FSU Seminoles

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- It's tough to say with any level of certainty just how many sacks Florida State's defense would have recorded if Saturday's spring game was played under true game conditions, but even if the quarterbacks couldn't get hit, Jeremy Pruitt's new-look defense had a strong showing.

Overall, the two teams recorded nine sacks in Saturday's scrimmage, led by defensive tackle Nile Lawrence-Stample's 3.5, which would've been impressive under any circumstances. But as Jimbo Fisher pointed out after the game, those numbers came from a relatively vanilla scheme.

"You ain't seen blitzes yet," Fisher said with a grin.

In his first year as Florida State's defensive coordinator, Pruitt has installed an aggressive style that promises to offer a myriad of looks designed to get after the quarterback.

Saturday's spring game wasn't exactly a sneak peak, however, with a number of key defensive starters out with injuries and only a watered-down version of Pruitt's game plan implemented. But the past four weeks have been eye-opening, linebacker Christian Jones said, and there's ample reason for excitement.

"This spring, we pretty much put in the whole playbook, and we just ran a little sample of it," Jones said. "We've done a pretty good job of picking it all up, but it's a lot of stuff, a lot of checks, change the fronts, but we've done a good job of handling all that. Once we get into the fall and can game plan, I think we're going to have a real scary defense."

It wasn't all smooth sailing for the defense Saturday, as all four of Florida State's quarterbacks managed at least one touchdown pass, but there was plenty of room for optimism. Lamarcus Brutus and Karlos Williams both intercepted passes, and P.J. Williams came up with a pick of a Jacob Coker throw that he returned for a touchdown.

"I thought the defense played well," Fisher said. "I'm very pleased with the way they're playing."

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State's first practice of the spring Wednesday offered few similarities to the way the 2012 season concluded.

A wealth of players have moved on, though Menelik Watson still mixed with his former teammates on the offensive line as Bobby Hart worked at his old position with the first-team offense. Thanks to construction of the new indoor practice facility, even the surroundings were off. But the biggest difference was the raised voices of a bevy of new coaches running through drills that resembled those led by Mark Stoops and James Coley a year ago, but now came with a distinctly new tenor.

"They're a little in shell shock right now," said new defensive ends coach Sal Sunseri. "They're probably in there saying, 'Boy, the man is crazy.' But I want them to think that."

Sunseri was perhaps the most vocal of the new coaches, but there was plenty of volume to go around. New quarterbacks coach Randy Sanders helped Jimbo Fisher corral four candidates vying for the starting job. Charles Kelly, Jay Graham and Tim Brewster barked at their position groups, and Jeremy Pruitt commanded his first practice as a college coordinator.

For all the changes, however, Fisher said the day went smoothly.

"Most of those guys know the tempo of what we do in practice, how we practice, so it really wasn't that big a change," Fisher said. "It's the same tempo of practice, but they may emphasize a different individual drill, add a call or two, just the verbiage. Some of the new stuff was a little different."

Considering the mass of walk-ons, a bevy of players adjusting to new roles and the rust that comes from nearly three months without an official, organized practice, there was still a few moments of chaos -- P.J. Williams caught grief for not wearing his helmet, Giorgio Newberry heard an earful following a misstep during a drill -- and the assignments weren't entirely sharp. That's to be expected on Day 1, Sunseri said, but it's not exactly tolerated.

"The kids are open, they're listening -- and I'm going to ride them," Sunseri said. "I'm going to ride them because it's not easy to do what we're asking them to do."

The hope is things progress quickly as Fisher and his new assistants install more of FSU's offense and defense for Day 2 of practices Thursday. But as starting points go, Fisher said, Wednesday's work was encouraging.

"It's never where you want it to be on the first day, but I'm not displeased at all," Fisher said.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- With spring practice less than a week away, the fervor surrounding some of the most-hyped storylines of 2013 has already been raging for months. The three-way battle at quarterback, the return of Bobby Hart to the limelight, Lamarcus Joyner's move to cornerback -- Jimbo Fisher already has plenty to keep his eye on.

But while those stories will continue to headline Florida State's preparations for the 2013 season, there are a handful of other intriguing players to watch this spring. They might not be in the running for a starting job, but they should offer plenty of reasons to watch as they look to impress a new group of coaches and find their own niche for the upcoming season.

Mario Pender (RB/RFr.)

When it comes to sheer intrigue, the entirety of Florida State's returning redshirts could probably make the list -- with Jameis Winston probably atop it. But while there will be genuine interest in Justin Shanks' weight or Marvin Bracy's speed, it's Pender who likely leads the pack in non-QB buzz from fans. The highly touted tailback missed all of 2012 with a groin injury and is just now getting back into full swing. His workouts during fourth-quarter drills earned raves from Fisher, who compared his burst and home-run ability to Chris Thompson -- only Pender is a bit bigger and stronger. Does that mean a job awaits this fall? Not exactly, but he'll definitely have his coaches' attention.

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Florida State's much-hyped quarterback competition was hardly at full speed during Thursday's drills. Jameis Winston was absent from the proceedings, part of a balancing act with his baseball career, and Jacob Coker was limited to a stationary bike due to a foot injury. But Jimbo Fisher said things are about to get much more interesting once spring practice begins, and he expects it to be a wide-open competition.

"I think I know what their abilities are, but you never know what somebody is capable of until they're put out there in a position to lead and take off," Fisher said. "You just have to let it happen and trust your eyes. Don't force it. Let them tell you. You can't tell them."

Among the three leading contenders for the job vacated by EJ Manuel, Clint Trickett was the only full participant Thursday, but both Winston and Coker should be back at work in time for spring practice, which begins March 20.

Coker has a minor foot injury and has been wearing a walking boot, but Fisher said he expects the sophomore "should be out there every day" this spring. Winston, who has been an integral part of the FSU baseball team thus far, will shift his focus back to football then, too, with Fisher assuring the freshman won't miss a single meeting or practice.

While Winston has only been a limited participant during fourth-quarter drills, his work has been impressive.

"He came over the other day and blew this thing away," Fisher said. "He flew around here like a wild man. He's in great shape, he's throwing, he's probably up there watching film by himself an hour or two hours a day. He's been right involved in the middle of everything."

While Winston has impressed, Fisher certainly isn't indicating he has a favorite in the race. In fact, he said he'll let what happens on the practice field -- both in the spring and potentially into fall camp -- decide who will win the starting job.

"It's going to be very interesting not only to see how they do their job but how they can make the other 10 guys around them do their job and make the guys on defense feel uncomfortable about them doing their job," Fisher said. "That's all important for a quarterback."

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EJ Manuel did his best to play politician.

He'd seen little more than three quarters of action through two weeks, and nothing he'd been tasked with doing on the field presented much of a challenge thanks to the limitations of FCS foes Murray State and Savannah State. But Manuel refused to call Florida State's first two games meaningless.

"I can't say we're better or worse," Manuel said. "Those were the two teams we had to face. If we had played West Virginia, I might have had a different answer."

But West Virginia backed out of its scheduled date with the Seminoles, and the early slate offered little insight into a team that could either mark a return to FSU's glory years or the latest -- and perhaps greatest -- disappointment in an increasingly long history of underachievers.

The real tests begin this week with the start of ACC play, but while Manuel couldn't find much insight in two easy wins over lower-tier opponents, we'll do our best to try to find a few items worth noting.

1. One injury is one too many.

Jimbo Fisher said his team enters ACC play relatively healthy, noting that tight end Nick O'Leary and center Bryan Stork are both expected to practice this week and be ready to start Saturday after missing the Savannah State game. The easy start also gave Fisher a chance to break in some freshmen and get defensive tackle Anthony McCloud healthy, which should add some depth for the long season ahead.

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What can you take from a 55-0 game against a bad FCS team that was played with a running clock for 11 minutes then abruptly called for weather reasons with nine minutes to play in the third quarter?

The answer: Not very much. But Jimbo Fisher will watch film on it anyway, so we're pushing forward with this week's grades.

QUARTERBACK

Florida State scored 124 points in its first two games, so it's tough to offer much in the way of insightful criticisms of EJ Manuel's play, but we did note a few loose ends after the Murray State game that offered some minor cause for concern. It took just two plays for Manuel to provide a rebuttal Saturday.

Manuel connected with Rodney Smith for a 61-yard TD pass on the second play of the game, and it was all easy from there. His final numbers -- 11-of-13 for 161 yards and three TDs -- illustrate both how small an obstacle Savannah State was and how sharp Manuel looked in dismantling the Tigers. The only two incompletions of the day for Manuel were a drop by Rashad Greene and a ball he threw away while avoiding pressure.

What was most encouraging, Fisher said, was the fact that Manuel was in complete control of the game, looking off his first and second reads and finding an open man on all but one play.

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Florida State is a week away from its first game, and while the veterans are counting down the minutes until there is real football to be played, it's getting a bit anxious for the freshmen.

"There are a lot of these young guys that still have a lot of work to do," Jimbo Fisher said. "They need to come on, because we're going to need them. A lot of them are doing good, but we've got to get them game ready."

Unlike last season, when FSU had freshmen in a number of prominent roles -- including four starters on the offensive line -- that need isn't quite so great this season. The advantage of Florida State's depth is that it isn't reliant on inexperienced players at most key positions.

That means Fisher can be somewhat cautious with which freshmen he puts on the field, and that's a decision he'll need to make soon.

"I think quite a few of them will get in there," Fisher said. "Some might be ready, but have a good quality number of guys in front of them, and you want to be careful not to waste a year on 50 plays. We've got to evaluate that, and in the next day or two, we'll make some decisions."

A year ago, 13 of Florida State's 22 true freshmen saw action, including eight as occasional starters. This year, only one freshman, Ronald Darby, appears to be in competition for a starting job, and the overall need for contributors is less. But a look at each player underscores the idea that there aren't many who can't contribute.

Here's our breakdown of which freshman are likely to see action, and which ones could be saddled with a redshirt.

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