-Florida State is losing one of its best players ever in kicker Roberto Aguayo, who has graduated and will forgo his final year at FSU and enter the draft. His little brother Ricky is already on campus.
-Jalen Ramsey has declared for the NFL draft after an awesome career. How will Florida State look to replace him? We break it down.
-FSU continues to chase four-star defensive end Brian Burns of Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage, with multiple reports indicating that Burns will visit Georgia, then Florida then Florida State. FSU does have an American Heritage player on its roster in CB Tarvarus McFadden, and getting the last visit is positive. Also of note is that Miami just hired American Heritage coach Mike Rumph, who played on the Hurricanes' last title team. Will Rumph be able to secure a visit for Miami, and if so, what visit would it bump? That will be something to watch, though the Gators are thought to be the biggest competition. Burns is explosive but rail thin
-Speaking of defensive ends, I really like the film of 2017 defensive end Tre Lawson, of South Carolina, who Florida State offered early in the week. Great frame, too.
-It sounds like FSU JUCO defensive end target Jonathan Kongbo, who recently decommitted from Tennessee, may be looking to stay on the West Coast (Washington or USC).
-Speaking of defensive ends yet again, Janarius Robinson has been making some plays during Army All-American Game week, but it is obvious from some clips out there just how raw the 4-star early enrollee from Panama City really is. I expect Brad Lawing to immediately work on his stance and hand placement.
Notre Dame OT Tommy Kraemer has been very good today vs Janarius Robinson and others. @ChadCarson247 pic.twitter.com/CLxHhftbvE
— Rusty Mansell (@Mansell247) January 5, 2016
I am high on Robinson's long-term prospects but wrote yesterday that I do not believe he is an instant-impact type, as I wrote yesterday.
-I still have nothing on OL commit Mike Arnold not being announced as an early-enrollee. I reached out to him but he did not respond. Any time a JUCO or Prep prospect experiences an issue not getting in as expected, my immediate thought is academics, as that is typically the reason a player had to go to a prep or JUCO in the first place.
-Florida State is seen as the frontrunner for 4-star CB Jared Mayden, of Texas after his decommitment from Oregon. Could this have something to do with 4-star safety commit Jamel Cook considering other schools? Or LSU still being a strong contender for four-star CB Trayvon Mullen? I don't know, but it does make me think.
Alumni
The Tampa Bay Bucs have fired Lovie Smith. Can't squander a promising rookie QB with a defensive head coach who cannot produce even an average defense.
Nile Lawrence-Stample of Florida State has accepted the invitation to play in the 2016 East West #ShrineGame https://t.co/L1SGQ3TvcY
— Shrine Game (@Shrine_Game) January 7, 2016
Opponents
-Boston College has hired Iowa LB coach Jim Reid to be its next defensive coordinator. I like the hire for BC, Reid is well respected, though BC's defense will probably blitz a bit less, resembling more like it did under Frank Spaziani. But they might be hiring Scott Loeffler, who I think is a really bad coach based on just about everywhere he has been.