FSU Seminoles

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 counted down five under-the-radar players who could be in line for breakthrough seasons.

Next up: Reggie Northrup (So./LB)

Career arc: A solid recruit out of Jacksonville, Northrup found his way onto the field in a limited role as a freshman in 2012, shining on special teams while making a few big plays in late-game situations at weakside linebacker. For the season, Northrup finished with 10 tackles, including six in a dominant second-half performance against Boston College.

Why he's overlooked: With two veterans clearly entrenched in starting jobs at linebacker and a massive group of young and untested talent behind them, there's a clear line of demarcation in the group between the big names and the players flying under the radar. And while Northrup is one of the few reserves with playing experience, it's also possible he'll be upstaged by one of the five incoming freshmen, including highly regarded Matthew Thomas.

Why he'll produce: Northrup's game wasn't entirely refined last year, but his athleticism and ability to find the football were obvious. He was a missile on special teams, and his work ethic and energy at linebacker impressed teammates. He's also versatile enough to back up Christian Jones on the weakside or step in on the strongside when FSU is in its base 4-3 set. Considering both Jones and Telvin Smith will be gone after the season, there's ample reason for Jeremy Pruitt and new LBs coach Charles Kelly to make sure a few of those young linebackers get some much-needed experience now.

Projection: Even with the starting strongside job open, Northrup isn't guaranteed much, and there promises to be stiff competition even for backup roles from Terrance Smith, Freddie Stevenson and Thomas. Still, it's in FSU's interest to find ways to get as many of the young LBs on the field as possible, and Northrup's playing experience in 2012 could certainly give him a leg up.

NoleNation’s Corey Dowlar talks with Phil Murphy about the latest in Florida State 2013 signee Matthew Thomas' saga, and TideNation's Greg Ostendorf stops by to talk about the impending decisions of ESPN 150 recruits Tre’ Williams and Justin Thornton.

ESPN RecruitingNation's Corey Dowlar discusses linebacker Matthew Thomas' request to Florida State to be released from his scholarship.

From the impending quarterback competition to finding replacements for departing juniors, Jimbo Fisher will have his work cut out for him during the next few months as he lays the groundwork for 2013.

With that in mind, we're going to go position-by-position looking at Florida State's strengths and weaknesses as the Seminoles prepare for the start of spring practice.

Previous entires can be found HERE.

Next up: Linebacker

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Jimbo Fisher got the news on Monday, nearly two full days before Jalen Ramsey's official letter of intent would inch its way through Florida State's fax machine.

A month earlier, Florida State had been little more than a small blip on Ramsey's radar, but things had changed. Ramsey had a good rapport with FSU's new defensive coordinator, Jeremy Pruitt, who had recruited him while still coaching at Alabama. As January's chaos finally began to fade, it was that relationship that pushed Ramsey toward the Seminoles, but when the final decision was made, even Pruitt was kept in the dark.

"[Ramsey] wanted to keep it close,” Fisher said, “so I didn't even let it out to Jeremy, not to anybody.”

That combination of new voices and Fisher’s steadfast control provided a perfect synopsis of how Florida State managed to put together the nation's ninth-best recruiting class on Wednesday in spite of an offseason of overwhelming transition in which six assistant coaches left for other jobs.

Fisher was careful to bring in veteran recruiters to fill the vacancies on his staff, including former coordinators Sal Sunseri, Billy Napier, Charles Kelly and Randy Sanders. Fisher insists all were hired with long-term goals in mind, but the short-term benefit was that several new doors were opened on the recruiting trail. FSU wouldn't have been in the picture for Ramsey or defensive end DeMarcus Walker had Pruitt not arrived first.

"That was his guy from the start," Walker's high school coach, Adam Geis, told ESPN.

For weeks, it seemed Florida State might slump to the finish, but instead the Seminoles closed with a bang, with the new blood on the staff helping to reel in late additions like Ramsey and Keith Bryant.

"I actually think it opened up more doors in guys we ended up getting on the back end of it," Fisher said. "It's probably a wash, but we got in on some key guys I never thought we'd have a chance to get in on."

On the other hand, it was Fisher's staunch demands to have his fingerprints on every aspect of the program that allowed FSU to navigate the turbulent waters after so many coaching changes in the weeks leading up to national signing day. The opposition had an easy sales pitch to recruits: The assistants they had trusted were gone. But Fisher had an answer: He'd been there all along, and he wasn't going anywhere.

"That's why I try to stay very active in everything we do, whether it's coaching or recruiting," Fisher said. "You have to stay very much involved to bridge those gaps and be able to translate that back to your guys and to our new coaches when they get out there."

The irony is that level of involvement might have helped push a few coaches, such as offensive coordinator James Coley, out the door to jobs where they enjoyed a greater degree of freedom in coaching and play-calling. But the rewards of Wednesday's signing class were ample evidence that Fisher's vision works. It was his third consecutive top-10 class.

In the weeks between FSU's Orange Bowl victory and Wednesday's recruiting finish line, Fisher was the point man, lead salesman and de facto recruiting coordinator. He was on the road in South Florida, locking up FSU's biggest catch in Matthew Thomas. This was Coley's domain, but Fisher didn't miss a beat in landing the nation's top linebacker.

"I've always recruited South Florida," Fisher said. "Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm -- that's been my area for years. It actually felt good, back in the system for a while doing the ground work."

It was Fisher who closed the deal with wavering linebacker E.J. Levenberry, and it was Fisher who ensured Thomas provided a crown jewel in this year's class. Fisher was the touchstone while the rest of the staff adjusted on the fly.

In the end, the plan wasn't foolproof. FSU waved goodbye to a few key commitments, such as offensive tackle Austin Golson, and it failed to reel in a few other big fish, such as receiver Stacy Coley.

But this was still an overwhelming victory for Fisher and Florida State. The changes came at a frenetic pace, but Fisher had been prepared with new hires who already understood his system and recruits who already believed in it.

"It's very tough," Fisher said, "but our guys did a great job of it and we were able to bridge that gap."

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Jimbo Fisher has spent the past two months selling his program to a class he couldn't have known would come together so well in the end. Amid chaos in the coaching staff and a bevy of last-minute shifts, Fisher was the man in the middle of the action, assuring his 2013 commitments that the program was in good hands, and their futures remained bright at Florida State.

When the dust settled, Fisher beamed.

"It think it was a great day," he said after Wednesday's final letter of intent came across the fax machine. "I'm very proud of our class. We hit a little bit of every position throughout the whole class."

This wasn't another sales pitch. This was as honest an evaluation of Florida State's take on national signing day as Fisher could muster.

No, FSU didn't hold together the entirety of the class it had assembled before six assistant coaches left for greener pastures. Yes, Fisher lost out on some key battles for recruits. Some needs were met, others fell a bit short.

But after a whirlwind six weeks in which Fisher was both assembling a staff and a recruiting class, sometimes nearly singlehandedly, the end result was about as good as he could have hoped for.

Florida State landed 22 players -- though offensive lineman Richy Klepal isn't expected to play for the team for medical reasons -- and ended the afternoon with ESPN's No. 9 overall signing class.

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