Florida State Seminoles

[Dr. Nostron]

Too bad Marty isnt around.

After several completely inept quarters of football by the offense - nice to see the Oline step up a bit in the 2nd half and give EJ some time.

[KeviNole]

Yeah that was probably a preview of next year's line (add Glauser, subtract Sanders), which is scary but maybe they'll gel a bit and get decent. We need to be a pass-first shotgun team and not a pro-set team. We can run from the gun but we can't run from the I right now. It would also let EJ get more of a rhythm, though he has a long way to go too. The defense should continue to be ridiculously good next year though. Right now I would only take Bama's and LSU's D over ours, and we return almost everyone.

[billy bob bocephus]

bowl observations:

- there were a lot of people questioning Jimbo's ability to be both a head coach and offensive coordinator

- one guy spent much of the time counting the number of seconds EJ had to throw the ball - most of the game it was 2 - it went up to 3 and sometimes 4 in the 4th qtr

- good crowd - looked to be about 55/45 noles - both sides very loud

- if ND had completed a couple of long passes in the 1st half they would have buried the noles - good D pressure on the QB and pretty decent DB coverage

- Wilder is raw - if he gets some polish to his game during spring ball he and Devonta (sp?) will be a potent combination next year

- the O line must get depth and experience - hope we can bring in 4 or 5 top guys this next class

- traffic in O-town sucks - it took over an hour to get back from the game to the hotel - I-4 was a parking lot and the locals say that is normal

[KeviNole]

I just don't see a future for Wilder at RB. He does a poor job of following his blocks and making the right cut and he's not powerful enough to compensate. I hope he proves me wrong but for now I like Freeman and Thompson next year with some Pender thrown in if he's as good as advertised.

[KeviNole]

Mario Edwards Jr., the #1 recruit in the land, confirms his commitment to FSU. This class, especially the D-line, is fantastic considering it's a small one. In a couple of years, the D-line with Jernigan, Shanks, Edwards, and Fowler (throw in Casher for good measure) could go down as the best in school history.

Oh, and if Eddie Goldman commits to FSU, the whole line will be 5 stars.

[Dr. Nostron]

Havent followed this year but that sounds like good news. Hopefully got lots of OL?

[billy bob bocephus]

as of 1/18/12 per the mullet wrapper:

FSU FOOTBALL


List of 2012 commitments

Cason Beatty, K, 6-3, 215, Olympic, Charlotte, N.C.

Daniel Glauser, OL, 6-6, 320, New Mexico Military Institute, Roswell, N.M.

Mario Pender, RB, 6-0, 185, Island Coast, Cape Coral

Roberto Aguayo, K, 6-0, 183, South Lake, Groveland

Marvin Bracy, WR, 5-10, 162, Boone, Orlando

Chris Casher, DE, 6-4, 225, Davidson, Mobile, Ala

Mario Edwards, DE, 6-4, 275, Ryan. Denton, Texas

Ukeme Eligwe, LB, 6-3, 210, Stone Mountain, Stone Mountain, Ga.

Dante Fowler Jr., DE, 6-3, 232, Lakewood, St. Petersburg

Christo Kourtzidis, TE, 6-4, 230, Lutheran, Orange, Calif.

Sean Maguire, QB, 6-3, 200, Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, N.J.

Justin Shanks, DT, 6-3, 306, Prattville, Prattville, Ala.

Dalvon Stuckey, DT, 6-4, 305, Walton Senior, De Funiak Springs

P.J. Williams, DB, 6-1, 175, Vanguard, Ocala

Jameis Winston, QB, 6-4, 200, Hueytown, Hueytown, Ala.

[billy bob bocephus]

Closing in on another super class

Florida State limited by numbers, but quality should be 'stellar'

12:45 AM, Jan. 18, 2012 |


By Ira Schoffel
Democrat sports editor

FSU FOOTBALL


List of 2012 commitments

Cason Beatty, K, 6-3, 215, Olympic, Charlotte, N.C.

Daniel Glauser, OL, 6-6, 320, New Mexico Military Institute, Roswell, N.M.

Mario Pender, RB, 6-0, 185, Island Coast, Cape Coral

Roberto Aguayo, K, 6-0, 183, South Lake, Groveland

Marvin Bracy, WR, 5-10, 162, Boone, Orlando

Chris Casher, DE, 6-4, 225, Davidson, Mobile, Ala

Mario Edwards, DE, 6-4, 275, Ryan. Denton, Texas

Ukeme Eligwe, LB, 6-3, 210, Stone Mountain, Stone Mountain, Ga.

Dante Fowler Jr., DE, 6-3, 232, Lakewood, St. Petersburg

Christo Kourtzidis, TE, 6-4, 230, Lutheran, Orange, Calif.

Sean Maguire, QB, 6-3, 200, Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, N.J.

Justin Shanks, DT, 6-3, 306, Prattville, Prattville, Ala.

Dalvon Stuckey, DT, 6-4, 305, Walton Senior, De Funiak Springs

P.J. Williams, DB, 6-1, 175, Vanguard, Ocala

Jameis Winston, QB, 6-4, 200, Hueytown, Hueytown, Ala.


The fax machine in Florida State's football offices won't buzz quite as frequently on this particular National Signing Day, but the names on those faxes still are expected to be among the most coveted in the country.

Because FSU had a relatively small class of seniors in 2011, Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher is expected to sign somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 23 prospects this year, as opposed to 29 last February.

That reduction in volume likely will hinder FSU's chances of finishing with one of the nation's highest-rated signing classes, but recruiting analysts say the quality of the Seminoles' crop should be as good as any team in the country.

"They have the potential to have of the best classes in the country, even if they aren't ranked in the top four," 247Sports national recruiting analyst JC Shurburtt said. "It's a stellar group."

With exactly two weeks remaining until signing day, Florida State has 15 verbal commitments while programs like Texas (24), Alabama (27) and Miami (30) have far more. Despite the lower numbers, the Seminoles' class currently is ranked No. 3 by ESPN, No. 7 by Rivals and No. 8 by 247Sports.

If you take volume out of the equation, the Seminoles' group is perhaps the best in the nation. In the Rivals ratings, Florida State and national champion Alabama are the only teams in the country with commitments from three five-star recruits. (The Seminoles' "big three" are defensive linemen Mario Edwards Jr., and Dante Fowler and quarterback Jameis Winston.) Also according to Rivals, FSU's commitments have an average star rating of 3.87, which is currently No. 1 in the nation. And using ESPN's ratings, 11 of the Seminoles' 15 commitments have been graded either four- or five-stars.

"They're not going to have a huge class," said Keith Niebuhr, the southeast recruiting analyst for Rivals. "But they're going to end up with a lot of players that everybody would love to have."

At the top of that list will be Edwards, assuming he sticks with his commitment. The 6-foot-4, 297-pounder, who is the son of a former Florida State defensive back, is rated the No. 1 player overall nationally by ESPN and 247Sports; Rivals.com lists him at No. 3.

Because he hails from Texas and has flirted with the Longhorns, LSU and Oklahoma, there has been speculation that Edwards could back out of the pledge he made to Fisher last March. But after hearing positive feedback about Edwards' official visit to Tallahassee last weekend, the recruiting analysts believe there's a good chance he will become a Seminole.

"All signs are pointing to Florida State," Shurburtt said. "He's the No. 1 prospect in the country, and he's not saying much. But in the end, he's a legacy, and I think he's going to choose Florida State."

"I think Florida State's gonna keep him, but there's enough doubt that it's still a concern," Niebuhr said. "When a player is that talented, and he's that far away, you're always going to feel a little uneasy."

With Edwards and fellow blue-chip prospect Fowler, Florida State could end up with arguably the nation's top defensive line class for the second year in a row.

The Seminoles currently have five commitments on the defensive line, and they are in the mix for Washington, D.C., defensive tackle Eddie Goldman, who is considered by many to be the nation's top defensive tackle. ESPN lists the 6-4, 310-pound Goldman as the nation's second-best player overall, behind only Edwards.

If the Seminoles landed Edwards, Fowler, Goldman and their three four-star defensive line commitments – Chris Casher of Mobile, Ala., Dalvon Stuckey of DeFuniak Springs and Justin Shanks of Prattville, Ala. – they not only would be securing a dynamic class, but they could be paving the way to future championships.

"The last six national champions all came from the SEC, and what did they all have in common?" Niebuhr said. "They had great defensive lines. A lot of coaches will say that you have to build from the inside out, and that's what Florida State is doing on defense."

Said Shurburtt: "Everybody talks about the SEC's speed, and they do have speed. But everybody has skill guys – receivers who can run, defensive backs who can run, even quarterbacks who can run – but the difference between the SEC and everybody else in the country the past six years has been the great athletes on the defensive line. And the depth there is just as important.

"If you want to win a championship, and I know Florida State wants to win a championship, you have to have quality size, talent and depth on the defensive line. This group should add to what they already have."

[KeviNole]

"Lots" of OL? Dunno about that, but consider this: entering last fall we had 5 OL who had seen any college playing time, this year we have 14.

We have two JUCOs, Glauser (who bbb mentioned above) and Menelik Watson, who just committed today. Watson is 6'7, 330, and a physical specimen with supposedly great athleticism. How that will translate...who knows.



I think we might also end up with Josh Harvey-Clemons, the top recruit in GA who has committed to the Dawgs but could end up a Nole.

[KeviNole]

ESPN will be in Tallahassee to cover the Noles on National Signing Day. This helps reinforce my belief that we'll pick up a couple of surprises (maybe Josh Harvey-Clemons, Goldman, Peat is unlikely but would be HUGE). The numbers are crazy - 10 of our 13 recruits (JUCOs and Special Teams not included) are in the Rivals Top 250. Considering how small the class is overall, that is remarkable. In the last few years of Bowden we would end up with several highly ranked recruits that would wash out quickly or never even end up on the team, but based on what we've seen from Fisher so far we seem to be turning this around - most of our highly ranked recruits in the last couple of years have contributed. We'll probably end up with Darby and push that up one.

[Dr. Nostron]

That sounds good to me.

On another note - wtf is up w/ our basketball team ?? I was damn near ready to write this year off - then they demolish UNC and win at Duke.

Almost as impressively, they routed a poor Wake team on the road last nite, you long time nole watchers know this is the type of game we used to lose or play like shit in - could end up being a nice year.

[KeviNole]

Complete shift in offensive philosophy plus some breaks (shots falling, etc.) We're using a 3 guard set and better spacing, which has led to more open shots. Plus we've managed to cut turnovers dramatically. If we can keep it up for a couple more games, I'll be a believer.

[Dr. Nostron]

Yeah we have greatly reduced the unforced, idiotic turnovers that made them so hard to watch - good to see finally.

[billy bob bocephus]

we'll see tomorrow night what a week layoff will do as they face the bees...

[KeviNole]

The Noles ink their first surprise of the day, getting 4* LB Reggie Northrup (previously a Hurricane commitment).

[KeviNole]

Looks like we might lose Dante Fowler to UF. He committed early but has taken about a million trips to Gainesville in the last few months. We have a ton of DL talent coming in so it's not that painful but always sucks to lose out to your rivals.

[KeviNole]

And we may end up with the two fastest recruits in the country. Marvin Bracy is hands-down the fastest, having set the national high school record for 55M and (IIRC) running the fastest 100M in the world so far this year. Ronald Darby at CB is no slouch himself but Bracy is a whole different level. Bracy showed himself to be a good football player in the Under Armour game as well so he's not just a speed guy.

[KeviNole]

I was wrong about Josh Harvey-Clemons, he stayed at home and committed to UGA. Best of luck, seems like a good kid from a good family.

[KeviNole]

To offset (potentially) losing Fowler, FSU picks up Eddie Goldman over Bama and Auburn. He's the #1 DT prospect, and will fit in with the already signed #1 DE (Edwards), the #4 DE (Casher), and the #9 DT (Shanks).

[KeviNole]

Looks like we might end up with Leonard Williams, 4* DE. He was previously considered a long shot but with Fowler's defection, the staff was apparently able to talk him into signing.