do with you calling something "truth" and then a few posts later admit it's nothing more than a lunatic's speculation.

[dexmonkey]

and the flamewar begins.................

[Runole]

What can I say I am of the belief that a leopard never changes its spots..

Your continued lunacy is proof of this very belief.  See below:

Once you lie and get away with it becomes normal procedure. When you brag about it and state HELL YES WE CHEAT...  it becomes a total part of the UF culture.

Of course none of this has anything to do with you calling something "truth" and then a few posts later admit it's nothing more than a lunatic's speculation.

"Hell Yes We Cheat "  didn't happen?

Hassan Jones "didn't happen"?

UF grad posing as NCAA agent didn't happen?

The "Gerald Owens:" incident didn't happen and Foley didn't lie in front of ESPN?

The "TGRRT"  never existed?

Gator grad didn't steal two Waterford Crystal trophies and have his  license to practice suspended by the Supreme Court of Florida?
Nothing speculative about it just typical denial by a UF fan not wishing to acknowledge documented events in their sordid and sullied past concerning FSU.

and of course those recruits that suddenly committed to FSU for no particular reason and then a week or so later all change their minds? 

That is the only thing I have speculated on as far as the reasoning behind such a strange turnaround.  FSU wasn't even recruiting Torrey Davis when he orally committed to FSU and a week or so later he changes his mind and states he is going to Florida?  huh?


________________________________________________________________

Oh and Dex...  Nothing above is personally flaming anyone. Just stating facts of the past that many gator fans just can't seem to handle or acknowledge.


Just attack the messenger by "biggy the gator piggy".. lol

________________________________________________________________

Back on topic  FSU has every reason to be extremely optimistic about the future season which certainly based on last years performance and returning talent along with arguably the nations best recruiting class looks extremely bright.

As to the gators and canes  they have brand new staffs, lost much more talent from their  8-5 and 7-6 seasons, and are in a rebuilding process.  The chances of them have greater success than FSU appear to be far less assured as they attempt to learn new offenses, defenses,etc for next year with their new staffs and all the adjustments that will need to be made.

[beardmcdoug]

Well this came from a rather optimistic FSU fan not me:


(QB)For the first time since the Weinke era we are not handing over the reigns to a freshman with talent but no experience, but instead what we will have is an incredibly talented QB that has had 2 years to learn the system and earn some significant playing time along the way, including two bowl game victories.

(RB) I don't really need to say much about this squad but we have a stable of fully capable RBs that includes Thompson, Jones, Thomas*,Pryor,Freeman and Wilder Jr...pick your poison

(WR) By far the most depth, talent and experience we have seen since the early 2000s. We have a solid mixture of big possession guys (Haulstead, Smith and Gheres) and Speed guys (Reed, Easterling, Shaw, Dent, Haggins and C. Green). Not to mention two solid newcomers in R. Greene and Benjamin.

(TE) We have some good experience, depth and athletic ability in Reliford*, Little and Sessions. But the deal breaker is going to be O'leary because if he is ready to play right away this next year, he will create nasty mismatches and could be the final piece of Jimbos offensive puzzle.

(OL) Losing Mcmahon and Hudson obviously hurts but Orelus and Stork both played VERY well at guard multiple times last year and as long as Spurlock's concussions don't hold him out at all he will be one nasty center. Add Datko and Sanders and an impressive class of (mostly early enrolled) freshmen including the likes of Hart and Fahrenkrug possibly contributing early. Also, Rick Trickett is still our OL coach so we should be good to go here.

And the Defense:
(DT)IMO This will be the most improved area since last year. We bring back McDaniel, McAllister, Dawkins, and McCloud. Add Darius Cummings, Cameron Erving and a finally healthy McCray along with newcomers that I expect to play right away in Mitchell and Jernigan and HOLY COW this is going to be a great group.

(DE) We return Brandon Jenkins, Bjoern Werner, Toshman Stevens(who is finally going to be big enough to contribute on a regular basis), and an underrated Dan Hicks. Add a ready-to-go Tank Carradine and Newberry and we should be the cause of opposing QBs nightmares once again this season.

(LB) We return Bradham, Jones, Williams, Luc, and a Telvin Smith with added size. The redshirts come off of Holmes and Nigel Terell. Add a highly underrated Arrington Jenkins and Terrance Smith and even though losing Steward hurts, something tells me we are just fine here.

(CB) Not much has changed here, we are returning Reid, Rhodes, Harris, and a healthy Commack. Add an early enrolled Waisome and possibly Keelin Smith and we're more than solid.

(S) We will be absolutely wreaking havoc from this position this year. We will return the hard-hitting Moody, a more than solid performer in Parks and I am very excited to watch Joyner roaming around back there because of his Ball-hawking abilities and fearless hitting. Add the likes of 'Los and once again possibly Keelin Smith along with and this position will be more than fun to watch this season. Hunter and Brutus could also add depth but i feel like they'll both redshirt.

(ST) We should be among the elite in all categories of special teams this upcoming season. Hopkins could make a run at the Groza, Powell should be among the nation's best punters and of course Reid returning punts and kick-offs. Not to mention our coverage on kick-offs and punts was phenomenal last year and could only be better this year.

All that said we have both the team AND the schedule (with possibly the biggest regular season game of the year in having #1 OU come to Doak) to put us in position to bring it all home next year. And I can tell you this much, Jimbo and co. are not thinking that we are 2 years away. I'm not guaranteeing a MNC but this is our year to return to the top, this is the season we have been waiting for.



I do believe that FSU has recruited a signature class reminiscent to the Sammie Smith /Deion Sanders class with James Wilder and Karlos Williams being rather similar headliners.   Of course getting Jernigan and O'leary is just additional frosting on the cake.  Overall an excellent class with several performers that I believe will make significant contributions before the season is over.

It does appear that FSU's problems on defense may just be over since I believe the DL will be almost at the levels most FSU fans were accustomed to in FSU's storied past.   Not totally sold on DE's. The secondary likewise looks very deep and talented at both CB and Safety.

While it may not show in his first year at FSU I think Karlos Williams will make as much of an impact as Reggie Nelson did at Florida.

I also believe that with Wilder FSU will have a very strong inside and outside running game.  As good as Wilder is early enrollee Freeman at this point in time is a more instinctive HB.  Hard to believe that he ran for over 600 yards in the semifinals and finals of the highest class in Florida High school Football 6A.


The O' Leary kid sounds like the real deal. It has been a long time since FSU had such a versatile Tight End. As stated above FSU has plenty of weapons at WR and they come in all sizes from very tall to fast and elusive.

To me the only real question is how far the "Training Wheels" come off of Manual.   He has missed a couple of Springs. This is his time to seize the moment.

The schedule on paper looks easier than last year with only Oklahoma being an early predicted great team. More than likely Oklahoma will be ranked #1 when they come to Doak.  Taking a page from the UF scheduling book, FSU will be playing to warm ups prior to that game.

Thank you for this post.  I have been here at FSU for the past 5 years (grad school now, not a supersenior) - and had become rather disenchanted with the football team (to begin with, I have always much preferred NFL games) -  but reading this analysis has actually got me somewhat excited about games this year.  It was rather frustrating watching Bowden needlessly run the team into the ground (but lets not go there - no point in concentrating on the negative).  Call me a fair weather fan (Edit:for the 'Noles, not the for Bucs, I have been and always will be a true fan of our Bucs  ) - but I'm at least interested in the team this year

Thanks again for the info