Florida State football, recruiting news: FSU defensive end tandem among best in the nation

Football

ESPN’s Mitch Sherman included a pair of FSU players in his list of the best edge-rushing tandems in the country.

Josh Sweat and Brian Burns, Florida State

The Seminoles lose DeMarcus Walker but might be better, somehow, off the edge if Sweat and Burns come of age. Sweat is a former five-star prospect who showed his skills in the second half of last season, and Burns led all freshmen nationally with 9.5 sacks in 2016.

In case you didn’t already know, Jabrill Peppers missed the Orange Bowl last year. David Hale of ESPN picked his Jabrill Peppers replacement on the Florida State roster.

2. Florida State

There may not be a better true comparison for Peppers' skill set in college football than FSU safety Derwin James, who hasn't been utilized on offense but certainly could make the jump if coach Jimbo Fisher saw a need. James is taller than Peppers, but they fit a similar role -- quick, versatile, athletic members of the secondary, playing all over on the back end. A knee injury stunted James' 2016 season, but he's already being projected as a top-five draft pick next spring. -- David M. Hale

ESPN’s Colin Becht has an intriguing way to balance the divisions in the ACC and the rest of the Power Five conferences.

To fix the ACC’s divisions, there’s really only one thing to do: Split up Clemson and Florida State. The best way to do that is to move the Seminoles into the Coastal and move Virginia into the Atlantic.

The ACC’s eight-game conference schedule requires each team to play the six other teams in its division, one protected crossover opponent and one rotating crossover opponent. Clemson and Florida State could adopt one another as their protected crossover, preserving what has become the marquee regular season game in the ACC. Florida State currently plays Miami as its protected crossover, but these rivals would maintain their annual meeting as divisional foes. Georgia Tech would the biggest loser in this plan, as it would lose its yearly meeting with Clemson. Virginia Tech and Virginia would similarly adopt one another as protected crossover opponents to keep their annual meeting. Neither the Hokies’ pairing with Boston College nor the Cavaliers’ with Louisville held great significance. Georgia Tech could add Louisville as its crossover rival while Boston College pairs with Miami.

Recruiting

Four-star defensive back and FSU commit Asante Samuel Jr. will be visiting Tallahassee this weekend.

Other Sports

We now know the entire College World Series field as well as when FSU will play its opening game against LSU in Omaha.