FSU National Signing Day Roller Coaster
Holy Cow! FSU did an amazing job finishing this year in recruiting! As of right now, 25 high school players will officially be Seminoles come kickoff next fall. I just want to take some time here to look at some of the important parts of this new team that has been constructed by Coach Fisher and his staff. Offensive Line Power As most people who watched the Seminoles this year know, the offensive line play was very inconsistent. While this could be due to the lack of experience, considering that we replaced 4/5 of the line from the previous year, Seminole fans were still mad. It greatly showed during the game against the Houston when Dalvin Cook could not run for more than 3 yards at a time, at best. In this recruiting class, FSU has managed to snag six new offensive lineman. This class is lead by ESPN's #1 OC Baveon Johnson. Johnson (Lakeland, Fla.) is a 6-3, 340 pounder who is not going to be pushed around easily. ESPN's Scouting Report raves about his hip play. While it may sound silly out loud. It is very important when you are the first person touching the ball and making sure no one gets past you. Adding to the powerful line is OT Jauan Williams. Williams (Washington D.C.) was on the bubble for Texas and Georgia as well before signing earlier today. Ranked as the 11th best Offensive Tackle, and being 6-7, 304 lbs, Williams could be a cornerstone player after next season. Do not expect these linemen to see much playing time this year. It is hard for linemen to become plug-and-play players at such a highly competitive level. On the bright side, this class looks as though it can be just as strong as our line during the 2013 National Championship Season. Cornerback Duo We had known for awhile that Levonta Taylor, the #5 recruit in the country, was coming to FSU. Standing at just under six feet, Taylor will likely bare a resemblance to Lemarcus Joyner: small but powerful. He is likely to also be our kick returner for the upcoming season. While he will probably see time on the defensive side of the ball, he will not begin there. Adding to Taylor's power is the #7 CB in the country, Carlos Becker. Becker (Kissimmee, Fla.) stated earlier this weekend that his decision was between FSU and Ohio State. He made this decision at his 9:30 call time on ESPN. Good news: Becker is 6-3. Bad news: weighs 185 lbs. Becker will have to bulk up and could probably see a move to safety if he plays this season. FSU lost both of their safety commits earlier today to USC and Texas A&M. Becker is very fast in zone coverage, which is a very good quality to have at the safety position in man coverage. Becker and Taylor have a shot to be the one-two punch that Ronald Darby and Jalen Ramsey used to be. Let's put it this way, our secondary next year would most likely look like this by the end of it all: FS: Nate Andrews SS: Derwin James Jr. CB1: Marquez White CB2: Trey Marshall CB Levonta Taylor CB4: Tarvarus McFadden Flipping Florida For the second time in three years, FSU flipped a recruit that was originally committed to that horrible school in Gainesville. It may sound mean and unsportsmanlike to do, but the first time it happened, it was a two way street. We lost our quarterback, they lost their running back. Jokes on them though. They can have fun with Treon Harris and we'll keep Dalvin Cook. The Noles were able to flip another guy: Shavar Manuel. He's a 6-4, 280 lbs defensive tackle and from IMG Academy in Tampa. ESPN is impressed with his speed for a DT, but he has problems when it comes to the usage of his hands. They say he is not exactly a sound tackler. I feel as though that is important when tackle is in the name of your position. Either way, it's always fun to grab someone in-state, even better from your rival. Linebacker Cavalry One of the biggest problems from this class about a month ago was lack of linebackers, especially since the Noles are losing Terrence Smith and Reggie Northrup. The Linebackers will most likely consist of Jacob Pugh (Jr), Matthew Thomas (RS Jr), and Ro'Derrick Hoskins (RS Jr). They were decent when they played last year, but our Linebackers are known for getting hurt a little too easily. Outside Linebacker Chris Casher has barely seen the field due to injury. Send in the newbies, headlined by Dontavious Jackson. He was down to Alabama, Texas, and FSU. Since he is from Houston, FSU got a steal here. At 6-2, 248 lbs, Jackson is still able to make a play when the ball is coming around the line instead of through it. This guy, along with Emmitt Rice, who TomahawkNation reporters have said shows flashes of Telvin Smith, could be a deadly combination. Looking at all of these great additions to the team, I have put my starting lineup for the following year below: Offense QB: DeAndre Francois (RS Fr) RB1: Dalvin Cook (Jr) RB2: Jarques Patrick (So) FB: Freddie Stevenson (Sr) WR1: Levonta Witfield (Sr) WR2: Travis Rudolph (Jr) WR3: Jesus Wilson (Sr) TE: Ryan Izzo (RS So) LT: Rodrick Johnson (Jr) LG: Kareem Are (RS Sr) C: Ryan Hoefield (RS So) RG: Wilson Bell (RS Jr) RT: Chad Mavety (RS Sr) K: Ricky Aguayo (Fr)
Defense DE1: Demarcus Walker (RS Sr) DT1: Derrick Nnadi (Jr) DT2: Demarcus Christmas (RS So) DE2: Josh Sweat (So) Mike LB: Ro'Derrick Hoskins (RS Jr) LB1: Jacob Pugh (Jr) LB2: Matthew Thomas (RS Jr) CB1: Marquez White (Sr) CB2: Tarvarus McFadden (So) Star CB: Trey Marshall (Jr) FS: Nate Andrews (Sr) SS: Derwin James Jr. (So) P: Johnathan Hernandez (RS Jr)
