Preseason

I live in Florida. Every day we step outside and breathe that unique combination of water and oxygen that defines our fully humid biosphere. Now imagine walking outside of your bed & breakfast in pastoral New England on an early October morning. By the time the red and burnt orange leaf falls to the brick paved sidewalk in front of you, your air passages have filled with something so fresh and invigorating that just moving your lungs feels like a gift from above...Thus the arrival of a five star freshman signal caller in Tallahassee.

Jameis Winston has filled all Noles with hope as the hardy head to the Steel City for the 2013 lid lifter. Not being privy to private practice film here at the World HQ of Knox Sports, I can only comment on what I have seen. This young man was on the baseball team as a true freshman and within two weeks, most of the players were commenting on how he was one of the key leaders of the squad. Watching him on the football sideline last year, he was more engaged than any redshirt I have ever witnessed. Wearing a coaches headset and sitting in Jimbo's hip pocket all season had to help him prepare for what is coming. And what makes him special is the kid has fun. I know you old timers can remember Danny McManus getting a little crazy on a Friday afternoon at the Phyrst, and god knows that Wyatt Sexton knew how to have a good time, but when is the last time we had a quarterback that had this much fun ON the field? I can't wait...But, enough about Jameis (which rhymes with "Famous" white people...stop adding syllables please!!) Since our HC has a predilection for getting our passers injured during the season, it does not hurt that the steady diet of NFL scouts that paraded through our Fall practices all agreed that we had two NFL QB's on the roster this year. The fact that they are both still too young to drink is a good thing. Let's just hope that the amazing Greek scenery of an FSU Fall - especially just on the Capitol side of Bill's BookStore - is enough to keep young Mr. Coker in Garnet & Gold for the rest of his career.

The Offensive line has a chance to be the best ever in Tallahassee. No, we have not recruited well behind this group, but if these beasts can stay healthy, we should control every team we play and give both both JWJ and Freeman a chance to dominate. I know I am in the vast minority, but I still feel like Stork at center is the weakest link in the set. His Junior hipmates in Jackson and Matias are both huge and uber-talented so it should not be too big an issue. Nice to see Bobby Hart rededicate himself to the game. If you are one of those fans who just stare at the ball, then you will miss one of the treats of FSU offense this year, and that is watching Rashad Greene takeoffs. What makes this young man so special is his first 5 steps. He could lose a DB in an elevator. Next time it is 3rd and long, just focus on #80 and watch the defender flail helplessly in pursuit like a bracefaced tween girl in row 92 of a Justin Timberlake concert.  Maybe this is the year that athletic freak Kelvin Benjamin finally fills his shoes. Hint to KB - you are 6'5" and 245 lbs - stop shoving off liliputian corners and just go get the damn ball. Need to keep O'Leary healthy and judging by the fact that he can smash at 50mph on a motorcycle headon into a bus and walk away, I am not worried about a couple downfield blocks...

Yes, we lost four defensive lineman to the League, and we have an entirely new scheme. But I am not worried. Maybe, because there are so many future NFL players on this side of the ball, that it will be an absolute crime if we can not be just as dominant as we were in 2012. I guess we should be concerned about our "weakness" - the fact that at DE, we will have to heavily rely on three of the top five DE recruits in the country in Edwards, Casher and Walker. Okay. Well, we will surround this obvious butterscotch stain with enough whipped cream that no one will notice. Harumph. The SEC can kiss my ass, this is the best back 7 in college football. We have so many DB's that if we play Oregon, they may drop the spread and go all 1958 Wisconsin and a cloud of dust on us. Our issue will be making mental mistakes with personnel and lining up early in the season. While Coach Pruitt figures everything out (remember he was an asst HS coach in 2006), we may have some ginormous busted assignments. Like a WR looking like he snuck off the sideline he was so open kind of bust. But, survive early and hopefully by Clemson, we can figure out how to use this ridiculous collection of talent. I am especially looking forward to seeing a huge season out of Christian Jones - who in my opinion has been underutilized in the Stoops system. This freak needs to be all over the field and wrecking havoc like a baby left alone with a vat of spaghetti-o's. Apparenty, freshman phenom Jalen Ramsey is so good that ballers like Ronald Darby and Nick Waisome have been losing playing time. How good can this kid be? Goodness...ought to be fun on that side of the ball.

Golden Toe is gone. We took him for granted for four years. Kickoffs sailing high and landing at the 1 so our pack of wild dogs could ravage the opponent inside the 20. Assuming that when we crossed midfield, we were in FG range. Well, we hear that young Robert Aguayo may be up to the challenge of filling these golden shoes - albeit I doubt that he does that literally. Our punt return was way too much of an adventure last year. Need to stabilize that unit and it appears that Kenny Shaw will do that. Like to see some of the freshman bring some sizzle here - late in runaway games - but do not need a turnover costing us a game. This is the season that Karlos Williams returns a KO to the house, and the real leader of this entire football team - Lamarcus Joyner - will be on the other side if they choose to avoid him.

If this is the year we finally, finally, finally avoid the silly loss to an ACC idiot, then it looks like 10-2 is the worst case scenario. Be nice to split those two nasty road games, but logic says one of those Orange busses could run over us. Maybe when we play them, we never let Nick O'Leary leave the field.

So breathe freely, Nole fans...football season is back. See you in the 'Burgh!!