Florida State Seminoles
Last year: 6-7 (4-4 ACC), lost to Arizona State, 20-14, in Sun Bowl Best win: vs. Louisville, 35-24 Worst loss: vs. Miami, 27-10
Coach: Mike Norvell (first year, 38-15 career)
Starters returning: 17 (6 offense, 10 defense, 1 specialist)
Offensive player to watch: WR Tamorrion Terry. Terry, who is a big, 6-foot-4 210-pounder, as a sophomore in 2019 was named second-team all-ACC after recording 60 catches for 1,188 yards (19.8 ypc, second in ACC) and nine TDs. Also, he averaged 21.3 yards per catch on 35 receptions in 2018 and scored a team-leading eight receiving TDs.
Defensive player to watch: DT Marvin Wilson. As a junior in 2019, Wilson tallied 44 tackles, 8.5 for losses, five sacks, four breakups, and a forced fumble. He is a preseason All-American. Wilson made headlines over the summer when he called out Norvell after the new coach misrepresented his response to the team following the death of George Floyd. Norvell acknowledged he made a mistake in saying he had talked to every player individually, and Wilson later thanked Norvell for encouraging him to use his platform to speak out. Wilson has been involved in the Tallahassee community since then and began Marvin's Movement, which aims to improve the lives of impoverished children.
Special teams player to watch: KR Keyshawn Helton. Helton, a junior, returned eight kicks last season an average of 28.5 yards, which would've ranked fourth in the conference if he had a qualifying number of returns.
Schedule: vs. Georgia Tech, bye, at Miami, vs. Jacksonville State, at Notre Dame, vs. North Carolina, at Louisville, bye, vs. Pittsburgh, at N.C. State, vs. Clemson, vs. Virginia, at Duke.
Win-loss prediction: 6-5 or 7-4. The Seminoles have a good chance to get off to a 3-0 start under their new coach if they can just get past the Hurricanes. Miami has won the past three meetings, but FSU won seven consecutive before that. A fast start would be great for a team that is just trying to attain a winning season for the first time since 2017. In 2018, Willie Taggart's first as coach, the 'Noles saw their 36-year bowl streak come to an end with a 5-7 finish. Last year was only marginally better as the team got back to the postseason, but Taggart was fired after the loss to Miami dropped FSU to 4-5. Taggart went a combined 0-5 against Miami, Clemson, and Florida, the school's main rivals, in his two seasons. Clemson and Notre Dame are on the schedule this year, which is why that fast start would be so beneficial. Assuming the Seminoles drop those two matchups, but win their first three, they would then need to go just 3-3 in the other six games to get to 6-5.
Norvell is known for his offensive prowess. Last season, his Memphis offense averaged 40.4 points as the Tigers went 12-2 and made an appearance in the Cotton Bowl, where they lost to Penn State 53-39. It's likely that junior James Blackman will start at QB again. In 2019, Blackman completed 63 percent of his passes for 2,339 yards, 17 TDs, and 11 INTs. He ran for 184 yards and a score. FSU's OL was a major issue -- and has been for a few years -- giving up 48 sacks, fourth-worst among FBS teams, and the 'Noles have to replace both tackles this year. RB Cam Akers is in the NFL now, and his strong backup last year, Khalan Laborn, was dismissed from the team in July. Texas A&M transfer Jashaun Corbin is expected to be the lead back. He rushed for just 137 yards and a score last season, but has good size at 6-foot, 220 pounds. There are other solid weapons at receiver in addition to Terry, including senior D.J. Matthews, who tallied 36 catches and four scores.
FSU has tons of experience back on defense, but it was dreadful last year, ranking 90th overall. A couple of other good returners besides Wilson reside in the secondary with junior cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. (48 tackles, one pick, 15 passes defensed) and senior safety Hamsah Nasirildeen, who led the 'Noles with 101 stops, two for losses, one sack, two INTs, three breakups, and three forced fumbles. Norvell brought defensive coordinator Adam Fuller with him from Memphis. Fuller only spent one season with the Tigers and improved their scoring defense by 5.5 points per game from 2018 to '19.
Norvell has yet to prove anything on the Power Five level, but with a bevy of returning players and enough solid recruiting recently despite some down seasons, he can probably have a pretty good inaugural campaign in Tallahassee.
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