FSU Seminoles

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State running back Mario Pender will miss the season with a severe groin injury, head coach Jimbo Fisher said Tuesday.

Before Florida State opened camp Monday, Fisher called Pender's injury "severe" but guessed the running back was still at 50 to 60 percent and would be able to practice as it healed.

By Tuesday, however, Pender's status had changed. The freshman watched some early running back drills dressed in a gray T-shirt and baseball cap. When workouts ended for the day Fisher announced Pender would undergo season-ending surgery.

"Instead of making it worse, we're going to get it fixed and have him ready to go," Fisher said. "We'll probably redshirt him."

The surgery will be similar to the procedure performed on teammate Xavier Rhodes had in the spring of 2011.

Pender, the No. 72 ranked player in the nation last year according to ESPN, was an early enrollee this spring and figured to be in the mix for playing time this season. Although Pender was fourth on the depth chart, virtually every member of Florida State's backfield is dealing with some question marks.

Both Devonta Freeman and Chris Thompson missed the spring with injuries, while James Wilder Jr. was absent for a large portion of the spring because of legal difficulties.

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The rain washed out Florida State's first practice of the fall, but EJ Manuel didn't need to see the Seminoles' freshmen defensive linemen in action to be impressed.

"They're huge," Manuel said.

Five-star recruits Eddie Goldman and Mario Edwards Jr., along with 340-pound tackle Justin Shanks and 6-foot-4 end Chris Casher, hardly look the part of freshmen.

Manuel said Casher looks like a senior already, while Goldman stunned his teammates with his skill set during seven-on-seven drills this summer.

"I've heard Goldman probably has the quickest step out of all the D-linemen we have," Manuel said.

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As ACC teams begin to start practicing again, Heather and I will have a quick preview of each team to get you caught up on the basics. Next up to open camp ...

School: Florida State.

Start date: Today.

Predicted finish at media days: First, Atlantic Division.

Biggest storyline: Can the Seminoles match increased expectations this year? It seems like we have been waiting on Florida State to return to its rightful place among the elite for ages now. Many thought last year was going to be the year, as the Seminoles were picked to win the Atlantic and started the season ranked No. 5 in the coaches' poll and No. 6 in the AP poll. But Florida State faltered to an 8-4 record in the regular season and went 5-3 in conference, tied with Wake Forest for second in the Atlantic. Not exactly the return everybody imagined. Headed into this year, expectations are high once again not only in the ACC but nationally as well. Florida State starts the season ranked No. 7 in the coaches' poll, so there clearly is confidence that THIS will now be the year of the Seminole. Florida State has 17 starters returning, including quarterback EJ Manuel and one of the most talented defensive fronts in the nation. The time is now for this team.

Biggest position battle: Cornerback. With the dismissal of three-year starter Greg Reid, that position is now up for grabs headed into fall camp. Unfortunately for the Seminoles, this position went from one of strength to one of major question marks. None of the potential replacements has much in the way of game experience. Among the options: sophomores Tyler Hunter and Nick Waisome, who were expected to compete for the top nickelback job. There also is freshman Ronald Darby, who ran track in high school. As for returner, where Reid excelled, potential options include Darby, freshman Marvin Bracy, sophomore Karlos Williams and safety Lamarcus Joyner.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Rashad Greene will be on the practice field this afternoon as Florida State opens fall camp, but he won't be at full speed for another week after undergoing an appendectomy two weeks ago.

The sophomore receiver was home in Albany, Ga. when he was began experiencing symptoms of appendicitis and was taken to the hospital, head coach Jimbo Fisher said. The appendix never ruptured, so doctors were able to remove it without invasive surgery, and Greene's recovery figures to be brief.

Fisher said Greene, who led Florida State in receiving last season despite missing four games, has been training for the past week after taking a week off from workouts.

"We're going (to be) precautionary ourselves the first week to make sure we don't overload him," Fisher said. "But he's at 70, 75 percent. Two or three practices, maybe a week -- he should be going."

Other notable injuries still lingering from this offseason:

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Jimbo Fisher's hands were tied, which made the decision easy.

He called senior Greg Reid into his office last week, and he informed one of the most accomplished members of the Seminoles roster that his career at Florida State was over.

"We had a great conversation," Fisher said Monday, just hours before FSU opened fall camp. "A very sad conversation."

Reid was dismissed for a violation of team rules, his third off-field incident in little more than a year, and that made the end inevitable, Fisher said.

It was Fisher's first public comment on Reid's departure since the senior cornerback was dismissed last week, but the words were offered more as a salve than a rebuke.

"That's the issue is our standards and our rules and what we go by, and it had to be done," Fisher said. "I still think the world of him."

Now, Florida State turns the page.

Practice will begin Monday with sophomore Nick Waisome taking first-team reps at boundary corner, with a myriad of alternatives ready to rotate in throughout the next few weeks.

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