FanPost

My Questions for 2010 FSU Football




I'm a lifelong FSU football fan (still have the 3XL authentic Warrick Dunn jersey I bought when I was 12) but new to this community. I attended FSU from '04-'07 and have few good memories of home games -- at least, not any that had to do with football.

I've got some pretty big expectations for this season, and a lot of questions that won't be answered until the season is under way. But I thought it'd be fun to kick these ideas around in the meantime.

1) Could we see a break out year from anyone on defense?

Last year, Kirk Herbstreit listed Markus White among his picks for "players who will be household names by October" (or something to that effect). He finished the season with, what, two sacks? There's no excuse for a player of his caliber to perform so poorly, and no explanation other than ineffective coaching. How quickly can he turn it around?

I also wonder about guys like Nigel Bradham, Xavier Rhodes and Mister Alexander. Not to mention Greg Reid. Or maybe someone unexpected, like Brandon Jenkins?

2) Will Chris Thompson start at running back?

According to the depth chart on warchant, he's currently ahead of Jermaine Thomas and the rest. Seems like Jimbo has been high on Thompson all along, but Jermaine Thomas seems to have a boat load of untapped potential. Could working with Eddie Gran change things, or is Thompson the clear front runner?

3) Willie Haulstead and Rodney Smith.

I'm really curious what we'll see from these two playing behind Fortson and Reid. I know Fisher had high hopes for them, and it should be very interesting to see what they're able to do with some consistent targets.

4) How big of an impact will the zone scheme have?

My FSU football addiction is kind of sad. Lately I've been watching the re-runs of games on Sun Sports, including losses to GT and USF. I attended the USF game, and seeing our failures on defense on television was an eye opener. Simply switching to zone seems like it could be a real game changer, take some of the pressure off of the secondary and free them up to better utilize their athleticism. Obviously we can't expect too much too soon, but my gut says we could see major improvements early on.

5) Will the defensive line show itself?

Everybody remembers in the mid-2000s, the defense carried FSU football -- in particular, the pass rush. The drop-off in 2009 was shocking. But looking at this roster, particularly Markus White, I don't see why our pass rush shouldn't be downright fierce. Is there any chance FSU gets back to striking fear in the hearts of quarterbacks in 2010?

That's all I've got for now. Please feel free to discuss and add anything you're excited to see develop in the coming season.

Fanposts are a section for the fans and do NOT reflect the views of Tomahawk Nation.