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Florida State football, recruiting news: 'Noles hold first scrimmage of fall camp

By Andrew Miller
Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports

Football:

- Florida State held its first scrimmage of the fall camp on Wednesday with Deondre Francois apparently making big strides. One name that is standing out among the players is sophomore receiver Nyquan Murray. Derwin James noted that he even made a play on him during the scrimmage. What player do you think will surprise everyone in 2016?

"Yeah, ‘Noonie,' I'm lost for words with ‘Noonie,'" James said. "He's shifty. He's a guy that can beat you with speed. He's a guy that can beat you with quickness and he runs great routes. It's a lose-lose situation sometimes (for DBs)."

- Ole Miss will be without RB Jordan Wilkins for the Florida State game as well as the rest of the season. The junior running back played in every game for the Rebels, while started two, was fourth on the team with 379 rushing yards in 2015. He entered fall practice as co-starting running back.

- Andrea Adelson of ESPN ranked the ACC's top WR/TE groups, with Florida State coming in at No. 2 behind reigning ACC Champion, Clemson.

There is no question the Seminoles have talent here, with Travis Rudolph, Bobo Wilson and Kermit Whitfield returning, along with the potential emergence of big, physical Auden Tate. Tight end Ryan Izzo is also back, giving Florida State a solid group that stands toe-to-toe with just about anybody. The key now is for more consistency from the group as a whole.

- Lance Zierlien and Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network held a RB only 2017 NFL mock draft. With the first overall selection, Zierlien selected FSU's Dalvin Cook over LSU's Leonard Fournette.

- Bleacher Report ranked the top freshman heading into the 2016 college football season with two Florida State Seminoles making it into the top six.

No. 2 - QB Deondre Francois

Florida State had an intriguing quarterback competition between a respected veteran and a promising redshirt freshman. Well, it lasted all of one week.

Francois' first test will be a prime-time showdown against a Top 15 Ole Miss team on Labor Day night.

Sean Maguire injured his right ankle and will be sidelined for at least four weeks. Deondre Francois is now the starter.

"Deondre has done a great job mentally of approaching the game in practice the right way, allowing himself to be coached, but he prepares himself," head coach Jimbo Fisher said, per the Orlando Sentinel. "He learns well. Physically, he can make all the throws."

No. 6 - DB Levonta Taylor

The returning players in the Florida State secondary compose what should be an excellent unit, but Levonta Taylor will crack the rotation. Put simply, he's too good to not play.

Taylor has the makings of a special player.

"He's doing amazing things, really," teammate Derrick Nnadi said, according to Brendan Sonnone of 247Sports. "It's amazing how fast he's picked up to it. He's done a really great job."

In addition to practicing on defense, Taylor is working on kickoff coverage and is a leading contender to return punts. It's fair to assume the 5-star will add special teams to his resume as a freshman

Recruiting:

Recruiting Update: In the 247 composite 2017 class rankings, Florida State is currently No. 9, and the No. 2 ACC school behind Miami at No. 8. The impressive feat is the 'Noles have 12 total commitments while no one else inside the top-10 has less than 15 commitments (Miami has 20). FSU's 92.49 average is third in the nation behind Ohio State and Georgia.

Other Sports:

The new locker rooms for the Florida State Men's basketball team seem to be coming along nicely. The school tweeted out a progress picture of the renovations going on.

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