ACC Preview: Florida State Seminoles
July 21st, 2008 by Matthew Melton
It’s breakout time. No, I’m not guaranteeing the ‘Noles will be back in the ACC Championship Game, but quarterback Drew Weatherford should post his best numbers since his freshman year (3,208 yards and 18 touchdowns). With 3 years of sporadic starting experience, another year under offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, the return of his two best receivers (Greg Carr and Preston Parker), and no competition from Xavier Lee, look for Weatherford to be one of the ACC’s best quarterbacks. Aside from Weatherford though, it may best to stay away from Florida State’s other position players.
Running back Antone Smith rushed for over 800 yards last season, but totaled only 3 touchdowns. Amazingly, the ‘Noles have not had a running back top 1,000 yards since Warrick Dunn in 1996. Also, since 2000, no running back has scored more than 8 touchdowns on the ground. Smith should again finish in the 800-1,000 yard range, but won’t score enough touchdowns to merit a high draft spot.
Carr and Parker could be decent plays at wide receiver, but expecting a 1,000 yard season from either is foolhardy. The past 4 seasons, Florida State’s leading receivers have totaled between 666 and 795 yards. Expect more of the same this season. Weatherford will have a good season, but his passes will likely be evenly split between Carr and Parker. Parker did average over 10 yards per punt return without a touchdown, so it’s likely he brings one to the house this season.
Defensively, the ‘Noles should be solid if unspectacular. However, they did return 5 interceptions for touchdowns last season, a number that is very likely to drop in 2008.
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