Jimbo Fisher Call-In Show updates/takeaways: Miami week

Just days after a heartbreaking loss to North Carolina, Jimbo Fisher returned to his weekly call-in show, fielding questions on a variety of subjects from the UNC loss to the Florida State defense to the upcoming matchup with Miami. What are the takeaways from this week’s show?

Handling players who want to transfer

The first caller of the night brought up the interesting topic of how to handle young players who feel compelled to transfer due to frustration over a lack of reps. Fisher began by pointing out that he talked to the team about this topic at Wednesday’s practice. For the talk, he discussed FSU wide receivers coach Lawrence Dawsey, who had no more than 20 catches in any of his first three seasons at Florida State before exploding for upwards of 60 catches and an All-American nod in his senior season. With his players, he stated that he obviously encourages them to work hard as that will be required for them to break into the starting lineup but he also urges patience as it sometimes takes time as well as the hard work to break into the lineup.

What’s wrong with Ricky Aguayo?

Another early caller inquired about what went so wrong with Ricky Aguayo’s three field goal attempts in Saturday’s loss to UNC, all of which were missed. Fisher cited a technique issue with how he was kicking but was quick to relieve the Florida State fanbase by saying that he had not seen this issues from Aguayo previously and adding that he has looked very good in practice this week. Fisher made sure to state that he stands behind Aguayo as their placekicker on kicks up to 52-53 yards, beyond which FSU will turn to Logan Tyler as its long field goal specialist.

Does Florida State defense have a quick fix?

Another smart caller asked Fisher if there is a quick fix for what has been going so wrong on the Florida State defense or if its a myriad of issues which have combined to create the confusion. Fisher’s one potential fix he pointed to was an increased ability for FSU to stop the run, going on to say that if the Seminoles can shut down opposing rushing attacks, it limits what the opponent can do in at least one of the two facets of the offense. Additionally, Fisher cited that improved run defense, which can be fixed by better gap discipline and tackling, will put opposing teams behind their schedule, creating third and long situations which allow the FSU defense to run more multiple schemes and bring more pressure due to a knowledge that the opposing team will be most likely running a pass play.

For a full rundown of updates from this week’s show, check the comments section at the bottom of the page.