Football
The first edition of ESPN’s 2017 FPI, which has been widely criticized in years past, has a surprising non-Alabama team at No. 1 with Florida State coming in at No. 4.
After the conference lost a ton of elite QB talent this offseason, where does Deondre Francois fall in a ranking of all the ACC quarterbacks entering 2017?
Runner-up: Florida State. Deondre Francois threw for over 3,000 yards as a redshirt freshman a year ago and returns to much higher expectations, not only for himself but for his team. The Seminoles already are a popular choice to make it into the College Football Playoff, and Francois' potential in 2017 is a big reason why. Despite getting sacked 36 times and knocked down many more, Francois proved himself time and again. Another year, and he should be even better. The biggest concern here is a lack of depth at quarterback. With Malik Henry deciding to transfer and Sean Maguire out of eligibility, Florida State is left with J.J. Cosentino and early enrollee Bailey Hockman as the only other scholarship quarterbacks available in the spring.
Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated re-ranked the top 2014 recruiting classes and FSU’s, ranked 4th after the 2014 National Signing Day, finds itself in a slightly worse spot.
6. Florida State
Record since 2014: 33–7
Conference titles: 1
Playoff appearances: 1
National titles: 0
Original 247Sports.com composite ranking: 4
Major contributors: RB Dalvin Cook, S Ermon Lane, WR Travis Rudolph, LB Jacob Pugh, DT Derrick Nnadi, OT Rod Johnson, DT Demarcus Christmas, S Trey Marshall, TE Mavin Saunders, C Alec Eberle, TE Ryan Izzo, OG Kareem Are, OT Brock Ruble
Cook was the headliner of this class, and he didn’t disappoint during his career in Tallahassee. Even with Jameis Winston still on the team, Cook was Florida State’s most important offensive weapon in the second half of his freshman season. He then carried the offense as a sophomore and for most of his junior season. Much of the rest of this class will peak in ’17, which could be great for the Seminoles in an ACC Atlantic Division they no longer have to share with Deshaun Watson.
Temple may have started a new trend on Monday when the Owls announced their first-of-its-kind S.W.A.G Coordinator.
Temple football has announced the addition of a new SWAG coordinator pic.twitter.com/A757WMjbnW
— Barrett Sallee (@BarrettSallee) February 13, 2017
In non-Florida State news but very relevant college football news, Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder announced Monday that he has been diagnosed with throat cancer. However, he doesn’t expect it to affect his coaching capability going forward.
Recruiting
Florida State offered 2018 four-star safety Demarvion Overshown on Monday. Here’s his most recent Hudl film:
Bud Elliott analyzes what Miami has done so well to get off to an impressive start to its 2018 recruiting class in his Crootletter.
How does the SEC’s recruiting compare with the rest of the nation combined in the 2017 cycle? SB Nation’s Richard Johnson breaks it down.
Other Sports
Brian Beattie of Seminole Productions put together an impressive video feature of freshman phenom Jonathan Isaac.