QB - DJ Uiagalelei - What I watched is exactly what was expected. There is good, bad and ugly with DJ. The thing that stands out is FSU is going to have more BIG PLAYS this year with DJ at QB. He can stretch the field. He is going to test the deep middle of the field. Watch out for the deep seam routes. FSU is going to be able to utilize the deep sideline routes. They will be able to play outside the numbers.
Where DJ is going to struggle is in the shorter passing game. The screen game will be something that I expect to be inconsistent. For FSU to sustain drives they are going to have to win 1st down. You are going to need to have him gain 3-4 yards. DJ gets behind the sticks there are going to be a ton of short drives. Reality is Jordan Travis is a more accurate QB. I do think FSU will be able to get big plays for touchdowns. His arm strength is what will allow that. I also think you are going to have plenty of short drives where you have to give the ball back quickly. I do think MN will incorporate a ton of run plays to keep FSU in front of the sticks. The final analysis is with DJ there is going to be a ton of good...But there is going to be a ton of bad as well. It will get frustrating at times because Jordan is much steadier. Think the offense will be good but fans need to be patient with DJ.....
RB-As long as MN is the head coach at FSU, I am not going to worry about the run game. He has had success running the football from the moment he stepped on FSU campus. While none of the backs are Trey Benson, it won't matter much. They will be able to pick up 4-5 yards consistently on the ground, keep the chains moving and sustain drives. DJ ability to run will also help the run game. I liked Roydell Williams - He showed great patience on the TD run. He let his blockers do their job and he waited till a big opening was there and pounced. He showed very good vision on the run. I love mr. Toafili. He had a very good run. Reality is his blocking was not very good but he bounced it outside and got into the end-zone.
Lucas....Don't kill me for saying this but he has a little #28 in him. Think he provides some big plays.
WR-Not going to lie....I have some concerns at WR. Malik Benson was the one bright spot. Hopefully Benson is not hurt for long. Love the way he attacked the ball in the air. He has great body control. Very good hands. Runs good routes. He is FSU best WR. The rest of the group needs a ton of work between now and next season. I still have a ton of hope for Hykeem Williams because we have seen him flash. He just needs to become more consistent. Poitier made one good catch and had a bad drop. It would not surprise me to see him hit the portal. If he gets beaten out and FSU needing a spot it would not shock me to see him move on. I liked the one run by Jalen Brown. This group is a major drop off from Wilson and Coleman. There is some potential but right now that is all it is.
TE- Probably the most disappointing group on offense. I have heard a ton about Jackson West this spring. He is solid....Did not see Morlock out there. Courtney may also be on the Transfer Market. The mentioned Landen during the broadcast....Overall the group did not do much and I honestly expect FSU to not run a ton of 2 tight end sets this year. You could have some attrition and honestly it would not surprise me to see FSU try and find another TE In the portal.
OL - On Williams TD run they did a very good job. On Toafili run it was on him. I think the OL will be fine. These guys have some starts and this should be the strength of the team. They did struggle at times with a pass rush. That being said with DJ being in a colored jersey it took away his greatest strength and that is his ability to get you with his legs. I think the line will be very good. Would have liked to have seen Armella, Lucas Simmons and Early have played. I think it is a big year for all three of them.
DL- MJJ- Was real high on him coming out of HS. Did not hear real positive things about him at UGA. He looked good yesterday. He has size, length and ability to get up the field. He is going to have a big season. I could see him having all conference type year. On one play he dropped into coverage and could have had an INT. That showed you his athletic ability. Kid just has talent oozing out of him. Pat will be fine...I do think MJJ has more upside and will have the better season. That being said Pat will benefit with having MJJ on the field with him. I liked what I saw from the interior DL. Add in Jackson and Farmer inside and FSU will be fine up front. The DL will be a strength again.
LB- DJ Lundy - He looked trimmed down and honestly, I liked what I saw from him. This is the best version of Lundy we have seen. He is the best backer on the team. I know Ace Nole is not going to like this but Blake Nichelson is the 2nd best backer on the team. He made a couple of plays behind the line of scrimmage. On another player he stayed with a receiver or back and locked the guy down. Believe he may have also had a pass break up. Lundy and Blake are FSU two best backers. Now Shawn Murphy - I will say this....I am not going to fully judge him off this game....But Wow. On Toafili TD run what was he doing? He needs to stay on his feet. His technique was terrible and he went flying. He is not one of the top 2 backers and honestly needs a ton of work. He runs around blocks. He did not look very instinctive. I can see why he did not get on the field at Bama and it was not because of the talent in front of him. The plus side...Look at what this staff did with Bethune and Deloach. Lundy and Blake have gotten much better...So there is hope for Murphy but he can’t play like yesterday or he won't see the field.
DB- Think the secondary is going to be very good again....AZ Thomas is going to be a very sought after DB in the 2025 draft. He is another Xavier Rhodes. Big, long and athletic. Edwin Joseph....FSU hit on him. Great coverage on Hykeem on one play. He had a pass break up on Darion Williamson. I liked what I saw from Quindarius Jones. I believe Charles Lester made a play. Also think I saw Cai Bates get into the action as well. Overall the size, length and speed of the secondary is quite impressive.
Grades on newcomers from spring game.
QB- Luke Kromenhoek- Did not play INC.
RB-Kam Davis, Roydell Williams, Jaylin Lucas- A+- Davis did not play- Williams and Lucas both looked good.
WR- Malik Benson/Jalen Brown - B+ Benson did what he was brought into do...
TE-Landen Thomas-Inc
OL-Richie Leonard, TJ Ferguson - C+ Neither was great but both should provide both the ability to start and depth if needed.
DL-Marvin Jones, Sione Lolohea, Tomiwa Durohaiye, Grady Kelly - B+ close to saying an A. MJJ exceeding my expectations
LB-Shawn Murphy- D- I can see why they took him...Size and some speed...But he has a ton of work to do this summer and into the fall.
DB-Earl Little, Davonte Brown, Charles Lester - Not sure what grade I would give...LEAVE IT BLANK...Did not see much from Little but heard he did well this spring. Lester will be good.
Final Thoughts: I like the team overall. I am not sure if they are going to be as good as last year’s TEAM. I think the talent and depth will be better across the board but this season comes down to one guy...DJ. He needs to be better than what he has shown so far in college. What we saw at Clemson is what we saw yesterday. INCONSISTENT PLAY at the most important position on the field. I have way more faith in MN developing DJ than Dabo. How he performs will be the difference between winning the ACC and making the playoffs or being a 9-3 team in 2024. There is talent on the roster but the experience of last year’s team is what will be tough to replace. It should be an exciting year.
Where DJ is going to struggle is in the shorter passing game. The screen game will be something that I expect to be inconsistent. For FSU to sustain drives they are going to have to win 1st down. You are going to need to have him gain 3-4 yards. DJ gets behind the sticks there are going to be a ton of short drives. Reality is Jordan Travis is a more accurate QB. I do think FSU will be able to get big plays for touchdowns. His arm strength is what will allow that. I also think you are going to have plenty of short drives where you have to give the ball back quickly. I do think MN will incorporate a ton of run plays to keep FSU in front of the sticks. The final analysis is with DJ there is going to be a ton of good...But there is going to be a ton of bad as well. It will get frustrating at times because Jordan is much steadier. Think the offense will be good but fans need to be patient with DJ.....
RB-As long as MN is the head coach at FSU, I am not going to worry about the run game. He has had success running the football from the moment he stepped on FSU campus. While none of the backs are Trey Benson, it won't matter much. They will be able to pick up 4-5 yards consistently on the ground, keep the chains moving and sustain drives. DJ ability to run will also help the run game. I liked Roydell Williams - He showed great patience on the TD run. He let his blockers do their job and he waited till a big opening was there and pounced. He showed very good vision on the run. I love mr. Toafili. He had a very good run. Reality is his blocking was not very good but he bounced it outside and got into the end-zone.
Lucas....Don't kill me for saying this but he has a little #28 in him. Think he provides some big plays.
WR-Not going to lie....I have some concerns at WR. Malik Benson was the one bright spot. Hopefully Benson is not hurt for long. Love the way he attacked the ball in the air. He has great body control. Very good hands. Runs good routes. He is FSU best WR. The rest of the group needs a ton of work between now and next season. I still have a ton of hope for Hykeem Williams because we have seen him flash. He just needs to become more consistent. Poitier made one good catch and had a bad drop. It would not surprise me to see him hit the portal. If he gets beaten out and FSU needing a spot it would not shock me to see him move on. I liked the one run by Jalen Brown. This group is a major drop off from Wilson and Coleman. There is some potential but right now that is all it is.
TE- Probably the most disappointing group on offense. I have heard a ton about Jackson West this spring. He is solid....Did not see Morlock out there. Courtney may also be on the Transfer Market. The mentioned Landen during the broadcast....Overall the group did not do much and I honestly expect FSU to not run a ton of 2 tight end sets this year. You could have some attrition and honestly it would not surprise me to see FSU try and find another TE In the portal.
OL - On Williams TD run they did a very good job. On Toafili run it was on him. I think the OL will be fine. These guys have some starts and this should be the strength of the team. They did struggle at times with a pass rush. That being said with DJ being in a colored jersey it took away his greatest strength and that is his ability to get you with his legs. I think the line will be very good. Would have liked to have seen Armella, Lucas Simmons and Early have played. I think it is a big year for all three of them.
DL- MJJ- Was real high on him coming out of HS. Did not hear real positive things about him at UGA. He looked good yesterday. He has size, length and ability to get up the field. He is going to have a big season. I could see him having all conference type year. On one play he dropped into coverage and could have had an INT. That showed you his athletic ability. Kid just has talent oozing out of him. Pat will be fine...I do think MJJ has more upside and will have the better season. That being said Pat will benefit with having MJJ on the field with him. I liked what I saw from the interior DL. Add in Jackson and Farmer inside and FSU will be fine up front. The DL will be a strength again.
LB- DJ Lundy - He looked trimmed down and honestly, I liked what I saw from him. This is the best version of Lundy we have seen. He is the best backer on the team. I know Ace Nole is not going to like this but Blake Nichelson is the 2nd best backer on the team. He made a couple of plays behind the line of scrimmage. On another player he stayed with a receiver or back and locked the guy down. Believe he may have also had a pass break up. Lundy and Blake are FSU two best backers. Now Shawn Murphy - I will say this....I am not going to fully judge him off this game....But Wow. On Toafili TD run what was he doing? He needs to stay on his feet. His technique was terrible and he went flying. He is not one of the top 2 backers and honestly needs a ton of work. He runs around blocks. He did not look very instinctive. I can see why he did not get on the field at Bama and it was not because of the talent in front of him. The plus side...Look at what this staff did with Bethune and Deloach. Lundy and Blake have gotten much better...So there is hope for Murphy but he can’t play like yesterday or he won't see the field.
DB- Think the secondary is going to be very good again....AZ Thomas is going to be a very sought after DB in the 2025 draft. He is another Xavier Rhodes. Big, long and athletic. Edwin Joseph....FSU hit on him. Great coverage on Hykeem on one play. He had a pass break up on Darion Williamson. I liked what I saw from Quindarius Jones. I believe Charles Lester made a play. Also think I saw Cai Bates get into the action as well. Overall the size, length and speed of the secondary is quite impressive.
Grades on newcomers from spring game.
QB- Luke Kromenhoek- Did not play INC.
RB-Kam Davis, Roydell Williams, Jaylin Lucas- A+- Davis did not play- Williams and Lucas both looked good.
WR- Malik Benson/Jalen Brown - B+ Benson did what he was brought into do...
TE-Landen Thomas-Inc
OL-Richie Leonard, TJ Ferguson - C+ Neither was great but both should provide both the ability to start and depth if needed.
DL-Marvin Jones, Sione Lolohea, Tomiwa Durohaiye, Grady Kelly - B+ close to saying an A. MJJ exceeding my expectations
LB-Shawn Murphy- D- I can see why they took him...Size and some speed...But he has a ton of work to do this summer and into the fall.
DB-Earl Little, Davonte Brown, Charles Lester - Not sure what grade I would give...LEAVE IT BLANK...Did not see much from Little but heard he did well this spring. Lester will be good.
Final Thoughts: I like the team overall. I am not sure if they are going to be as good as last year’s TEAM. I think the talent and depth will be better across the board but this season comes down to one guy...DJ. He needs to be better than what he has shown so far in college. What we saw at Clemson is what we saw yesterday. INCONSISTENT PLAY at the most important position on the field. I have way more faith in MN developing DJ than Dabo. How he performs will be the difference between winning the ACC and making the playoffs or being a 9-3 team in 2024. There is talent on the roster but the experience of last year’s team is what will be tough to replace. It should be an exciting year.
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