College Football Season is Here! Previewing the 2010 Florida State Seminoles

There will be a new face pacing the Florida State sideline in 2010 as Jimbo Fisher makes his head-coaching debut. The Seminoles will begin the year ranked 20th in both major polls. The ACC has picked Florida State as the favorite to win the conference's Atlantic Division. The Seminoles had an overall disappointing year in 2009 finishing just 7-6, but FSU managed to win five of its final seven games to keep the nation's longest bowl streak alive. The Seminoles have a lot coming back and if the Noles' are able to drastically improve on defense, 2010 could be a memorable year in Tallahassee.

Here's a look at what the Seminoles will put on the field in 2010:

Offense

James Coley will take over Fisher's old job as the Seminoles' offensive coordinator in addition to being the team's tight end's coach. Coley inherits an offense that returns nine starters including all five offensive linemen from 2009. In 2009, Florida State finished second in offense in the ACC; Florida averaged less than a yard-per-game behind conference leader Georgia Tech last season and 28th nationally.

Quarterbacks

Dameyune Craig, who played quarterback for Fisher at Auburn takes over as Florida State's quarterbacks coach. Quarterback seems one of the positions that is solidified for the Seminoles. Prior to a shoulder injury at Clemson a year ago, quarterback Christian Ponder led the Atlantic Coast Conference in total offense. Ponder appears to be fully recovered from last year's injury and is hyped as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. Ponder is the best player to go under center for FSU since Heisman winner Chris Weinke led the Seminoles to the BCS title game in 2000. Christian Ponder has shown to be extremely accurate and deceptively very athletic. A year ago, Ponder had the fastest shuttle time of any player on the team. He has also proven to be quite the leader in the huddle as well. Ponder led the Seminoles to two comeback wins in the final two minutes in 2009. To go along withhis accolades on the field, Ponder graduated with a Bachelors in just two years and is working on a second graduate degree. Behind Ponder is highly touted redshirt-sophomore E.J. Manuel. Manuel compiled a 3-1 record as Florida State's starter in Ponder's absense a year ago. Mauel starts includied a 33-21 win over West Virginia in the Gator Bowl that insured FSU's 33rd consecutive winning season.

Running Backs

Eddie Gran takes over for Dexter Carter as the running backs coach for the Seminoles. Gran will also coach the Seminole special teams. Florida State will have a stable in the backfield behind Ponder. Junior, Jermaine Thomas will likely be the starter; despite a slow start in 2009, Thomas finished the season strong rushing for 100 yards in four of the team's final six games. Sophomore Lonnie Pryor will likely be the team's starting fullback; Pryor is a tailback by nature, but proved to be an above average lead blocker a year ago and will likely play both tailback and fullback. Behind Thomas are sophomore Chris Thompson and junior, Carlton "Ty" Jones. Thompson overcame early fumbling problems in 2009 to become a legitimate part of the Seminole offense. Thompson has blazing speed and could be a big-play threat in the run game in 2010. Jones is more of a between-the-tackles back and played well a year ago filling in for an injured Thomas. Jones' carries diminished as the season went on a year ago, but that has served as motivation for him throughout the spring.

Wide Receivers

Lawrence Dawsey is one of the three assistant coaches retained by Jimbo Fisher. Dawsey will be in his fourth season as the wide receivers coach at FSU. Florida State lost perhaps its best possession receiver when junior Jarmon Fortson was kicked off the team for failing multiple drug tests, but the Seminoles have plenty of young, unproven talent to replace him. Junior, Bert Reedwill likely be Ponder's go-to-guy in 2010. Reed is small, but very fast and shifty. In 2009, he was much improved down the middle and got several touches as a runner. Taiwan Easterling, who also plays baseball, has been nagged by injuries in his first two years of eligibility. Nevertheless, Easterling has shown a ton of promise. Easterling has quick enough to be used in the screen game, but has enough toughness to catch the tough ones down the middle. To contrast the talents of Reed and Easterling, the Seminoles have a pair of big, physical but still inexperienced sophmores at the receiver position. Willie Haulstead, 6'3" and Rodney Smith, 6'6" will be asked to step up and make the tough catches. Both were highly touted out of high school and will have a chance to really help their team in 2010. True freshman Kenny Shaw will also see playing time for the Seminoles this year. At tight end, Beau Reliford will likely be the starter ahead of junior Ja'Baris Little. Reliford stepped up toward the end of 2009 as a formidable receiver after starter Caz Piurowski went down with a season-ending knee injury. Little, a Tallahassee native has yet to live up to the hype he received coming out of high school, but should have opportunities as a H-Back in James Coley's offense.

Offensive Line

Offensive Line coach, Rick Trickett, a former Marine has transformed the FSU offensive line from one of the team's weaker points to one of the strongest in the conference. The Florida State return all five starters from 2009 including four-year starters, center, Ryan McMahon and All-American left guard, Rodney Hudson. Hudson is on the preseason Outland Trophy watch list and McMahon is being watched for the Rimington Trophy given annually to the nation's best center. Joining them along the offensive front are three juniors. David Spurlock will start at right guard while Zebrie Sanders and Andrew Datko man the tackle positions. Sanders became more consistent as a pass blocker as the 2009 season progressed and could be on the verge of a breakout season in 2010.

Defense

Mark Stoopscomes over from Arizona to become Jimbo Fisher's first defensive coordinator at FSU replacing legend Mickey Andrews. The Seminoles defensively in 2009 were the worst in the ACC and 108th nationally. The Seminoles were consistently burnt for big plays. Stoops will switch Florida State from a man-to-man scheme to more of a zone look. If the Seminoles are able to make significant strides defensively, they should be viable contenders to win the ACC.

Defensive Line

Former Seminoles star Odell Haggins will coach the defensive tackles while D.J. Eliot takes over as the ends coach. The Seminoles suffered a major preseason blow when starting defensive tackle, Moses McCray tore his ACL. The defensive line was perhaps Florida State's biggest weakness a year ago. It wasn't until late October of last season when a FSU defensive lineman recorded a sack. Senior defensive end, Markus White is the lone senior along the Seminole defensive front. White, a junior-college transfer, has failed to live up to his potential at FSU, but has plenty of raw speed and athleticism to be a force as a senior. On the other side will likely be sophomore Brandon Jenkinsalthough redshirt freshman Dan Hicks is pushing Jenkins for the starting end spot. On the interior will be sophomores Jacobbi McDaniel and Everett Dawkins. McDaniel was arguably the Seminoles best defensive lineman a year ago as a freshman and Dawkins has the speed to be disruptive against the pass. Demonte McAllister, a redshirt freshman, will see the field for the first time this season. McAllister, a highly recruited player, can play either defensive line position and could potentially be a starter by season's end.

Linebackers

Greg Hudson takes over for Chuck Amato as Florida State's linebackers coach. The linebackers are by far, the Seminoles deepest defensive contingent. Despite the loss of Nigel Carr to an arrest, the Noles' remain strong at linebacker. Junior, Nigel Bradham is the best of the FSU linebackers corps. Bradham has not put up the numbers that have been expected of him, but his impact has been immense. Bradham's size and speed is in a class of its own and he has proven to be very good in pass coverage. Along with Bradham, the Seminoles will start senior middle linebacker, Kendall Smith and 5th-year senior, Mister Alexander. If the Seminoles are to be successful in 2010, they will need Smith to step up and make more plays. Alexander will get his first crack at being an every down linebacker. Alexander excelled a year ago as a pass rusher, but most of his pass-rushing was done out of Mickey Andrews' prowler package and not in a traditional blitzing fashion. Redshirt sophomore Vince Williams will provide depth for Florida State and could see a bulk of the playing time by season's end. The Seminoles struck gold on National Signing Day as five-star linebacker Christian Jones chose FSU over Florida and Georgia. True freshmen, Jeff Luc and Telvin Smith could also make an immediate impact for Florida State in 2010.

Secondary

The Seminoles struggled mightily against the pass in 2009. FSU was beaten for long pass plays all too often a year ago. The Seminoles have added some new parts in hopes of improving one of the country's worst pass defenses last year. High school All-American Lamarcus Joyner and JUCO transfer Mike Harris will see the field immediately, but neither are expected to start right away. Instead, sophomore Greg Reid looks to be the top cover guy for FSU. Reid was a force for the Seminoles a year ago on both defense and on kick returns. In fact, Reid intercepted two passes in his first three games as a freshman and returned one for a touchdown in FSU's rout of then seventh-ranked BYU. On the other side of Reid will be redshirt freshman, Xavier Rhodes who beat out returning starter Ochucko Jenije for the starting job. Jenije struggled a year in man-to-man coverage, but will likely see time at the safety position and as a nickelback on passing downs. At safety, junior Terrance Parks and sophomore Nick Moody will probably be the opening-day starters, but sophomores Jajuan Harley and Gerald Demps as well as Jenije will push Parks and Moody for their starting roles.

Special Teams

The Seminoles return both of their kicking specialists from 2009. Junior, Shawn Powell will do the punting for Florida State and will serve as the holder for sophomore kicker, Dustin Hopkins. Hopkins struggled on extra-points early in 2009, but fortunately was able to correct the problem by the middle of the season. Hopkins' strong leg accounted for 19 field goals a year ago and helped with field position by putting many kickoffs into the endzone. Returning kicks and punts will be cornerback, Greg Reid. Reid was explosive as a freshman last year returning one punt for a touchdown and breaking many others for big gains and setting up scores. Jimbo Fisher has raved about freshman Lamarcus Joyner's ability with the football in his hands; Joyner will likely be alongside Reid on kickoff returns. Bert Reed could get opportunities to return kicks as well.

The schedule is tough for Florida State in 2010. The Seminoles will travel to Oklahoma in week 2 and conclude the regular season with Florida. In the ACC, the Seminoles get Atlantic Division foes Boston College, Wake Forest and Clemson in Tallahassee. A very good North Carolina team will visit Doak Campbell Stadium in early November. The Noles' will travel to play Virginia, Miami, Maryland and will visit NC State on a Thursday night. FSU also has non-conference games with FCS Samford and a solid BYU program. College football is finally here; it is guaranteed to be fun. Go Noles!