Seminole Sidelines: FSU depth chart heading into the Georgia Tech game, Camp Takeaway's, '24 outlook

n [Music] [Music] [Music] hello and welcome to another edition of the aola seminal Sidelines my name is Pat Burnham I am joined by editor Bob fante and two very special guests who will be joining us uh on a regular basis during the season former FSU offensive lineman and college football coach Mark Salva and FSU Alum and Tampa radio sports radio host uh JP Peterson and guys uh I'm glad that you guys are here we're glad you know we're happy to know that you guys are probably going to join us or are going to try to join us every Tuesday at 3:00 during the season Mark and JP and we're going to break down what we've seen from Florida State uh the previous week give JP and Mark a chance to share with us what they think and then obviously uh we're also going to piggyback that on top of a uh takeaways article I do every Tuesday called takeaway Tuesday uh but guys we are finally here it is game can't wait JP is getting ready JP tell everybody what are you getting ready to do I'm getting ready to take off for uh Dublin I'm going to Dublin Ireland uh we're going to be doing my show live Thursday and Friday Thursday we're going to be at the William Floyd bar nun Foundation event at Fitz Simmons in Temple Bar so if you're in Dublin come on over to Fitz Simmons in Temple Bar I think it's 50 bucks for the private party going to have food and drinks and then uh whatever else you want to drink but we'll be having lots of semal there I'll be doing a show live there on Thursday and then Friday we're uh TB looking for a a watering hole somewhere in Temple Bar to do it we we'll see where everybody's Gathering they got an event like at at the racetrack so I didn't want to head out there um so we'll be we'll be doing it from some some drunken pub in Ireland where there'll be hundreds of seminol so just looking forward to it maybe I can get Kirk herb Street to stop by you think good good luck with that I would like to see that conversation bit of Rotten Tomatoes near you hey maybe you get fine bom to stop by if you do God how good would that be I want to get if you get him I I don't know how they get his ears in the frame man I just do not know how that even works from a television standpoint it's so weird yeah well like I said we talk obviously if you JP and I referring into a conversation we had yesterday on his show uh Paul fine mom has come out and said some very negative things about far's crying about the post postseason band Trail of Tears yeah I mean so anyway as I was telling JP yesterday there's literally nobody in college football or covers college football whose opinion I respect less than Paul Fine M so I mean he may listen they they need to send him back to Bingham put him in a radio station and let him do the SEC thing uh his views on College fo he is trying to get clickbait and he does he's he tries to be a shock jock but anyway that's where that conversation came from but Mark uh we haven't seen you since last season I think uh well we didn't do anything after the Georgia game last year there was no First Impressions so we haven't we have not seen you since the post Florida game last year Georgia game what is going or actually yeah we saw you after the ACC Championship game I believe so anyway it's been since December since we've seen you on Sidelines Mark what's been going on uh I know you're getting ready to do the same thing and had to uh Dublin as well yeah I leave uh tomorrow I'll get there Thursday uh my wife Julie and I we're going to we have you know B obviously bunch of friends and stuff there we're going to we're going to hang with some folks and uh Friday and Saturday is nothing but null football so I'm definitely looking forward to that um looking forward to see the unveiling of this team and what the year is going to bring us I'm I'm jacked early in yeah and listen it was we got even more jacked on Sunday when Mike norell released the depth chart for Florida State and uh you know we got to see uh what he thinks of this Personnel by where they are in this depth chart uh it was uh there were some surprises there were some things that were pretty much chalk what we thought they would what they thought that thought they would be and of course you know we'll start with the offensive side of the ball guys uh you know we this is considered the bridge year for Florida State they have brought in DJ you uh I'm not gonna try to pronounce the last name that's why there you go and obviously he was named the starter was everybody expected um listen no surprise there um you know that's why they brought in here to get Brock and Luke or Luke ready for next year uh listen Bob I'll ask you because I put in my takeaways article that I was S I did not I I was hoping I would see more separation between DJ and Brock or Luke and or Luke and uh I've got some questions about the quarterback position going in I think FL State could be good just because you say i' got questions is not NE necessarily negative uh uh just what were your thoughts on the quarterback battle as you saw it play out and really wasn't much of a battle but uh did you expect to see more separation between those two guys yeah I think we all expected dju to be more of a plug-and playay type of quarterback but throughout his career I mean he tried to plug in at Oregon State and I think he did well as far as stretching the field but there were also too many interceptions in a lot of his games over there like he had two picks against Washington in a 2220 game where you think Oregon State could have been in position to pull off that upset if he takes care of the ball a little bit better I I would call the passing game erratic at best for most of Camp I thought it was very up and down but it got better in the last week or so if you're if you're trying to find positives among among the macro we kind of live in a a Micro World throughout Camp you take each Camp day and look at it micro but the macro the last week or so was much better was it polished did it look incredible were there no drops no it wasn't that but it was better so I think from that standpoint yes it looked good is Brock Glenn a guy for the future we talked about DJ you've been the bridge guy all along since New Year's Day DJ is the bridge guy but I think Brock is a guy who's got a ton of talent really gifted passer can scramble we've made the Casey Welden comparison there's a lot there in terms of what Brock can bring we want to see a ro map for how Brock gets on the field this this season too right yeah and I I want to ask JP because he played quarterback JP I you know I've made the argument that what he has the mean that he has his playing time in this season if they want to get in Fr for next season has to come in meaningful reps right it can't come just in two blowout games at the end of the season whether it's Charleston Southern or Cal it just can't come in those two games to get him ready for next year they don't practice the way nor teams did when you and I played there's not really live football except for the scrimmages uh I think they've got to get I think they've got to get him in when it counts well um Mark you'll remember and Bob you probably remember as well all you guys that there was a time when when Bobby used to you know bring in a that second string quarterback because it was always a close battle whether it be Casey and Brad or Peter Tom or any of those back in that day and um uh that they they would want to get that next guy ready and they'd come in in the second quarter there'd be a special package for him and they'd get some meaningful reps and I think that's a absolutely what they should be doing with Brock I don't think many teams do that anymore more it's probably a little bit more radical um but I you know I think the coaches got to feel this out and get him some meaningful reps I would I would agree with you 100% And I think we saw at least I saw flash enough I I'm not at practice and you guys have a much better perspective of that what I saw in the game there's you know there's a lot to work with and he Brock is a talented young player but I would love to see him get some meaningful snaps absolutely yeah and listen I don't want to I'm not we're g not sit here this is not we're not doing it in the Clemson game but you know for Miami well and as as um Bob said sometimes we have a tendency to be hypercritical because we haven't seen what we see is practice we don't see scrimmages when they're playing live tackle football and listen talking about Brock's not you listen D we've seen DJ's got the ability to push the ball downfield he's got the ability to be a Difference Maker in the quarterback run game particularly quarterback power quarterback draws those type of things uh he is going to be able to push the ball down field uh and I think that might norell will figure out a way to be successful with him uh and work so you know to a certain extent we'll get into the receivers in a second certain extent around there but you know they you know the defense dominated most of Camp uh and Bob will agree to that we saw some days where the offense just could not do anything uh and you know to me the lazy narrative is well the defense is so good the offense wasn't going to do anything to begin with well last year we saw an offense that was pretty pretty good supposed to be pretty good going into the season against a defense that was pretty good going into the season and that offense had had some days R dominated that defense so uh and this is not all about the defense this is not all about the receivers some of the struggles that FSU has had in offense this year has been because of the inconsistency at quarterback or lack of uh you know efficiency I guess but uh Mark what are your thoughts on that I mean uh you've you you went against a lot of good defenses a lot of good offenses when you played here uh if you're if you know and my argument would be if fsu's offense is so good up front shouldn't they find some wins and maybe they did in scrimmage as we didn't get to see them yeah so thing you got to remember about Brock too you know the picture we have of him is is those games last year he was hurt a lot uh in the middle of the year and when he finally ended up playing he I mean he was a rookie true rookie in every sense of the word so that that snapshot that we have as fans and and observers of the program you know we see we see those last couple games against Louisville and Florida and uh the other game um you know he he he was thrusted into an impossible situation so I got to Discount that and just trust your guys' eyes what you've seen all all year and that he's made progress and you know with DJ you got a guy that has a ton of experience now you know watching him when he was at Clemson and a little bit when he was at Oregon State I think he is what he is right I think I don't doesn't sound like you know he's going to miraculously all of a sudden be this guy who's going to see things you know read things really quick uh beat Super Duper accurate um he probably has improved in that stuff over the course of several years but he is what he is and and look I trust Mike enough to know how to handle that and and the thing I think in terms of the total offense to your point about going against a good defense defense is a little bit ahead but you know last year's team was really two years in the making if you think about it right I mean it was it was it was we watched Jordan Travis and that offense grow over the course of two years and now we're starting again and we're going to see the snap shot on Saturday what this offense looks like but I like the pieces around it in it and we're going to see it whatever it is on Saturday I have great confidence it's going to grow and get better through the course of the year because that's is the track record of a Mike Norvell coach team yeah so I I'm encouraged as far as that part of it goes knowing that you know this is under the stewardship of of really an elite offensive coach well yeah listen we talked a little bit about yesterday I think that that one of the biggest differen between this year's offense and last year's offense well there's two uh I think this year last year's offense knew exactly who it was going into the season I think this year's offense is going to find its identity as it goes through the season right and this year's offense is going to go through the offensive line where last year's offense went through the skill position players Jordan Travis Keon Coleman uh Johnny Wilson Jem Bell Trey Benson so I think that so I do think and listen uh when you bring in a new quarterback that has not been you know JT was in the system for three years when he entered that fall Camp last year you know DJ U's only been in Mike system for a year I do think it's I do think as I put article it's the bridge is under construction right it hadn't been totally finished yet uh you know there's work there's work to be done and progress to be made uh and uh you know listen the we hear all the time it's about the standard right it's about the standard well the standard was set last year all we're doing is comparing each position group to the standard that was set last year uh and that's the that's that that is The Benchmark right now and so when we have these discussions and listen you don't want to be overly critical but you got to be honest about what what you see in our our comparison is what we saw from fsu's offense last year right so uh Bry was just not meant to be a negative discussion it's meant to be an analysis of what we've seen uh nobody said sat here and said that Florida State's going to be bad on offense right what I'll say is for my my my reading of the tea leaves here is to me this offense is going to be as good as the receivers allow it to be now that's not saying we're everything's depending on these receivers I I think and it's one thing I learned from from Brady when he was here is that a football season is is is a Evolution and it's all about getting better each and every week breaking down that tape see where you're deficient making the adjustments and players getting better and and you know first game I don't I don't expect the wide receivers to to be great but I gotta get they've got to get better each and every week in the and that will determine how wide open this offense could be listen I think the running game this offensive line can beat uh a lot of teams now the great teams you got to be more balanced right you've got to be able to use the entire field against a really good defensive football team so I want to see these receivers start to grow each and every week and them might getting more and more uh comfortable with with putting more on them and and I think that's going to be the the determining Factor on how good this this offense can be and and and these players need they're not going to be great week one but they'll get used to catching the ball and the crowd hopefully that's where the greatness shows in receivers everybody can catch a wide open ball well we hope I've seen some of the your reports but hopefully they'll learn to catch the ball in traffic as they go along and that's and that's where I think the the kind of the hit and miss of this offense will be well I think there's one aspect that we don't talk about and that is in Jordan Travis who his risen to one of my favorite alltime seminal and I think feel that way is the leadership that the leadership void that is gone of the ball especially with the absence of of Jordan Travis you know I know a lot of people were were saying you know how U how good it was that DJ didn't go to ACC media days and you know that other people maybe deserve to go and and and I think yeah that was nice thing but also in the back of my mind I'm thinking I I sure would like that guy to say I'm taking this team and putting him on my back and I'm GNA lead you know um so to me there's you know who where's that leadership on that side of the ball going to come from um there's you know Darius Washington for sure you know so that offensive line those senior offensive linemen um you know are going to have to take that take that mantle and and drop you know through their will and their their their um refusal to get beat really take hold of this offense because that came from Jordan Travis last year and it was infectious and it really permeated through the whole team and that that's a huge vacuum and that's a rare thing um so how do we make up for that well yeah and listen uh you know go back to what JP was saying about the receivers needing some time to develop and you know we we all agree with that and I think we listen Mike's big on in season development I think everybody's big on in season development really I mean we just hear Mike talk about it more than we hear some coaches talk about it but uh one of the reasons they're going to have a chance as you mentioned uh the offensive line and uh the running back room uh now the running back room is an embarrassment of riches so we really think that we're going to see a a ton of guys get a ton of carries uh roell Williams and L toil is named as the starters are really co-starters because there's uh they're listed in two different running back slots but they'll be in the the two running backs they'll be in the same in the game at the same time and obviously they'll be rotating in an 11 personnel uh and you know we talked about it yesterday we'll see Lawrence in the in the slot a lot he's got some of the best hands on the team uh there are some there are some people that are surprised he was not mov just slot receiver more often we Bob and I have talked about that a lot and we'd like to see that but uh listen and then but you got we've seen it you know then you got your uh Jaylen Lucas who I think is going to have a chance to be a deuce vau type player for Florida State if you remember du Swan from Kansas State a couple years ago had a big year for the uh U Kansas State and end up being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys you he has been really fun to watch uh he's easy to cheer for he's one of the smallest guys you're going to see in college football this year year one of the fastest guys you're going to see in college football this year and uh he's he's a tough little guy he'll run through the middle but He's listed as 5'9 I'm gonna I'll give him 5 S but listen he's been he's been a highlight film in practice and I think you know how Mike's going to use him and Lawrence uh to probably help out that wide receiver core you know I think you got to almost call them co- wide receivers to some extent because we've seen both of them uh flanked outside as Mike likes to do uh you know motion them out to the that those kind of things and then kazah Hol Sam Singleton and Cam Davis have all flashed at times Bob how how do they find enough carries for all these guys I I went through the history of Mike Norvell how he's used running backs I mean really the answer is you have a three-man running back by committee a fourth guy is going to get some touches there's going to be injuries other factors there then you have to look to special teams how can you get a guy in a return capability we know Jaylen Lucas is going to get some opportunities there whether it's punt or kick return I want to see Jaylen Lucas touch the ball a 100 times by the end of the Florida game and figure it out however it's broken down rushing receiving returning that guy's got to touch the ball I mean period he's he's a game changer the rest of it I'll be very curious like can Cam Davis be a pass protector and get playing time early Makai Dani with that speed what does it look like uh there were days where Sam Singleton looked like a completely different guy from last year there were days where kaziah Holmes looked phenomenal it not everybody's gonna be happy that's going to be the bottom line of it but you got some great options yeah I want to go back and answer bry's question because I I I want him to understand what I'm saying uh he says that uh it's negative because I said dju has not separated himself as much as from well I don't think that's negative I don't uh I mean you can look at that two ways yeah uh you know listen uh is it if it's if Brock is I mean if uh DJ used the definitive starter uh by any matter of degree and Brock is closer to him than I expected uh that's probably a good thing for Florida State if something happens to D dju or Mike tries to get uh brought more playing time but when you bring in a uh I guess what I'm trying to say is I thought because they chose to bring dju in instead of letting Brock and Luke compete for the job or bringing in a veteran to be a backup to Brock I thought there would be more separation now that's not negative that's that's analysis uh I can sit on here and say they're gonna go 16 and0 win the national championship if you want me to but that's that's that's selling and that's not analysis so anyway uh it wasn't meant to be negative it was meant to be what it was it was uh meant to be explained what we saw during Camp uh uh constru it's constructive criticism let's just be honest yeah it's the same thing the coaches are doing when they watch these guys on and practice and in film uh you can there's a lot of guys that'll wave the Palm poms for you if that's what you want them to do they're all over the place is JP and I we're talking about not interested in that no no we want analysis yeah yeah all right so let's let's talk about the receivers and uh listen uh we we've talked about the fact that they need to have inseason development uh you know listen Keon when you lose Keon Coleman uh Johnny Wilson Jim Bell who was more of a wide receiver than a tight end uh and then Trey Benson who was your fifth leading receiver on the team if if my memory serves me right so you've lost I think four of your top six or four of your top five receivers from last year um listen we've seen flashes right Bob we've seen we've had days were walked out of there and go wow how did Malik Benson not play at more at Alabama uh wow uh Kon KRON porer looks like he's turning the corner hem continued to have some strong practices early uh like he did you know finished the season was flashes uh you know I think we probably wanted to see uh jaai had kind of up and down camp but he finished Camp strong we heard Mike talk about that you know Douce is kind of an enigma we'd like to see more consistency out of him uh he's freakishly tall got great speed and just needs to be more consistent and then listen we saw Elijah Moore uh at times did not look like a true freshman early in Camp I think he kind of got some Camp legs as Camp got deeper uh but I think we see you know and we saw we saw Dar and Williamson have a good really good practice one day we just have not we did I in my opinion Bob we just didn't see enough guys stack backtack days as they like to say uh but just what are your overall thoughts uh and we've said we you know we think they'll develop but what are your thoughts on the depth chart at wide receiver as we enter the enter the season yeah we've often used the term Dependable who's Dependable going into the season and I think after Malik Benson you start to say well there are pass catchers who are Dependable but they're not wide receiver by job title so you start thinking about toofy Morlock uh Jaylen Lucas and not necessarily going through the list of receivers so that's where I don't get kind of too freaked out from a passing game standpoint because there are guys who can catch the ball it's just getting that Darion Williamson has stacked some good days I thought KRON had a really good last week to 10 days in particular as another example they have candidates it's getting them to be consistently Dependable I wasn't surprised by the depth chart I think maybe Jaylen Brown didn't have the very best Camp from start to finish but some of his better days some of his better reps look really really good that feels like a guy who they are I think pushing pretty hard to be in the mix and let's be honest Mike Norvell coaches the receivers hard in practices I mean he is on everybody's butts and he wants him to be better your darn right Elijah Moore is going to be fantastic it may not look like it this year uh lne McCoy his footwork it's gonna be good I think if you're buying stock early and some of the guys that we've seen through like lne in Camp Elijah in Camp those are some early guys so again it's candidates it's just give me that kind of Dependable I can expect it from you consistently yeah yeah I think one of the things to you got to consider about wide receivers the job description is not just catching the football and running routes right you talking about the total bagage blocking you know we we're going to probably run a lot of screens and a lot of bubble bubble uh bubble pass to The Backs to Jan and Lucas and what not we talked about those guys got to be able to block too those guys got to hustle and compete I think it you know when you look at this depth chart I think maybe what it reflects is you're looking at guys who all things being equal who are the guys who compete who are the guys who who who and you guys tell me you know you guys have been in practice and seen these guys you know I I look at a guy like Jen Grant I'm thinking that must be a guy who must compete even though he may not catch everything he's gonna he's going to go compete um to me if you do that you got a chance because like I said the job description is more than just catching the ball running around well the one thing I you know I will say this the one thing I've noticed about Malik Benson uh number one he seems like a great kid like he'll walk by and daff you up as he's going from drill to drill uh but what what you do see with Malik is he is constantly talking to the other receivers about routes about breaks I mean you see him walking from one from the indoor to the outdoor when they're switching periods and uh he's got he's got the ability to take the top off of Defense I think we I think we all know that uh and listen everybody's I think sometimes we overreact to the fact that he uh he didn't play much at Alabama listen there's a lot of guys that didn't play much at Alabama last year they're pretty damn good they got a they got probably got the arguably one of the top three rosters in all of college football at least did last year uh so uh there are a lot of guys didn't play there last year that's why a lot of them left and they got opportunities any other places but uh listen and we did see we know jakai is a playmaker we saw enough of that uh in the pit game last year where he really took over that game there wasn't a whole lot of offense that day on the either side of the ball besides jakai and uh we've seen him we've seen him make some acrobatic catches uh you can line them up in a lot of different spots uh and I listen I do think this is a group that's going to grow uh as the season goes on and uh you know and listen we know that if the running game successful uh which it should be there's it's going to open up opportunities in the pass game and kind of give this passing offense time to grow for lack of a better term now I can tell you who the safety I tell you who DJ's favorite guy is and Brock Glenn's favorite guy is and Luke croman Hawk's favorite guy is it's number 84 it's Kyle borlock that guy is in line for a big year uh Bob based off what we've seen in practice he is going to get his catches from last year and probably Jem's catches from last year I like I I'm thinking that if I had to if you gave me uh if we had to bet on who the leading receiver is going to be for Florida State this year I think it's gonna be Kyle Morlock dang okay wow okay that's that's that's bold I might go jayen Lucas over Morlock but I I will say this for a guy who from blairesville Georgia who was almost nonrecruited as a high school wide receiver gets developed at a D2 school as a tight end and then lands at Florida State over Tennessee this is a really cool story for a guy who could be a big piece of an offense um you know Pat we've talked about we love this concept of the multi-year transfer yeah the stash and develop type of transfer it's not just the plug-and play uh kind of Mike Norvell is known for grabbing a transfer and just plugging him in it's not Talent Development Kyle Morlock is talent development by this staff and I think they should earn some credit for pushing him into being a better route Runner into being a better blocker if he can be that allaround guy that's a big thing I don't know how I feel about him yet in in in the blocking part of the game not being able to see the scrimmages enough I want to see is he farther ahead than last year but if he is that's a big if I think that's a huge win for flate that they've got Kyle ready for that expanded role yeah and of course the big question at that at the tight end position is who's behind him right I mean so we saw Brian Courtney and or Jackson West listed as the backup uh listen uh they got Courtney listed at 240 I hope he is I hope he is uh he has looked better uh you know listen Jackson uh you know the thing that surpris I think Jackson West could surprise some people as a pass catcher this year you know he came out of high school listed as a tight end but he hard ever lined up as a unit tight endend he was always the slaughter the outside receiver now he's the biggest tight end I think he's about 250 uh they got LED at 235 there's no way that's I don't think that's correct uh but uh anyway he looks bigger than that to me uh but I will say this uh you know we've noticed that Brian Courtney is get has gotten better I think he's still somewhat limited because of his size as a blocker I I would say he's probably more 225 than 240 uh but uh Bob were you surprised the guy that we thought we might see on this tight in depth chart uh because he never drops a pass is Amari Williams now I think I understand why he's a early he came out of high school a year early I don't think anybody any of us expected to see what we saw out of U Omari in Camp this year were you surprised that he was not listed as a part of the tight end depth chart I wonder if this is a decision to kind of cautiously watch his progression and and understand that he's not a tight end by what he did in high school he was a a flexed out receiver a four-star defensive end who was reclassified and is in college a year early what will happen when the lights come on at Aviva Stadium or do Campbell Stadium because his first scrimmage wasn't good by Mike norvell's um estimation but he said the next day that next Monday that first practice back it was much much better Amari understood what he had done wrong the corrections to some extent have been learned and understood I think there's a role forari how fast is it I don't think you're gonna red shirt this guy I think he's gonna play more than four games my question is does it does it come around week five or week six when do we start to see more from a guy like Amari yeah listen I think part of that uh I think part of the and I wasn't there but just having been a freshman in college remember what it was like to go through my first scrimmage against a full grown man as opposed to another high school kid uh it can be somewhat shocking to the system uh and I'm sure that was the physicality was a little bit different than a lot of those freshmen thought when especially get kids that were not here in the spring uh I think that can be a shock to your system uh you realize how big and how strong these other guys are when it's you know strange strain yourself on 11 on1 tackle football right so I think that's part of it but listen the kids got great hands I think there's an interesting fight coming next spring to see what side of the ball he 's up on because he could obviously be a need to rush yeah yeah so uh but listen way to go I had no idea that he was gonna be anywhere near as good as he is as a true freshman at tight end he listen I think you could uh he would I think it's safe to Bob would you say that from what we saw during practice he is one of the mo more consistent pass catchers on Florida State's roster going into the season absolutely and honestly doesn't wear gloves catches the ball cleanly without gloves it it's really he's got natural skills dad played in the NFL all that good stuff but works hard it's a natural pass catching look P before I uh take my three-hour lead for the TSA line in Orlando Airport uh I just want to say I'm very confident that Mike norell is gonna have this team ready to play we've seen it the last two years in big openers against LSU they've played really really good great football they played great football and they were ultimately prepared for those games which is not something that many teams can say um and I'm I'm confident that Mike Norvell will have this this this transfer portal class to the level of every other one because he knows how to get teams ready so I I think it's going to be a fun game to watch um am I a little nervous sure I'm but the nerves will go away with those four Guinness before the game the player will have something else to use I don't know if there's an over under a four I'm taking the over on that JP that is it's going to be night game that's true um so for us in Dublin so I'm I'm I'm very confident he'll have him ready to play and uh I can't wait to see how this team evolves through the season because I think it's going to be so much better you know in in week Florida than it will be in week one I think it's gonna be pretty damn good in week one so I'm excited can't wait yep it'll be a fun season JP and we will see you next Tuesday uh to get your thoughts on post Georgia Tech so we'll see you then y somewhat not hung over yeah yeah well yeah got a long enjoy that enjoy that see you man I'll see you see you in Dublin Mark see you there see you yep and Henry uh we listen we we've said Courtney has looked better than he ever has before and uh listen just got to see more of Jackson West would be the best way I could put it uh you know as we go but uh obviously uh you know he finished year last year strong he had a great block against Florida that everybody remembers and we'll see how that goes hopefully that hopefully that is right all right uh so Mark let's get to your favorite position on the on the field now and the strength of fsu's off we are we done with inter murals now yes we are done with inter murals now we're moving on to the big boys uh we got a uh listen uh this could should a lot of people uh me included think this has a chance to be the best FSU offensive line we have seen an goly Bob pre tager since 2013 14 right yeah I mean it's been a long time I mean and uh listen I I you know I remember when Mike came out and said that uh you know D he thought Darius Washington might compete for All American honors and I'm like well we got some preseason talk going on and then we get to camp and I love Darius I mean listen he's he's a hard guy not to cheer for he's been a great teammate a great role model for the other offensive linemen uh boy was Mike right I mean you look you watch him practice and uh I put in that my takeaways that uh you know he's found his post at left tackle hopefully they will not have to move him anywhere uh this season hopefully they'll they're deep enough across the other four positions that he can stay right there uh but uh he looks to be uh in it looks like he's gonna have his best season as a Flor State offensive Leman Bob what do you think about uh him going into the year yeah so I I think I was there when Mike norell started the Darius Washington kind of all America pitch and he was over in Amelia Island he said it later I think over in Jacksonville to the booster club there and well when he's doubling down when he's when a head coach is messaging in that way I think it really sends um sends quite the the message to the fans that that he has seen the work that a guy like Darius has done um I should say Kurt wer has done a really nice story we just published on the Oola just about guys like Darius marce Smith Rob scottt they bought in early to the entire process of development sticking with Coach norell sticking with Coach Atkins um not wavering in in what was going on here and sticking it through a lot of the losses so these are cool developmental success stories again that I don't think Mike Norvell and Alex Atkins get a lot of credit for because again the Viewpoint is you bring in a transfer and you plug in somebody a lot of guys that they have developed day in and day out to be in this position for these guys as red shirt seniors yeah and then his backup I talk about another developmental guy Lucas Simmons you know uh I think you could see some sliding going around if you had to move Darius Lucas is listed as a second team offensive tackle at left tackle and listen he is Leaps and Bounds ahead of where he was last year Bob I don't know how much the one on- ones and things of that you we're at two different locations during practice but uh uh this kid uh you know if you're a Florida State fan you got to like who may be the air parent to darus Wasington left tackle next year he is 68 308 pounds uh extremely long arms and when he establishes inside hands with those long arms you are not getting around him I've been very impressed with Lucas's uh development uh you know I think I think he'll be a guy that they'll try to get some reps in games that are taken care of uh I do think that possibly a Robert Scott could be the primary backup or or Jaylen early or we'll talk about Chris Auto a lot this year uh but certainly you feel good about where you are at left tackle between Darius Lucas Simmons and Robert Scott and Chris Auto and some other guys uh left guard I didn't know what to think when they brought in Richie Leonard from Florida um you know I looked at his PFF numbers uh you know he's much those numbers were much better against the uh again Run game versus the past game but uh he's been better than I thought Bob uh he is a tough guy a merer it looks like he has established himself as a starting left guard and uh I think that you know it'd be tough for somebody to outplay him from what we've seen uh but uh listen played a lot of football at Florida um and has really been uh I thought he had an impressive Camp yeah I I didn't expect Richie to be that good especially in the Run game but but you're right I think that's his true strength um when we watch him also in those one-on ones as he's trying to you know maybe backpedal and keep a defense tackle in front that that's a tough tough ask when it's darl Jackson or Josh farmer so he's seeing the best of the AC in these practices I want to see what he looks like against you know not to knock the competition I want to just see what he looks like against the rest of the conference in games but yeah I I think Richie's considerably ahead of Bryson SDS uh not in a negative way against Bryson it's just Richie is a is a good find out of the portal yeah and Bryson I believe was somewhat limited early in Camp and he but he did finish Camp strong and uh listen you know it's uh it's good that you you got a guy that's you need to count on as a backup finish this Camp off start better than he started and of course uh listen uh I think they've been trying to replace this guy for four years and nobody's figured out a way to do it Maurice Smith is back at Center his red shirt senior year and uh he is going to be backed up by either Andre utto and you're G to hear a lot of backed up by Andre Otto uh right now because I think he could end up anywhere on the right side as a backup but uh he's backed up by Andre uto utto and Jacob Rizzy and they are ored on the depth chart so it could be Otto or Rizzy uh but uh you know listen Mark I know you have a lot of respect for Maurice and from what we've seen in Camp um you know you would not be disappointed uh and I do want to ask you this you know obviously Florida State's going to be without their offensive line coach Alex Atkins uh on for the first three games of the year on game day they'll he'll be allowed to be at practice and at meetings and even with the team on the road uh in Ireland but uh how important is it having uh Darius Washington and Maurice Smith anchor this offensive line when particularly when you're going to be without your primary offensive line coach now Gabe uh and I is it farita I think it's farita it's F but I'm not is the uh senior analyst for offense and he's you know he's going to be the guy that's going to pick up the slack for Alex but important is it to have uh you know Darius and Maurice with Alex being there on in Dublin on the sidelines anyway yeah I mean to have that experience um however many hundreds of snaps those those guys have for this team in this system um there it it is a measure of security that you feel going in without having you know the offensive line coach there I mean so what what function does Alex Zak can serve on game day well obviously he's the he the offens coordinator so but he's getting information from probably gab Gabe I'm sure Alex is watching his you know from his perspective on the field and he I imagine Gabe was probably upstairs and you know getting that information and relaying it to the guys and you know when when when when the offens of line comes off the field the first thing you always ask is tell me what you saw and then able to marry that up with what information you're getting from upstairs right y um and so you know that that the mechanics of that probably is not going to change a whole lot as long as the eyes that are that that are watching uh you can trust them and it sounds like they can trust them right and so do couple that with the experience that these guys have about being able to make adjustments being be able to make adjustments in real time on the field without even coming to the sideline right is huge and um yeah you know and and back to my original Point early in the in the in the in the podcast about where's the leadership going to come from it's this group it's those Guys these guys are the these guys are the core of the team and it kind of reminds me of like that 87 team that I was on when we had a bunch of senior offensive lineman was the core of the team and and you know had a lot of success you can do that with offensive linemen as big personalities and as as as being the core of the team and I I do feel very good about that I love Darius I love Maurice you know Rob Scott being there you know and even KJ and Jeremiah have been there a whole year um you know and with the amount of snaps that they've gotten um that that's really good experience in this day and time especially so yeah you got to feel good about even though Alex is not going to be there um about that the mechanics of that and also um you know the experience that they bring yeah and I I do think it's going to be interesting to see who would go in if Maurice were to get need to get spelled for whatever reason because we've seen Richie Leonard take snaps at Center this Camp we've seen andreato Jacob among others but uh yeah I think that's going to be interesting on the right side of the line you got Keandre Jones R TJ Ferguson at Right Guard uh I think it's Keandre all the way Bob I don't know what you think uh and I think that uh I think that both of them better keep ey on number 65 because he's coming and that's andreato but uh here's here's the thing about that those middle three I mean you look look at the mass of these guys rich I mean they're L 331 33 330 aut is 325 yeah look if kandre Jones is 337 then I'm 280 okay um that those are some massive dudes you know I mean I'm I'm excited to see them move guys out of the way and and hopefully we we get a good dose of that with those three guys I mean you know I think Georgia Tech has a 67 guy that's you know kind of a a darl Jackson looking kind of guy on right um you know that I think some of the teams we play maybe not quite especially in these first five games i' I'd expect those guys to to Really you know be able to move guys out of the way because here's the deal until passing game is proven um they're people are GNA be stack in the box they're going to make they're going to make us throw the ball they're gonna you know and as big and as big and as good as those guys are they can't block two guys at the same time so if they try to out numbers in the Box you know but now now that's that's where your running backs come in make a guy Miss right yeah so I'm excited to see how this running game manifests itself how they scheme it um formally how they you know with with blocking schemes and with with with with the experience that we have up front all across the board being able to adjust On The Run ought to be uh something that they be very good at yeah and then of course at right Tak you got buyers back as the incumbent starter and he's going to be backed up by Robert Scott or jayen early um yeah U you know listen I think we had uh high expectations for buyers coming in last season uh I know that he you know struggled at times I you know he's looked good in Camp uh he's held up well against Patrick pton and Marvin Jones Jr and particularly in the pass protection drills I've seen but uh and then of course you got Robert Scott who's got well over a thou I think he may have 2,000 snaps as a college football player I know he's got over a thousand for sure um and you know he's listed as the backup and then Jaylen early as a retri sophomore uh we'll see how that that works out as the season progresses but uh yeah I agree I think this is the offense that's going to be dominated by the Run game particularly early as the receivers find they their way and Mike finds out what works best for DJ once they get into game play and uh listen uh we have said we have seen it since Mike got here in 2020 uh when he took over a depleted roster but this 2020 roster that 2021 roster were not great uh and we saw him get Max I think Max the production to the extent that he could because he's a very creative play caller and knows how to coach around deficiencies or weaknesses and I you know I think that the fact that he's got such a chance to have such a strong running game gives him time to figure out what is best to do in the passing game and I think it will naturally open up some opportunities in the passing game and we know he's going to use motion and RPO and uh all and you know play action and all that so I do think the offense as a whole will get going uh as the season goes on and I think you know the offensive line is going to be probably the major reason I do think this is the engine that's going to drive this offense as opposed to last year when it was the skill players that were kind of the engine of the offense until this receiver group grows up and they find out who the top you know three four five guys are in that passing attack outside of tight end uh but yeah so it's going to be fascinating to see how this works uh but uh you know I think I think you'd I think we'd be be a disservice to say that that is you know we have a more questions on offense probably right now than we do on defense and uh we still think Florida state will be good on offense as long as M Mike norell is the head coach uh I don't don't doubt doubt that they will don't doubt for a second they won't be good I mean they will be good uh it's just a matter of you know hey we're we're comparing it to last year's offense right where we were talking about coming out of Camp I remember walking out of camp with you uh Curt and Jerry Bob we're talking about who the hell is going to you know stop this offense from scoring 40 points a game the first game of the year they go out and hang 45 on LSU and offense was pretty good until obviously Jordan Travis got hurt against North Alabama so uh you know they had a couple tough games but uh it's pretty good offense so we'll see what happens with fsu's offense but uh uh just to be clear we are not down on fsu's offense we were just breaking down what we saw in Camp and uh listen uh we think it's Florida State's going to have a fine offense it's just not going to be it's going to be a little bit different than what we're used to seeing uh particularly compared to last year and the year before that and listen I I do think if we had one question about the offensive line mark it would be you know how it will pass protection hold up as well without a mobile quarterback I listen and uh that's that's a that's I think that's a question that everybody has right you don't have Jordan Travis anymore he was very good at making plays out of nothing very good at getting away from pressure I think that's the you know you know do are they able to be highly efficient in pass blocking situations with a quarterback that's not a statue but certainly not Jordan Travis yeah well look pass protection is more than just the offensive line it's a coordination between the whole offense you know it's it's it's making sure the quarterback makes sure the the offensive line slides the right way you know when they point the M you know who's who's blocking who back coordination with the backs you know Hots with the receivers quarterback in the right place not holding on the ball there's a free runner I mean there's a lot that goes into it in terms of pass per it's not just the match up to one on the offensive line so you know again the experience up front you know um DJ's experience in playing in in in a lot of different schemes but understanding you know the the the structure of a defense and and making sure everybody goes the right way I think that's that you can't discount that from a fifth year senior you know at quarterback I mean that think that's that's an important thing too so yeah there's a lot that goes into it one thing I am very very very confident of is that you know this offense will reflect the talent that we have and take advantage of the matchups that that we're going to have and from the sounds of it it sounds like it's going to come a lot from the back field in the slots you know early on yep and and I have I have great conf because look you remember two years ago you know when when Jordan was first getting F in his feet I mean this that offense looked a lot different than it did the last half of the year and even the year you know we were all amazed um on you know on the 10- win season year that Jordan didn't run near as much as he did and then last year he I mean Jordan only had what 4 yards rushing last year something like that it wasn't what we were normally accustomed to you're right I remember what I don't remember what the grand toal 400 yards and he had seven touchdowns right and so that brings me back to the other point about this offense and the thing we've been excellent at and that's a red zone offense inverting our chances making touchdowns you know with a big offensive line and and a lot of the skill that we have the guys that can move around real fast in small spaces when that field gets compressed you know how is Mike going to scheme this offense in order to score touchdowns and and I have tremendous confidence that we'll be good at that again oh I agree with you I mean like I I think that's one of the strength he's always if you go back to his Memphis days the year he had the three Tony Pard and Antonio Gibson and uh you know did not you wasn't weren't as talented at wide receiver as they were running back this year and I think he was eightth in the nation that year in rushing offense uh and obviously he's he's a balanced guy but he does love to run the ball and uh I think that I think we could see I don't know what year that was but I think you could see a similar type uh situation where Florida state is one of the better teams in the country I'm talking like top 10 likey they were that particular year so and I think that is his strength is he is a excellent in-game play caller and uh really keeps uh defenses on their toes I mean I've seen uh when Shane was coaching at UCF that's my brother uh you know uh he that he said Mike used to give him fits uh know trying to prepare for him so I I agree with you there all right so let's move over to the defense and listen guys I think this Bob I know that uh you think the same thing this has a chance to be a very good defense uh and I think it's uh I didn't can't believe I was going to say say this before the season I wouldn't have said this before the season started but I think this front four uh and potentially too deep at defensive line could be as good if not better as last year's and you know that's saying something when you're talking about a defense that lost uh Braden Fisk and uh Jared verse to the LA Rams in the draft uh two pretty good front four guys themselves but uh you know Daryl Jackson we've waited patiently what a year and a half since he arrived on campus maybe close to two and he is getting ready to step on the field for the first time and we've actually seen days where he could not be blocked if he did not want to be blocked uh then Josh fer looks like he's ready to have a breakout year uh Patrick pyton uh obviously this is you know this he he's he's the leader of this defensive front he's the most well-known name on that defensive front Gerald Jackson may be by the time we get to midseason uh then you got Marvin Jones Jr who listen I'm not gonna sit you know we we dampened everybody's expectations to Jared verse after Jermaine Jones because we said H you can't have another Germaine Jones two years in a row and Jared comes out and proves everybody wrong has two great Seasons before being drafted in the first round and I don't think we knew what to think about Marvin because of how he was used at uh Georgia in a more of a three four odd base system where he played more outside linebacker than defensive end but I been pleasantly surprised about how he's adjusted to playing fulltime hand in the ground defensive end uh just your start uh just your thoughts on that front unit you know when when Jerry said Daryl Jackson looks like a first round draft pick I kind of gave him a look but then he said it so many times and we've watched darl in practice when we talk about who's the most improved or who's having the best camp or whatever I bet the Florida state offensive lineman would say darl Jackson's having a really good camp y'all I mean that guy is is playing his Saturdays every day out there in practice so I I think the country might be listening or reading and saying why is the media so high on these defensive linemen they're not well known look at what they lost but they're legitimate and it's very consistent day in and day out what Daryl Jackson does Josh farmer I'm in love with Patrick Payton not just the sacks but the ability to knock down passes I I'll take 10 pass breakups and whatever sacks he gets because a pass breakup is pretty darn good it's not as good as a negative yardage play of a sack but it it's a zero for the offense I think that's a positive for the defense Marvin again same thing he looks like what do we say the first guy off the bus type y honestly the big question comes down to me if you're an offense who are you going to double who do you choose to double and who do you choose to one-on-one even if heuse a running back to chip or or do something you're going to leave some one-on ones that are going to be very advantageous for some of these guys to capitalize on in and in a play to play situation yeah well listen I think what what they're goingon to do is they're gonna if well what if I was an offensive coordinator I ask you this question mark because you were an offensive coordinator uh Run game coordinator anyway so more specifically this this question is for you uh I'm of the opinion that if Georgia Tech's going to try to run the ball or anybody else on Florida State for that matter you're gonna run it directly at Patrick pton and Marvin Jones and run it away from Josh farmer and Daryl Jackson and make those guys chase the ball get them out of the game get them gas uh make Patrick pton and Marvin Jones Pro that they can hold up against the run I'm not saying that we have any questions that they can I'm telling you what the I'm going tell you what the thinking is by a opponent's offensive coordinator you're not gonna have much success running right at Daryl Jackson so what do you do you make him run what do you do you run off tack you run after the you you try to base block up on Patrick pton and Marvin Jones Jr see if they can hold up in the Run game uh you know Mark what are your thoughts on that yeah um when when you have physical presence like that you try to do two things to offens line coach find angles or or facilitate double teams um you know the duo play is in Vogue right now where you know the guard in the center and the tackle in the center or tackle on the guard they double the two inside guys and you just cut off the defensive end and or you formation it in such a way where you can facilitate double teams and make the linebackers you they can't be right um that's one way you try to do it how can I facilitate double teams on those two inside guys the other thing you try to do is is you try to find angles so you know the Gap schemes you know we kind of get a guy blocking down on those guys right out an angle I at least move him out of the way or or mitigate his ability to physically what you don't want to do is try to get some kind of one-on-one blocks you know um where where you know you're you you went like running an outside zone or something like that where you got to block guy one-on-one even though you are running to the outside a oneon-one block if Daryl Jacks is a three technique making that running back Bounce It uh outside where the speed of the defense can get to it that's not necessarily an answer is is running on Corners either I think um you know Gap schemes you know facilitating double teams is the way you try to block those guys um and look uh Brent key is an offens line coach this is not his first go round um I you know I he he's gonna have a plan it'll be interest to see what that plan is how he's going to get one of those two scenarios or he has multiple ways to get those scenarios you know because that's what you're going to have to try to do yeah well good luck to whoever's got a block number six and who's ever got a block to number five uh but see here's the thing too yeah you know we lost burst and we lost Fisk those guys and you guys can answer this question better than I can those guys had some Motors those guys go all day they played hard they were mentally tough right they were hard-nosed tough guys that worked their tails off you know that's that's a big part of this too we all know guys that have been real big in physical do weren necessarily mentally tght I'm not saying that's the case with these guys I have no idea about them but I what I'm saying is don't discount the fact that those two guys who got drafted in the first round they didn't get first get drafted in the first and second round just because of their ability they got drafted that way because of who they are well they have very high Motors very very high Motors and very smart disciplined football players you know so that's a part of this too I agree talent-wise I think we're we're on par where we were last year talent wise you know as far as the ability to play the game and do it within the scheme and do your job and do it 100% every time that's something that's yet to be determined with this group yeah and listen I feel very good about I feel better about the depth at defensive tackle coming out of camp that I did going in I think KJ Samson's got a chance to have a really good uh year I've been uh tom o had Dura J has taken the defensive tackle probably more than I expected him to after coming here as defensive end from West Virginia they slid him inside during the Spring he's spent the whole uh fall Camp inside and listen he and KJ Samson work talking about Motors I think those two guys have Motors and then of course you got Daniel lions and Grady Kelly at the other side Bob do you how do you feel about that just as a whole how how you feel about the depth at defensive tackle I feel like it's a good rotation and and Odell typically wants four sometimes more and it's the same way defensive end it's four with a floating fifth guy who can almost kind of be either Edge I think to some extent we're talking a little bit about the 2025 starting defensive lineman when you mentioned a KJ Samson and and a Tommy I'll call him Tommy dur um I think this staff is lining up the talent the guys to get the Reps now in a in a rotational role but knowing they're going to have an expanded role once a Daryl Jackson and a Josh farmer are in our estimation going to be off to the NFL after after this year y yep uh now I think the biggest question we had coming into uh this Camp as far as defense concern was the linebacker group I think that everybody at the aola staff I I'll speak for most of them uh they can they can correct be on in in writing if they want later but uh I think most of us feel better about the linebacker group uh listen I think it's uh I I put this in the takeaways article I think that they I think Josh Farm and Gerald Jackson are the keys a because they're both great individual players and they can be very disruptive but their job is to also free up those linebackers and I think as Camp went along that linebacker got that linebacker group got much better than I thought they could I think cam Raleigh was a very pleasant surprise because I don't think we knew how if they knew how to use them where they were going to use them I always thought they were G to use them at will uh or the Speed Line what I call the speed linebacker for Florida State and uh and so he and Blake Nichols are listed as ores uh they both got stronger camps as it went on um and then you got DJ Lundy back at the Mike linebacker position uh backed up by Omar Graham and Justin CER uh you know I think there's some questions uh particularly with uh Blake you know he's still young um you know how does he respond when the lights come on the job is his he's carrying the load along with Cam Riley but uh you know I thought both those guys Bob had great C you know finished off great uh en Camp uh and you know listen got to get it g on done on game day but they I think the the green dots going on Riley and maybe Lundy or Riley and L Nicholson I can't remember but I thought Riley uh for a guy that we weren't sure where they were going to take him at one time uh he's been probably one of the better surprises of Camp yeah I think we we almost stereotyped that a defensive guy at at 6'4 might not move that well because we figured he would have been on offense somebody would have moved him to that side of the ball cam riy moves really well at 64 the way he can range and get to the sideline and make a tackle um it will be very interesting you know Adam FL calls at the Green Dot who wears the dot as far as that helmet communication I'll be curious because the equipment staff has to make sure there's only one dot in the game at a time who has that specific helmet who do you use when Lund's not in the game is that going to be Cam Riley is a guy with not a spring of experience going to be capable in communicating what Adam Fuller is saying to his teammates and as Adam rightfully said the defensive players the other 10 guys have to know to shut up and listen to that dot linebacker when he's talking it's going to be an interesting Dynamic but I do think we really feel better about Riley I think from the start we've liked Blake knowing he's a developmental guy knowing he was more of a runner uh running back type com out High School who played some safety and such but if you're looking at development for the for the rest of the year in the future I do think Blake's a guy they they've invested a lot of energy in and he's gonna be a guy for him for sure yeah and listen both those guys run really well I think that's that I think that's their uh the strength of their game and U listen uh it's going to be hard to replace kayin Deo but um you know who's by the way had seems to be having a really good camp in Tampa Bay from what uh JP told me on his show yesterday so uh you're replacing what seems to be a NFL quality linebacker there um so I think it's going to be interesting I think uh you know we'll see about depth behind those three I think that's the question there you would think Omar Graham is ready to take his and Justin cry for that matter ready to take the next step in their development and we've all said that Justin has some uh natural football instincts so uh you know I think you'll see both of those guys play better than they did last year just because they're a year older and uh they'll have they'll get more reps this year they did last year and then of course I think Bob uh you know I think you could uh I think you could uh say that you feel as good about the cornerback two cornerback spots as you about the two defensive tackle spots AZ aaria Thomas and fantell cyphers have had great camps uh fantell looks like the guy that uh we thought Florida state was going to get when he came out of Virginia as an all AC selection uh and then uh but just your thoughts on the corners as a whole yeah I I didn't expect fentrell to be that good that consistent day in day out but he kind of picked up where he left off toward the end of last year it got better as his season progressed um if if fentrell is this good throughout the year again I'm very loathed to use the term lock down Corner because everybody's giving up something but but this defense set a high standard last year with different guys hell the opposing quarterbacks under 50% passing for the year I don't know if that's uh repeatable but that's that's almost a a benchmark I think I'd be very curious to see where where this past defense uh sits at the end of the year if it's close to that it's because AZ is the corner that this staff thinks he is potentially an All-American and fentrell is is really a guy who um you can't you can't throw it his way so much just because the passers looking to see where AZ is and saying well I'll just kind of pick on fentrell if you can't pick on one or the other then you're starting to look at the slots and figuring out what what's open over the middle but we feel really good about about AZ and fentrell yeah I think the one uh depth chart item that caught my eye on defense which I was not expecting uh was the the nickel position where Kevin nolles and Earl little are named as co-starters uh the takeaway going even back to last year by most of the people that cover Florida state was this was going to be a runaway ear little was going to win this job he's going to be an All-American he's list he may be he was highly thought of coming out of high school uh signed with Alabama um you know he's he's looked good at times no doubt about that but you were you as surprised as I was when that was an ore position because you knowen and you know Kevin OES uh did not have a great year last year particularly as a tackler but he's had a good camp I would say Kevin noes had some days in Jacksonville that really impressed me and and it kind of this was almost a forgotten guy going into Camp because when they lost greedy you thought well it's G to become Earl Little's job and it's gonna almost be locked in over the summer it it definitely hasn't been locked in I won't say Earl was as consistent or as good as the other Corners as the other safeties it's good to have this kind of competition I also wonder if the coaches aren't just kind of saying well Kevin's a senior he's stuck it out let's put him a top the depth chart in an ore it's a nice little kind of pat on the back for a guy like Kevin I think coaches do this publicly with the way depth charts have become we'll we'll see who really truly starts who gets the most reps play counts but I think it does speak to some extent they feel they know what Kevin can do as a nickel it didn't work at safety they might think it can still work at at nickel to a high level well the truth the truth truth of the matter is we need both those guys right and and there's there's by by putting it as an or thing it is what it is they're both going to play and they're both going to play significant snaps in that position so you know really saying well you're the starter really doesn't mean much this day of time no much substitution as there is and and I think that's kind of the message that they send with these depth charts with all the or is that these guys have ear the right to play and they're going to play What Now who starts the game or what not is really insignificant because what the the bigger thing is when it comes down it's third and six in the fourth quarter in a one- score game who's the guy in the game right and that and that is that that's that's that'll tell you everything you need to know yeah yeah and we got the same situation at free safety with Miami transfer Devonte Brown listed as a co-starter with Conrad hussy uh listen I thought they both had good camps I think we all thought Conrad might after what we saw from Conrad last year he had some really great day uh moments and games last year I thought he might win this job outright uh but as Mark says you know you do see more rotation in college football than you ever have in the in ever in the history of the game uh you know they're they're trying to get keep people fresh and with spread offenses where you're being asked to run all over the field it's probably uh play 16 games yeah yeah and you know it's it's a good thing to be feel like you have two qu uh starters uh there at free safety what were your thoughts on the kind of Camp uh Brown and hussy had yeah I don't think there was a ton of Separation I probably expected maybe Conrad to take a a more significant Second Step didn't see that just yet through through the practices again would have loved to have paid to get in to watch those scrimmages I would probably paid good money to watch some of these guys in in a scrimmage situation but I think Mark to your point Fuller was asked the other day about how many defensive players do you think you can get out there in terms of depth and I think the question was 20 to 25 yeah and Adam pretty quickly kind of said yeah 20 21 and he started going through a couple of the positions as far as what it would look like up front but yes I I think you're very much right this is going to be a deep defense and and you're going to see in those pressure moments who they feel they can count on as most Dependable but it's a good thing to have 20 plus guys out there to keep them fresh it's going to be hot in a lot of these games not in not in Ireland it's gonna be really hot you're have to keep guys pretty fresh out there rotating yep yeah then of course strong safety with FSU calls the buck position You' got shaheim brown no surprise there he's coming back I guess what is this third year as a full-time starter a co-starter in this defense and you got KJ Kirkland behind him who I think we all think has a very high upside side uh and uh so listen uh rob you feel like and it doesn't really matter don't guess we both feel like they're deep position groups but you think the secondary is the deepest deepest position on defense or deepest position group I should say I I would say if you're looking at I I would almost take that defensive line I really like that defensive line end and Tackle but there's nothing wrong with these DBS I think as Adam for said a couple times when you don't make mistakes in recruiting you get this level of talent this level of depth where it's it's the high school kids it's the transfers I don't think they've really missed on on the DBS there's guys who maybe aren't developing as rapidly as you might want based on say where they were with the star ratings you might think a guy should be a little bit faster to get on the field but there's just so much depth of talent at at these positions on defense especially the front and the secondary yep yeah well listen uh you know they're very deep at most positions it's uh going to be a fascinating team to watch this year I'm looking I'm so glad we we about four days away from kickoff Florida State's going to practice tomorrow here in Tallahassee then head to Ireland uh on they're going to fly overnight they're G leave here 9 900 p.m. tomorrow night land at 10:00 a.m. on uh Thursday Ireland time and they're going to keep the kids up they got to get their they got to get their sleep on the plane I hope they I hope they give there's a space between every seat on the plane so these guys can get comfortable on their way over but uh it's going to give them melatonin and all that stuff I've read uh try to get him some extra sleep on the plane over get up go straight to practice and try to keep them up as a normal day and I believe Georgia Tech got a similar schedule if I'm not uh uh not confused so I think that would probably at least some of the travel stuff will equal out as they both head to Ireland uh Mark when are you headed to Ireland same time 9:00 tomorrow night all right well listen uh you know I got a question for you I sent you an email you didn't send it back but so I'm G put you on the spot uh Vegas and of course you may defer out of this question which is your right but uh Vegas has the under over under for wins for Florida State at nine and a half uh you know are you going over or under this year so I'm looking at the schedule let me start off by saying this 13-0 is a rare thing we've done it four times in the program's history right three of those time we won uh well two of those times we won a national championship two of those times we should have one of those time we should have played the other time we got upset in the Orange Bowl right so those are rare things so do I expect to go 13 and0 you know the history would tell you probably not right so then I look at the schedule I look at the first five games now travel aside with going to dubl and coming back and then playing the next week right but you are your your weaker teams are in those first five games right so Tech Boston College uh Memphis Cal and SMU I that gives us a chance to grow into iron the things that we need to iron on offense to get better right I I would hope we go with that stretch five and0 and now you go now you got Clemson at home who's got a roster comparable to ours um a quarterback that has some questions still maybe a little younger maybe not the depth we have and that might be a thing that time of year but to me that's a Point Flip Game then you got Duke who I don't think you're gonna be as good as they were last year and then you got Miami who everybody is you know everything you're hearing is that they they really like their team they're gonna be really good yeah they're back again for the 16th year in a row well yeah but I think this time it feels a little different I think their rosters is a Little Bit Stronger um a lot stronger they got they got a legitimate quarterback um they got a really really good running back and so I mean that that that's another coin flip game honestly um North Carolina you know they lose Drake May they're not gonna be strong as Intel has I expect that to win that Notre Dame away that's going to be a game that's going to be that's gonna be a tough game um you know we'll see later on in the year you know what we what these teams look like but I'm going to make that a coin flip game game and then we get I guess is it is a not Coastal Carolina um Charleston Southern Charleston Southern sorry Charleston Southern and then the Gators now the gator a rivalry game you would say it's a point flict game but that's going to be at the end of this their Gauntlet run and their depth is going to be challenged at the end of that run you know in tassy I expect to win that one so my coin flict games really are Miami and Clemson um and you know if if we avoid stumbling or in not Dame Miami Clemson not Dame are those are your coin flip games can we win two of those hope so you know um so you're taking I have to say this I'm gonna say over I'm gonna say I'm gonna say 10 or 11 all right all right all right fair enough all right uh listen and we're gonna get some firsthand Intel tomorrow on cam Ward and Miami and Florida because we're going to have our Our Guest is scheduled to be CBS football analyst Kevin Carter uh from Lincoln High School not from the University of Florida from Tallahassee Lincoln High School that's where that's why he's on the show we've known each other since I was a senior and he was a freshman he was coming on I've taught him a little bit about Miami Florida he's also been to Florida State's practice so we're going to get a little breakdown from Kevin on the Sunshine State as a whole and what Florida State fans should uh anticipate seen from Florida and Miami later in the year of course as you said there's a lot of road too uh rosters could look a lot different and two deeps could look a lot different with injuries and those kind of things so we'll see what happens now listen you know it's going to be interesting year in college football Mark I won't talk to you until after the season started so uh you know I've already started my college football playoff uh thoughts and things and how it's going to work and all these things it's already going through my head uh we know the ACC champ is going we know the SEC champ is going Big 10 Big 12 group of five highest rated group of five Champion those five spots are going uh so it's going to be interesting each week to see how we look at one loss to the other but you know like my question is let's just assume that Florida State finishes second in the ACC uh is there a chance that there would be a second can can a second ACC team get in the college football playoff and what does that look like I I think it's got to have I think they got to have two 10- win teams to get two teams in the playoff now we don't know what that's going to I mean there could be outside of Georgia there could be absolute Carnage in the SEC and Georgia may end up getting dinged a couple of times but you could have the SEC second place team with three losses I mean you look at some of these schedules uh and listen we're most of these poll preseason Pro polls and Conference champions are done on brand not study not identity uh no one's going you know you don't I guarantee you it's Georgia and Alabama just about everybody's preseason Poll for the championship game or Georgia Texas it's FSU Clemson and just about everybody's preseason Poll for the ACC it's Ohio State Oregon and about everybody's preseason Poll for the championship game in the uh Big 10 and it's probably Utah and Oklahoma State or Utah and we know it's not Colorado and the Big 12 um so I I think most of these pre are it's just picking the biggest brands at each conference say hey that's who's going to make it uh so we really don't know what this is going to end up looking like but you know I do think that regardless of who it is the SEC will get two at minimum two teams in Big 10 will get a minimum whoever's in their championship games are going in see I think I think I think big 10 and SEC get three well then it gets harder for that's what I think because you you had USC Oregon and UCLA in the Big 10 you had Texas and Oklahoma in the SEC and those are Quality quality teams you know there's going to be multi multi multiple loss teams I think in both conferences that have played really good schedules and will'll have quality losses right exactly quality losses they're gonna have the quality loss the they perceived quality loss and so we don't have that luxury in the ACC and there in L the issue right is is is is the perceived quality loss and so I'd expect those two to get three we make get to depending on the situation hopefully you know the one that the second team would have to be one that is probably in the conference game or or maybe miss the you know if say us Miami and Clemson are you know one lost teams and and but only one can play in the championship the one that out may may be able to slide in if it's a quality loss to one of the two that play in the championship game I don't know but there's no way three in the ACC are going in I can tell you that no I I I agree with you on that something weird would have to happen in SC see in Big 10 for that to happen but uh and I don't think they would let it happen anyway but uh but yeah I think it's going to be fascinating now listen I I want to ask you both this question all right do we even need championship games anymore should should they just add a 13th game to the schedule and forget the buy and money yeah but what all right so what happens if a guy goes well listen uh you know we're in the playoff uh I'm on I'm going to use a lot of rep Management in the championship game I'm going to make sure I'm healthy regardless of how many uh games I have to play in the in the in the anybody do I mean anybody gonna do that I mean could you guys see that or is that just the buy is so important that they're gonna they're gonna give everything they're gon to sacrifice everything to get the buy you know what that that that's that's an interesting point um you know think back to last year now think imagine Texas was in the SEC last year right right Georgia and Alabama play Alabama wins Georgia would be in the in a 12 team playoff but with Texas maybe that'd be four right that would be four and and who has the advantage well not not the two teams that played in the championship game right and you can see the same sort of scenario when you include Oregon um with Ohio State Michigan you know one other um I mean you're you're talking it'll be interesting to see how those teams that get in didn't play a championship game fair and and and I think after this year you may see some kind of strategic or some kind of discussion about you know how much do we need because here here here's the thing yeah by there's money involved in those championship games for sure but are those would would the conferences rather make the playoff be in the playoff you know would that money offset the loss that you would have if you got rid of the ch game that would well I think you would make more money off uh what are there 18 teams in sec I think you I think you would even out over nine games 13 yeah yeah if you had if everybody's playing 13 ball games you'd offset the loss of the conference Championship money by pulling all the money together from all those extra games so uh listen I think it's it's this system is no more perfect this year than it was last I mean it's imperfect system I mean listen it's not right that somebody's going to get a a buy you shouldn't get a buy uh it should be 16 teams if it's gonna it should be the better teams to get the buy not the worst teams yeah well I'm no I'm just saying but I mean should not why why should anybody get I mean why why would we all play the same number of games right I mean yeah Notre Dame's going to get in without a if they get finish in the top 11 they're going to get in without a championship game uh I think that they I think they've got to get it to where everybody's playing the same number of games and I think you got to get it to where there's not a Buy in the playoffs that they don't do that at Division I don't think they do that at division one doua level I think it's I want to say it's 16 from the start and it's it's done uh so uh I think listen still and somebody's still G to get left out probably that should have gotten in we're going to see that again this year just the Sam the uh the specifics details around it will be different uh you know number 13 uh you know listen you're gonna get what let's just say that uh SMU I'm sorry not SMU Memphis wins the AAC uh but they're ranked not 20 21 22 23 and how does that team that is just competed in the SEC Big 10 ACC that just finished uh 12th in the in the polls they get left out of the playoff so and in a 12 team playoff you can make the uh argument that they would have had a chance if if you take the best 12 teams that team would have had a chance so it's an imperfect system we're going to be and it's going to make for great water cooler conversation is going to be make for great weekly conversation but it's just as imperfect a a uh playoff format as last years uh you know when you go and I don't want to get into the snub necessarily but when that system was set up you had five power you had power five power conferences p5s you only had four spots for so it was there was always a chance that something like last year was going to happen uh and it just happened to affect Florida State but it was it's an it was an imperfect system then it's imperfect system now I think if you look back pre playoff in BCS the question of who was one who was two it was always who's that third team right and and and but it nobody ever thought that the fourth team was the best team [Music] right always that third team was the best team times than not it was pretty close to right I I feel you know but that third team may could have done it but nobody argued the fourth fifth or sixth team was was one of the better teams you know I you know once once all the dust settles over the course of you know 12 games 12 13 games once the dust settles you pretty much know who the best two or three teams are to take it all the way to 12 to me was a little bit silly I think I think that was because of money oh 100% it will 100% yeah but listen if they could go to 12 go 16 right I mean uh and I think I think it's at some point they will go 16 particularly if we see more conference expansion you know I know Kyle Whittingham came out last week and said within four months to four years uh no he said eight months to four years we will see uh just one big super conference it'll be uh basically 40 to 60 teams I believe what he said and he he thinks it's coming sooner rather than later and I think when that happens uh it will will go to a 16 team thing and uh I think would I think you know I know the SEC and Big 10 want want they want to hang on to conference play and their names and all that but I think we're headed to you one huge super conference and that's probably what it needs to be at this point but anyway all right we spent too much time talking about this we gave a uh good breakdown of the roster it's going to be an exciting time Mark we are happy to have you back look forward to seeing you on a regular basis uh Mark will join me on most Saturdays for First Impressions instant reaction to uh postgame coverage uh he will may or may not be with us this week as uh on Saturday afternoon depending on uh connections on Dublin uh from Dublin and of course how many Guinness Mark has had and all those things uh right now former FSU defensive analyst Shane Burnham who coached at UCF uh ruers Iowa state Richmond Elon various other places he is set to join us uh and will join us with Mark each and every or try to joins with Mark each and every week uh for postgame coverage and then uh we will obviously be back uh tomorrow with a little Kevin Carter segment and then Bob and I will be back or uh whoever's at practice we'll be back for a little post practice breakdown it won't be much because we won't see a whole lot they'll be going against the scout team and we can't talk much about that but we will talk about what little we can and then we will be back Thursday hopefully with Charles fishbine to talk a little bit Florida State recruiting and where they go both at the offensive line and defensive back positions uh as they look for offensive tackle and a couple of corners and safeties after Bryce Fitzgerald and Josh Petty Comm else commit elsewhere over the last week but uh please uh check if you're not AA subscriber please check us out at the oola.com or Florida state. rivals.com if you're not a YouTube a YouTube subscriber please hit the YouTube uh subscribe button and the notification button so that you get updates when we go live or have tape shows and we will be back tomorrow and Thursday and look forward to seeing you then Bob Mark appreciate it bud