FSU Seminoles

Throughout the summer, Nole Nation will be counting down the 40 players we're projecting to make the biggest impact on the Seminoles' 2013 season, taking into consideration everything from experience to potential to their spot on the current depth chart.

Next up: No. 38 Kevin Haplea
Position/class: Tight end/redshirt senior

What he's done: After starting his career at Penn State, Haplea was among a group of players who transferred in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and NCAA sanctions. He arrived at Florida State just days before the start of fall camp, and the 2012 season was largely a whirlwind. Still, when Dan Hicks went down early with a knee injury, Haplea was thrust into the No. 2 spot on the depth chart and he wound up getting regular playing time. His numbers -- three catches, 15 yards, one TD -- didn't add up to much, but the experience was invaluable.

Where he's at: After nearly a year in the program, Haplea is finally feeling comfortable with his surroundings, and that has put him in a position for a much bigger role in 2013. As the only tight end to survive spring practice unscathed, Haplea saw a sizable workload, working far more often as a receiver this spring than he had during the regular season. But it's his blocking that sets him apart. Haplea might be FSU's most accomplished blocking tight end, which makes him a valuable asset behind Nick O'Leary on the depth chart.

What's to come: Haplea's skill set will never match O'Leary's, and its unlikely that even given a year's experience and more playing time that he'd become a regular contributor in the passing game. But with the loss of fullback Lonnie Pryor, FSU figures to run more two-tight end sets and Haplea has established himself as a strong blocker with just enough ability as a receiver to make a few plays. He'll be a valuable contributor in 2013, even if he only catches a handful of balls.

Each season brings with it new expectations, and a handful of Seminoles will bear the brunt of the pressure to perform in 2013. We're counting down the top 10 Florida State players being counted on the most to help the Seminoles live up to expectations.

No. 9: TE Nick O'Leary

2012 performance: Those expecting a marked improvement from O'Leary's freshman season in which he caught 12 pass were disappointed as the talented sophomore managed just 21 catches for 252 yards and three touchdowns. It's not that those totals were awful -- O'Leary, in fact, enjoyed one of the most productive seasons by an FSU tight end in a while -- but they certainly didn't match rather lofty expectations. O'Leary also seemed to disappear for long stretches.

Pressure point: O'Leary arrived amid much hype, and for good reason. He's got the size to be a solid blocker, but his athleticism and pass-catching ability should make him a major mismatch against linebackers and defensive ends. Through two seasons, however, FSU hasn't enjoyed many fruits of those mismatches. The pressure to find more success as a junior will be ratcheted up even further in 2013. With fullback Lonnie Pryor gone, Jimbo Fisher has said he plans to use O'Leary at halfback and will scheme numerous sets with two tight ends. That's a potentially successful wrinkle to the FSU offense -- but only if O'Leary blossoms into the star he's been projected to become.

If he succeeds: Several potential stumbling blocks for FSU's offense could be instantly solved if O'Leary puts together an all-conference-caliber season. If O'Leary's blocking improves, he could help ease the loss of Menelik Watson on the right side. If he becomes a more consistent threat in the passing game, he could provide a valuable safety valve for a young quarterback. If he can avoid making dumb mistakes -- such as fumbling while trying to hurdle defenders -- he could supply the same type of consistency that made Pryor such a valuable part of FSU's offense. Those are all big ifs at the moment.

If he fails: Fisher raved about the progress of senior Kevin Haplea this spring, and the Penn State transfer at least provides FSU with a solid Plan B at tight end. Haplea will never be the receiving threat O'Leary already is, but after a year in the program, he's at least consistent as a blocker and can do enough in the passing game to be an asset. Still, Haplea is the safe option. O'Leary is the potentially explosive one. If O'Leary fails to develop, FSU misses out on a major weapon who could be even more valuable with a young quarterback running the show. More importantly, struggles from any of FSU's tight ends ties Fisher's hands in terms of scheme.

Projection: The first step in meeting expectations for O'Leary would be to simply stop making so many ugly plays. It's one thing to disappear in the offense (something O'Leary has done at times) but it's another to turn a potentially big play into a disastrous one (something O'Leary has become known for among frustrated fans). New tight ends coach Tim Brewster knows he has a potential gold mine in O'Leary, though, and those struggles in 2012 might have served to light a fire under a player who was No. 20 in the ESPN 150 in the 2011 class. O'Leary will be given plenty of chances to shine, and a solid step forward -- 30 catches, more looks in the red zone -- would be a welcome addition. Anything more, and FSU's offense could become a lot more dynamic than many are projecting.

When summer workouts began a year ago, players like Menelik Watson, Demonte McAllister and Nick Waisome were flying under the radar with little in the way of expectations. By season's end, however, they were among Florida State's most productive players.

It happens every year that a few relatively obscure names find their way into bigger roles, and as the Seminoles get set to start another summer NoleNation is counting down five under-the-radar players who could be in line for breakthrough seasons.

Next up: Kevin Haplea (Sr./TE)

Career arc: Florida State ended up No. 2 among Haplea's college choices coming out of high school, and the 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end landed instead at Penn State. After the NCAA sanctions that rocked the Penn State program, however, the doors were opened for players to transfer, and Haplea decided to give FSU another look.

Why he's overlooked: Haplea arrived in Tallahassee just days before the start of fall camp last season, and what followed was a whirlwind. An injury to Dan Hicks opened the door for Haplea to get on the field routinely, but he was never an integral part of the offense. Haplea's blocking was solid, but he caught just three passes for 15 yards.

Why he'll produce: For the past four years, Lonnie Pryor has been a fixture of FSU's offensive game plan at fullback, but his departure after the 2012 season likely opens the door to some different looks, and Jimbo Fisher said he's planning on employing more two tight end sets this season. That's good news for Haplea, who might already be FSU's best blocking tight end. But while the grunt work was always a solid niche for Haplea, he showed some athleticism during the spring, becoming a regular target in passing situations, too.

Projection: After a full year in the program, Haplea has clearly made some major strides, and Fisher raved about his spring performance. While Nick O'Leary and Christo Kourtzidis battled injuries, Haplea kept producing. It's unlikely he'll ever be the offensive weapon that O'Leary could be, but Haplea's consistency at the little things should earn him a hefty slice of playing time in 2013.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- With the departure of stalwart fullback Lonnie Pryor, Florida State's offense might rely a bit more on the tight ends in 2013, and that could be a boon for Kevin Haplea.

The senior, who transferred from Penn State just days before the start of fall camp last season, has impressed new tight ends coach Tim Brewster with his ability to do all the little things necessary at the line of scrimmage.

"Haplea has a little thump to him," Brewster said. "He's the type of guy that I think can become a post player, and we're looking for a post player -- a guy that can dominate on the line of scrimmage. Because one thing we're going to do is, we're going to run the football."

While Chad Abram looks to have the fullback spot locked up, he may not offer the same versatility that Pryor brought to the FSU offense a year ago, and Jimbo Fisher has hinted that he could look to use starting tight end Nick O'Leary as a halfback and potentially run a lot more two- and three-tight end sets.

That could mean a good bit more work for Haplea, who is finding his footing in Year 2 with the program. Fisher said Haplea has caught more passes during the past few days of practice than he did all of last season.

O'Leary is still the starter at the position, and he's outpaces his competition in terms of potential by a strong margin. But while Haplea has excelled at the fundamentals, O'Leary is still working on the nuance of his position and hoping to overcome some ugly mistakes he made in 2012.

"He's a guy that's got tremendous talent, but he needs to understand that the details of the game are very important," Brewster said. "The fundamental aspects of tight end play, all the little things are important. It's not about the big picture, it's about seeing the little picture, the little things involved in every play."

Fisher said O'Leary continues to mature, and he hopes to see the junior tight end blossom into a dominant force this season. There have been some encouraging signs this spring, but O'Leary remains a work in progress.

"If he gets those little things, he's really tough to handle," Fisher said. "The details are more refined, and that's the challenge for him right now."

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Saturday's 30-17 win over USF wasn't Florida State at its sharpest, with the defense looking sluggish early, the offense faltering in the red zone, and a special teams mishap providing a spark for the Bulls.

But while the game may not have been the most accurate representation of FSU's potential, there were a few numbers worth nothing.

5.34. That's Florida State's yards per carry against USF, less yardage lost on sacks. The average is a bit deceptive, however. The Seminoles' ground game was something of a mixed bag Saturday, with 12 of their 38 rushes going for 1 yard or less, and 10 more going for at least 10 yards. The all-or-nothing performances were highlighted by a 44-yard run by Lonnie Pryor and two long end-arounds by the receivers, which managed to overshadow the negative plays. USF, which didn't have a single tackle-for-loss against Ball State a week ago, dropped an FSU ball carrier in the backfield 10 times Saturday. That's just four fewer TFLs than Florida State had allowed in its first four games combined.

9. That's the number of plays Florida State ran inside the USF 10-yard line, with Kevin Haplea's 1-yard reception on a third-down pass being the only one that went for a touchdown. The goal-line struggles were a touchy subject for Jimbo Fisher afterward, and for good reason. EJ Manuel was 1-of-3 passing on plays inside the 10, missing a wide open Rodney Smith in the end zone on one throw. The ground game was even worse. On six rushes inside the 10, FSU tallied a total of 7 yards.

6. That was the number of receptions made by Florida State's tight ends in Saturday's win, accounting for nearly a third of Manuel's total completions. Manuel has hyped his tight ends dating back to the spring, but Saturday marked the high point for the group in terms of production. Nick O'Leary hauled in a career-high four catches, while Haplea grabbed a 1-yard touchdown.

5. That's the number of completions on eight third-down throws for Manuel in Saturday's win, and they accounted for all but one of FSU's third-down conversions. Overall, FSU moved the chains on just five of 15 third-down tries, but when Manuel threw the ball, the offense looked sharp. Manuel completed passes of 11, 39 and 47 yards on third down, plus the 1-yard throw to Haplea for his lone passing touchdown of the game. Manuel also chipped in with an 11-yard run on third down.

0. That's the number of punt return yards for Florida State on Saturday. In the first four games of the season, Rashad Greene took some risks, which came with some big results (two touchdowns) and some ugly ones (two fumbles). On the whole, though, FSU had been averaging 61.5 punt-return yards per game. On Saturday, it was clear Greene wasn't interested in rolling the dice. Greene had five fair catches on six USF punts, and the sixth was downed by the Bulls deep in FSU territory. It marked the first time the Seminoles didn't have a single punt return in a game since Sept. 24 of last year vs. Clemson. On the upside, Greene did have a 10-yard touchdown run on offense, making him the first FSU player since Peter Warrick in 1999 to score on a reception, a rush and a return all in the same season.

TAMPA, Fla. -- A week ago, E.J. Manuel made his case to be considered a Heisman favorite. Saturday's effort wasn't nearly as glamorous, but it was effective.

Manuel completed 19 of 26 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown in Saturday's 30-17 victory over USF -- far from the fireworks he'd engineered a week earlier, but his biggest players were delivered with impeccable timing.

"He converted some big third-and-longs, made some critical passes, got us down there," Jimbo Fisher said.

Afterward, Manuel lamented the mistakes -- particularly an overthrown pass to Rodney Smith in the end zone.

"I'm still saying sorry to him about that," Manuel said. "I feel like I owe him some money."

But while Manuel wasn't perfect, he connected on a handful of big throws to extend drives and flip field position.

Manuel was 5-of-8 passing on third down, including a 39-yard deep ball to Rashad Greene, a 47-yard throw to Kenny Shaw and a 1-yard toss to Kevin Haplea for his lone touchdown of the game.

"It was huge," Manuel said. "Both for our momentum and to get first downs and move the chains."

The bulk of Manuel's work the rest of the game involved check-downs to the running backs and short throws to the tight ends. That was all part of the game plan, he said.

"They were open, so I threw it to them," Manuel said.

In a week in which other Heisman contenders posted gaudy stat lines, that type of offense won't put Manuel in the same spotlight he enjoyed a week ago.

Of course, after escaping USF with a victory, Manuel isn't too worried about style points.

"As long as I win," he said, "I'm happy."

TAMPA, Fla. -- Florida State hasn't marched down the field with ease the way it did during its first four games of the season, but EJ Manuel has been efficient, Rashad Greene provided the finishing touches on an early touchdown drive and Dustin Hopkins has drilled two field goals to give the Seminoles a 13-3 lead over USF at the half.

Stat of the half: Greene's 10-yard run on an end-around provided the lone touchdown of the first half, and it also provided a nice bit of trivia for the sophomore receiver. The rushing score was the fourth touchdown of the year for Greene, who has also caught a TD pass and returned two punts for scores, too. He's the first Seminoles player to score on a rush, a reception and a return in the same season since Peter Warrick did it in 1999.

Player of the half: Manuel hasn't provided the same fireworks he did a week ago when he jump-started his Heisman campaign with a big game against Clemson, but the Florida State quarterback turned in a solid first half, completing 12-of-15 passes for 139 yards. Most of Manuel's numbers came over the middle though, with few downfield options against the USF secondary.

What's working for Florida State: The defense hasn't dominated, but Xavier Rhodes' interception late in the second quarter provided one final scoring chance for FSU, and the Bulls haven't mustered much after a strong opening drive. B.J. Daniels engineered a 10-play, 62-yard opening drive that ended with a field goal, but the Bulls have managed just 100 yards the rest of the half.

What's not working for Florida State: The FSU running game was dominant in the first four games of the season, but Chris Thompson and James Wilder Jr. have had trouble finding much room to run against USF. Lonnie Pryor broke a huge 44-yard run, and Kelvin Benjmain took a reverse for 17 yards. Beyond that, however, FSU has averaged just 2.3 yards per carry, and it was stuffed near the goal line on three straight plays.

Noteworthy: Cornellius Carradine leads FSU defenders with six tackles. … Pryor's 44-yard run was the second longest of his career. … Kevin Haplea made his second career catch with FSU, an 11-yard reception. … Rhodes' interception was his second of the year and the third overall for Florida State.

Anthony McCloud's face was drenched with sweat as he talked with reporters after Saturday's abridged 55-0 win over Savannah State.

EJ Manuel snuck up from behind and used his shirt sleeve to blot McCloud's head before joking about getting the senior defensive tackle back to work.

In truth, there wasn't much work for McCloud on Saturday. Timmy Jernigan started for the second consecutive game and McCloud played just six snaps in the game. But it was a nice chance to get back into the swing of things after missing all of fall camp and last week's opener because of a pectoral injury.

"It wasn't very long," McCloud said of his debut. "But I shook the rust off, and I'm thankful for that."

Coach Jimbo Fisher said McCloud turned in a good week of practice leading up to the game, and the senior said he was pleased with how he felt after his limited workload Saturday.

"It feels great," McCloud said. "I'm getting stronger every week. I'm going to be full-throttle, 100 percent for our next opponent."

The same should be true for tight end Nick O'Leary (thigh) and center Bryan Stork (neck), Fisher said.

Both starters were held out of Saturday's game because of nagging injuries, with Christo Kourtzidis and Kevin Haplea starting at tight end Saturday and sophomore Austin Barron starting at center.

Fisher said neither injury was a big concern, however, and that the weather and the opponent played a part in his decision to rest them.

"Those guys should definitely be back," Fisher said.

There was little doubt this would be a blowout, but the onslaught started early, and the bulk of Florida State's starters were off the field by the end of the first quarter.

The Seminoles breezed through the Savannah State defense, racking up 376 yards of total offense and scoring on their first seven drives while building a 48-0 halftime lead. The only thing that slowed Florida State's dominance was the weather, as lightning suspended play for nearly an hour late in the second quarter. Play resumed with an announcement that the rest of the game would be played with a running clock.

Stat of the half: It's hardly worth noting all the huge offensive numbers, as Savannah State hardly put up a fight against the Seminoles' first-stringers, who all had early seats on the bench. The most noteworthy number of the half was probably the one negative moment for Florida State, when senior kicker Dustin Hopkins had his streak of 145 consecutive successful PATs snapped with a miss following FSU's seventh touchdown of the game.

Player of the half: EJ Manuel only played the first quarter, but he made the most of his time. Manuel completed 11-of-13 passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns before exiting in favor of Clint Trickett. It marked just the second time in Manuel's career he'd thrown for at least three touchdowns in a game.

What's working for FSU: Everything. Florida State's first four touchdowns required just 12 total plays, and the offense moved the ball at will. Defensively, the starters were virtually all on the sideline by the start of the second quarter, after holding Savannah State to minus-20 yards in the first.

What's not working for FSU: The weather. The stands were already only half full with rain throughout the day and a mismatch on the field dampening much in the way of fan enthusiasm. The combination of the lopsided score and the lightning delay in the second quarter emptied a majority of the fans.

Noteworthy: Freshman Kelvin Benjamin scored his first career touchdown, a 9-yard fade pass from Manuel in the first quarter. … Senior running back Chris Thompson scored his first touchdown in nearly a year in the first quarter. Thompson broke his back last October and missed the remainder of the season. … Junior receiver Willie Haulstead had his first reception since the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl. ... Tight end Nick O'Leary (thigh) and center Bryan Stork (neck) did not play in the first half. Austin Barron started at center and freshman Christo Kourtzidis and Penn State transfer Kevin Haplea both started at tight end. Kourtzidis made his first career catch in the second quarter. ... Defensive tackle Anthony McCloud got his first playing time of the season after missing the opener with a chest injury.

The week began with the question of which of Florida State's freshman defensive ends would see his redshirt removed, but Jimbo Fisher ended up taking a different route.

Both Mario Edwards Jr. and Chris Casher will play in Saturday's game against Savannah State, and Fisher said the freshmen will be regulars in the defensive end rotation now that senior Brandon Jenkins is lost for the season.

"We're going to start playing them and getting them involved in things," Fisher said.

Edwards, the No. 1 recruit in the country a year ago, and Casher worked with the No. 3 defense during practice Thursday, but Fisher said both players will get regular reps on defense and special teams against Savannah State.

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