Football

ESPN’s ACC writers named their preseason contenders for the Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year awards and Florida State has a major name on each of the lists.

The runner up: Florida State RB Dalvin Cook

Florida State fans are not willing to concede Watson is the ACC's best player. Cook's 2015 season is a convincing argument it's not definitive Watson is the preseason favorite for offensive player of the year. Cook is positioning himself to become the school's most distinguished running back. Duplicating 2015's numbers will put him in the Heisman Trophy conversation, one he was left out of last season and still has Tallahassee harboring voter resentment. The junior is among the few players nationally capable of scoring on any touch and from any point on the field. His touchdowns on average cover 33 yards, and with a healthy hamstring that number could increase this fall. An autumn assault on the ACC record books is certain if he leads college football in 20-yard gains a second straight year and makes a run at 2,000 yards behind a more experienced offensive line. If Cook rushes for 194 yards against Clemson once again -- and the Seminoles win -- he'll end up as the ACC offensive player of the year.

The runner-up: Florida State DB Derwin James

James might be the guy to ease the replacement of Florida State secondary leaders like Jalen Ramsey and Lamarcus Joyner before him. The only reason that is a "might" and not a "definite" is because, well, James is that darn versatile. He’s 6-foot-3, 213 pounds. He can line up at defensive end. He can take on offensive linemen in certain pass-rush scenarios. He can blow up plays in the defensive backfield. His freshman stat line -- 91 tackles, 4.5 sacks, five breakups among it -- speaks to that uniqueness. And, as a rising sophomore, he is only going to get better.

More on Cook as Andrea Adelson of ESPN wrote a fascinating piece on Cook’s process of how he improves himself as a running back.

In another piece of Cook news, the FSU running back is awarded third place among college football’s RBs in an Olympics-themed piece by NFL.com’s CFB 24/7.

As part of the ACC Football Media Guide which was released on Tuesday, we got a first glance at FSU’s fall roster. The first things that jump out are the new numbers of the incoming freshman who have arrived over the summer and a long-time member of the team missing from the roster.

Noles247’s Brendan Sonnone took the roster analysis a step forward, breaking down the notable weight gains and losses of the Florida State roster from spring practice.

In some breaking Florida State news, it was announced that Showtime’s A Season With series will follow the Seminoles for the course of their 2016 season.

Recruiting

Today marks the second day of the July session of the Jimbo Fisher Football Camp. Follow along with our thread from David Visser and Bud Elliott, who will both be in attendance.

After Tuesday’s session, we caught up with 2018 wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr., a Michigan State legacy.

Florida State extended an offer to 2019 QB Grant Gunnell after he impressed at the first day of camp.

Alumni

Former Seminole Jameis Winston returned to his hometown of Bessemer, Alabama to speak with the youth of the community and host a football camp for kids in the area.