Florida State football, recruiting news: Who emerges as FSU’s offensive tackles?

Football

Chris Hummer of 247Sports included FSU and a number of its rivals on his list of position battles to watch entering the 2017 college football season.

Florida State – Offensive Tackle

Jauan Williams vs. Josh Ball vs. Abdul Bello vs. Rick Leonard?

The Seminoles offensive line struggled at times in 2016, and it’s not likely to improve with the departure of starting left tackle Roderick Johnson. While inconsistent at times, Johnson was easily Florida State’s top offensive lineman a year ago.

There’s a chance right tackle Rick Leonard slides over from the right side to the left, but outside of that the Seminoles will likely test out a number of talented underclassmen. Redshirt freshman Jauan Williams and sophomore Josh Ball have the best shot to start, but watch out for redshirt sophomore Abdul Bello.

Miami – Quarterback

Malik Rosier vs. Evan Shirreffs vs. Jack Allison

There are a bevy of potential replacements for Brad Kaaya but there's little clarity at this point in the offseason as to who will step forward.

The player with arguably the best chance to win the job is redshirt freshman Jack Allison. A prototypical pocket passer at 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, Allison, the No. 8 pro-style passer in the 2016 class, is the most naturally talented player on the roster. Junior Malik Rosier is the only contender with collegiate experience. He was Kaaya’s backup the last two season, but his long-term ceiling might be continuing in that role. Shirreffs, a redshirt sophomore, is also an option. He doesn’t have the strongest arm, but the high school valedictorian is a heady player who sees the field well. Also involved is true freshman N’Kosi Perry. An explosive athlete with plenty of pure arm talent, Perry is a potential game-breaker at QB. He’s a bit raw, though. Cade Weldon, another true freshman signal caller, will also factor into the race.

Florida – Quarterback

Luke Del Rio vs. Redshirt Freshmen

Florida might be back-to-back SEC East winners, but a run of less-than-stellar quarterback play has hampered its ability to compete in the upper echelon of college football under Jim McElwain.

Del Rio, a rising junior, struggled when healthy last season completing just 56.7 percent of his passes and throwing one interception for every touchdown (8 TDs, 8 INTs). The Gators need better play under center and redshirt freshmen Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask hope to help Florida solve that issue. Franks, a top-60 player in the 2016 class, is considered the future at the position, but he’s still a developing passer with an occasionally jerky motion. Trask is also in the mix, but he didn’t even start at Manvel High School in Texas – he sat behind Houston Cougars athlete D'Eriq King.

Somebody needs to emerge for the Gators this offseason. With Del Rio out for the spring due to shoulder surgery, the freshman will have every opportunity.

Florida State’s spring game on Saturday will provide an interesting debut for someone not normally affiliated with the Seminoles or college football as a whole.

Jared Shanker of ESPN writes on how FSU’s 2016 recruiting class, entering its second season in Tallahassee, could be instrumental to the team’s success in 2017.

In ACC news, an ACC Championship game appearance for Justin Fuente in his first year at Virginia Tech earned him a big extension in Blacksburg.

Recruiting

2018 four-star cornerback Christian Tutt named FSU in his top two along with Alabama when talking to Noles247’s Chris Nee over the weekend.

Florida State also remains in the mix for a number of 2018 targets including four-star athlete Kyler McMichael and four-star quarterback Emory Jones, both of whom have plans to visit FSU in the near future.

Alumni

Dan Kadar has Dalvin Cook as the third running back off the board in his new NFL mock draft for SB Nation.

15. Indianapolis Colts: Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State

If one of the top three running backs is left on the board, the Colts should strike on them in the first round. In this case it’s Cook, who could be brought in to replace Frank Gore. Cook ran for more than 4,400 yards and 46 touchdowns in three seasons at Florida State, and he caught 79 passes. He could be a factor immediately in the NFL.

Tom Ziller of SB Nation has Jonathan Isaac holding firm in the top ten of his latest very creative NBA mock draft.

10. Kings (from Pelicans): Jonathan Isaac, F, Florida State

So what if you take

Brandon Ingram, stretch him out

like taffy? Isaac!

Other Sports

Even if the game resulted in a loss, Tyler Holton was phenomenal once again over the weekend, dealing seven innings of no-hit baseball. As such, his third ACC Pitcher of the Week honor is no surprise.