FSU Seminoles

As of today, there are 100 days until the start of the college football season.

You bet we’re counting.

If you’re Scot Loeffler, Virginia Tech's new offensive coordinator, 100 days must feel like a nanosecond. The Hokies aren’t the only ones, though, with plenty of work to do before the season begins. Here’s a checklist of five things the ACC and its teams must accomplish before the opening kickoff:

1. Name starting quarterbacks. Syracuse can’t even talk about Oklahoma transfer Drew Allen yet because he’s not on campus and won’t enroll until next month, but the Orange are just one of several teams in the ACC that still have an ongoing quarterback competition. Virginia’s quarterback controversy has seemingly gone on for years, and Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher has yet to officially anoint Jameis Winston as EJ Manuel’s successor. Pitt is also still searching for a dependable leader, along with NC State.

2. Find an offense in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech has become one of the ACC’s brand-name programs, a consistent winner and a representative in the Top 25 and BCS standings. That changed last season when the Hokies bumbled their way through their most disappointing season in 20 years. Coach Frank Beamer made sweeping changes to his offensive staff, but little improvement was seen in the spring game. Loeffler said it wasn’t a true indication of the progress that was made in the other 13 practices, but also conceded there is still a lot of work to be done. With Alabama looming in the season opener, all eyes will be on the ACC in Week 1. When the Hokies are good, the ACC is better.

3. Improve defensively. With the exception of Florida State, which finished the season ranked No. 6 in the country in scoring defense, 2012 wasn’t a banner year for ACC defenses. The conference usually has some of the nation’s best defenses -- including Boston College -- but there was no Luke Kuechly and no identity for the Eagles last fall. Miami beat Duke 52-45. Georgia Tech beat North Carolina 68-50. Clemson beat NC State 62-48. Clemson took a major step forward defensively with its bowl win against LSU, but the defense must become elite in its second season under coordinator Brent Venables if Clemson is going to be a national-title contender.

4. Minimize the turnovers. Virginia Tech was No. 86 in turnover margin last year, and quarterback Logan Thomas threw three picks in the spring game. Boston College was No. 88 in the country in turnover margin, FSU No. 93, NC State No. 99, Maryland No. 104, Virginia No. 110. That’s almost half the league ranked among the worst in the country in turnover margin. The Hokies play Alabama. Virginia plays Oregon. BC plays at USC. FSU is at Florida, and the Seminoles turned it over five times versus the Gators in FSU's 37-26 loss last year. The Gators scored 10 points off turnovers in that game. If the ACC is going to stand a chance, it can’t give away freebies.

5. Stay out of the trainer’s room. Virginia Tech standout corner Antone Exum is still rehabbing from the torn ACL he suffered in a pickup basketball game. The bulk of Wake Forest’s offensive line was walking wounded all spring, and that group will make or break the Deacons' season. Clemson backup quarterback Chad Kelly and starting tight end Sam Cooper both tore their ACLs this spring. If the ACC is going to beat the best this fall, it needs its best players on the field. For some programs, like Boston College, the depth isn’t there to afford injuries.

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston stole the show in the Seminoles’ spring game, but the departure of former quarterback Clint Trickett will not mean an automatic promotion for Winston, coach Jimbo Fisher said on Wednesday.

(Some don't believe this.)

Despite Winston's jaw-dropping athleticism, FSU will head into fall camp with an open competition remaining, and Winston and Jacob Coker will continue to split reps, Fisher said.

“We’re still going to break it up,” Fisher said. “Jameis had an outstanding spring … but Jacob Coker will still be in that battle and so will Sean [Maguire], but Jacob and Jameis will really be battling hard for that job, and Sean has really developed; I’m very pleased with him.

“We’ll split those reps and we’ll keep it because I think we still have some outstanding quarterbacks on this team. We’ll [see] how the consistency relays through, but I was very pleased with those guys in spring practice.”

Fisher said that Coker played three quarters of the spring with a broken foot, so he is eager to see how Coker competes when at full strength.

“He’s a big, strong guy who can think, really knows the offense, tough guy, big-time arm strength, can get the ball vertically and throw the underneath game,” Fisher said. “And Winston has all the tools, also. I’m very excited for those guys and their futures here.”

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher will continue to call the offensive plays for the Seminoles this season, the way he has since he was elevated to head coach.

When it comes to actually naming an offensive coordinator, well, that is a bit of a gray area. James Coley held that title the last three seasons but never once called a play. A big reason he left for Miami? His desire to call plays.

With Coley gone from his staff, Fisher has decided against giving that title out. Could he? Sure he could. Fisher rattled off his offensive assistants -- Randy Sanders, Lawrence Dawsey and Tim Brewster -- as being more than capable.

Will he? Maybe. Maybe not.

"We still may name one," Fisher said. "I just want to get through spring ball and see how things go and see who fits into what role. But they all could do that job. That’s no problem at all. Randy’s been an offensive coordinator for years. Dawsey can do those things. Brewster has been a head coach. ... They do what an offensive coordinator does, they all still do those things. Whether you name one or you don’t, they’re still doing the job."

Fisher is one of a handful of coaches across the country who calls his own offensive plays. He has come under fire for doing both, including last season after the second-half collapse against NC State. Toward the end of last season, he hinted at perhaps giving up play calling duties in the near future.

But that was well before this staff exodus. Two assistants remain on the offensive side of the ball from a year ago. Fisher maintains that calling the plays is something he greatly enjoys. He pointed to the Seminoles' offensive numbers from a year ago -- averaging nearly 40 points per game, tied for No. 7 in the nation in red-zone offense, averaging 7 yards per play to rank No. 3 in the nation.

And he believes calling plays works for continuity's sake. His reason? Staff changes, as noted above.

"I may give it up at a time if you get the right guys in the system," Fisher said. "But you understand this. You’ve got a guy, and you’ve given him plays. As soon as you lose that guy -- which in today’s time if you have success, you’re going to -- then you have to break a whole ’nother guy in. There’s a down side to that, too. There’s a flip side to the guys who have the guru offenses and as a head coach you’re not involved with them and all of a sudden they leave. Then what do you do? You fight that animal, too, so you always try to find consistency in your program."

Andrea Adelson talks to Florida State safety Terrence Brooks about changes to the Seminoles' defense.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- There was no chance Roberto Aguayo would see action. Two months earlier, he wasn't even expecting a scholarship. This was simply a dry run, a small sample of what the life of a kicker might someday be like.

And yet, when Aguayo stepped through the tunnel last September and onto the field at Doak Campbell Stadium for warm-ups before Florida State's opener, the gravity of the proceedings overwhelmed him.

"My stomach -- butterflies just hit it," Aguayo said.

Eventually the nerves subsided, and while Aguayo made it through the game -- and then the season -- without ever lining up for a kick, the experience meant something.

For a team and a fan base that enjoyed the calm consistency of college football's most prolific kicker during the past four years, Aguayo is something new -- and that can be a frightening prospect. But for him, the experience already feels routine, and routine is a kicker's best friend.

"I feel confident," said Aguayo, who was set to greyshirt in 2012 before a scholarship opened up at the last minute. "I don't like to pressure myself. Right now I'm focused on school, spring ball is going well, and I'm taking it step by step."

Kicking has always come naturally to Aguayo, who started playing soccer when he was just 2. When he was 8, his Pop Warner team needed someone to boot extra points, and Aguayo was the only logical candidate.

"I kicked the farthest," he said. "Everybody else's would go 2 yards off the ground."

The rigors of the job didn't change much through high school, where Aguayo was considered one of the top kicking prospects in the nation. But when he arrived at Florida State, it quickly became clear that there was a nuance to the preparation that made all the difference on game day. It's a methodical approach Dustin Hopkins executed with precision.

In practice, Aguayo would boom kick after kick. Hopkins preached restraint. On game day, Aguayo soaked in the energy of the big stage. Hopkins relished the minutiae. Through the season, Aguayo watched and learned, while Hopkins decimated virtually every kicking mark in the NCAA record books.

(Read full post)

Andrea Adelson talks to Florida State running back James Wilder Jr. about the running back competition this spring.

You look at the Florida State roster, and you look at the Florida State coaching staff, and the automatic assumption is this could be a rebuilding year for the Noles.

Jimbo Fisher does not see it that way. Not one bit. As spring practice opens today, Fisher needs to find new starters at some key positions, including quarterback, defensive end and linebacker. But he sees players who have had valuable playing experience ready to step right into starting roles, not wet-behind-the-ears freshmen in over their heads.

To him, there is no dropoff between the talent on his 2012 ACC winning team, and the talent on his 2013 team.

"I ask people this: Lawrence Dawsey is arguably one of the best receivers in Florida State history," Fisher said during his pre-spring news conference earlier this week. "How many years did he start here? He started one year. How about Odell (Haggins)? He was a linebacker that got moved. Nowadays he’d be, 'Oh, he wasn’t what we said he was, you moved him.'

"Just because you don’t start a game doesn’t mean you’re not starter material. Do you understand what I’m saying? We’re establishing ourselves as a program again and guys still played as much ball as anybody else."

Fisher gave a host of examples. Every starter on the defensive line is gone -- ends Bjoern Werner and Tank Carradine, and tackles Anthony McCloud and Everett Dawkins. But the players expected to move into the starting lineup played extensively last season. Mario Edwards Jr. and Giorgio Newberry will start with the first-team at end; Timmy Jernigan, perhaps the best interior lineman last year, moves up to start at one tackle spot.

Vince Williams and Nick Moody are gone at linebacker. Into the middle steps Telvin Smith, who has extensive game experience and should have no problems moving up.

Then of course, there is the quarterback spot, a position that folks across the ACC will be paying attention to as the competition begins. Clint Trickett starts out No. 1 on the depth chart, and here again is where playing time has helped him. Trickett has played in 16 games with two starts behind EJ Manuel the last two seasons.

The other three players competing for the starting job -- Jacob Coker, Sean Maguire and Jameis Winston -- have either limited or no game experience. That does not take them out of the mix by any stretch. Fisher already said the position is wide open, and he has no timetable to make a decision. But having game experience is certainly not going to hurt him as the Noles try to find their leader on offense.

"From a talent standpoint, I think we’re still a very talented football team and we have guys with a lot of experience still playing," Fisher said. "We look at returning starters sometimes, it’s a very misleading factor about depth of a team and how much guys have played behind them. I’m excited about these young guys. Even though they’re new starters, they've still played like starters."

As for the coaching changes, six new assistants will be on the field this spring, including new defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt. But Fisher downplayed those changes as well, saying nothing would change about philosophy or with the schemes the Noles run.

"We're going to do things the Florida State way, the way we've been doing," Fisher said.

That means plugging new guys into the starting lineup and believing there will be few hiccups along the way.