Florida State football, recruiting news: Preparing for Clemson

Football:

Bill Connelly’s review of a Florida State win is always worth looking at:

Willie Taggart spoke to the media yesterday following FSU’s win over NC State. He talked about preparing for Clemson, Jim Leavitt’s energy and impact on the team, the defense, and the kicking competition. He noted that while FSU is preparing for Clemson they’re also focusing on themselves.

Speaking of Clemson and improving FSU’s defense, the Tigers are struggling a bit too as they were the first No. 1 team to win by just one point in over a decade. Is a struggling Seminole linebacker unit just what the doctor ordered?

Alex Hornibrook was sacked eight times vs NC State, and he acknowledged that some of those sacks were his fault.

Despite that, Hornibrook was named the ACC’s Quarterback of the Week, while Cyrus Fagan and Amari Gainer were similarly awarded by the ACC for Defensive Back and Rookie of the Week, respectively.

Kicker Ricky Aguayo’s struggles this season aren’t new — he’s been one of the worst kickers in the country over the last two seasons and was benched vs the Wolfpack.

ESPN has optioned the kickoff time for FSU vs Clemson. We’ll know when the ’Noles play after this weekend’s games.

Recruiting:

#Tribe20 High School Recap? More like High School Showcase. Running back commits Jaylan Knighton and Lawrance Toafili both had good games, as did target Daijun Edwards. Jeff Sims continues to shine and wide receiver Malachi Wideman continues to do insanely athletic things. Get caught up with them and other ’Nole targets.

A bye week means coaches will hit the road, and Kendal Briles is expected to visit four-star quarterback Malik Hornsby.

Other Sports:

Baseball season is right around the corner!

It’s the beginning of a new era as new head coach Mike Martin Jr. holds his first practice:

Meat has also hit the ground running in recruiting:

Sophomore All-American golfer Frida Kinhult won the Schooner Fall Classic title. It was her third career individual championship. The No. 13 Women’s Golf team finished in a tie for fifth place.

Your No. 23 Volleyball team swept Wake Forest on the road.

Alumni:

Plenty of Seminole alumni flaunted their talents in the NFL last Sunday, including Jameis Winston, Nigel Bradham, Derrick Nnadi, rookie Brian Burns, and many more.

After a rough start to the season Winston is arguably playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and the Bucs just set a franchise record with 55 points on the road against the defending NFC champs. That earned Famous Jameis a call from Prime Time himself. The national media is also noticing Winston’s improved play:

Not to be outdone, the current Jeopardy champion (with a two-day total over $60k) is FSU graduate student and PhD creative writing candidate Laurel Lathrop.