Florida State Football: What You Need to Know About Seminoles' WR Corps

The Florida State Seminoles football program is trying to recreate all the success it enjoyed under Bobby Bowden with third-year head coach Jimbo Fisher.  The offensive-minded Fisher knows success in college football today starts with a strong passing attack, and a strong passing attack requires talented wide receivers.

The connection between Florida State University and the wide receiver position is a special one.  Fred Biletnikoff, for whom the Biletnikoff Award was named, played wide receiver for Florida State.  The Biletnikoff Award goes to college football’s best wide receiver after every season.  Any Seminoles wideout interested in winning this award has extra motivation, because Biletnikoff was one of them.

Wide receivers coach Lawrence Dawsey also played at Florida State.  As a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Dawsey won Sports Illustrated’s NFL Rookie of the Year Award in 1991.  Dawsey’s profile on Florida State’s official website reads:

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As a player, he was known for his work ethic, accountability, precision route-running, down-field blocking and the ability to rise to the occasion in big games.  These are some of the qualities he is in charge of imparting on the Seminoles receiver corps.

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At Florida State, Dawsey has the opportunity to coach some great athletes, but he is responsible for turning these athletes into great wide receivers who can bring the Seminoles back to the national elite.

Let’s meet the group of Seminoles who could line up at wide receiver in 2012.

Ronald Darby

Ronald Darby, the 38th-overall recruit in the ESPNU Class of 2012, grades out as a cornerback but could see time on offense due to his home-run speed.

According to ESPNU, Darby runs a 4.31 40 yard dash.  On May 26, Darby won the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and the 4x100-meter relay for Potomac High School (Md.) in the Maryland 3A Track and Field Championships.  His team placed second in the 4x200-meter relay.

Darby, who picked Florida State University over the University of Notre Dame and the University of Maryland, will also participate in track for the Seminoles.  He is one of the best sprinters in the country, as he competed for Team USA at the 2011 IAAF World Youth Championships.  Luckily for the football team, Darby can also dominate on the gridiron.

Marvin Bracy

Like Ronald Darby, Marvin Bracy will be a member of both the Seminoles’ football and track programs.  And like Darby, Bracy is one of the best sprinters in the country.

Bracy has won the past three 100-meter dashes at the Florida Class 4A State Championships.  He was unable to run in this year’s 200-meter dash final due to an injury, but he won that race in 2010 and 2011.

Darby hopes to represent Team USA at the 2012 Olympics in London but must qualify at the trials in Eugene, Ore., set for June 23-24.

Football-wise, Darby held the 76th-overall ranking in the ESPNU Class of 2012 and the 12th-highest spot for wide receiver.  At only 5’9” and 165 pounds, Darby looks like a future slot receiver for the Seminoles.

Kelvin Benjamin

Kelvin Benjamin is a big wide receiver.  At 6’6” and 242 pounds, the Seminoles could use him in goal-line situations.  ESPNU rated Benjamin the 23rd-best wide receiver in the Class of 2011.  Benjamin redshirted in 2011.

Rashad Greene

Rashad Greene was the 125th-overall player in the ESPNU Class of 2011 and the 20th best wide receiver.

Greene led Florida State in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and all-purpose yards in 2011, even though he only played in 9 games.

He has made Phil Steele's All-ACC Second Team at wide receiver for 2012 following his strong freshman season.

Greene looks like the No. 1 guy in Tallahassee this season.

Christian Green

Christian Green placed fifth on the team in receptions and fourth in receiving yards in 2011. 

He was a dual-threat quarterback at Tampa Catholic High School (Fla.). 

ESPNU rated Green 53rd overall in the Class of 2010.

Greg Dent

Greg Dent led the Seminoles in yards per reception in 2011.

Coming out of Glades Central High School (Fla.), Dent was ranked the 57th-best safety in the Class of 2010 by ESPNU.

Jarred Haggins

Jarred Haggins appeared in just seven games last season.

Like Christian Greene, Haggins played quarterback in high school.

ESPNU ranked Haggins the 47th-best athlete in the Class of 2010.

Kenny Shaw

Despite getting knocked out at the Oklahoma game, Kenny Shaw placed third among all Seminoles in receptions, tied for third in touchdown receptions and fourth in receiving yards in 2011.  He played all 13 games for Florida State, too.

ESPNU rated Shaw 92nd overall and the 14th-best wide receiver in the Class of 2010. 

Shaw attended Dr. Phillips High School (Fla.).

Josh Gehres

Josh Gehres appeared in two games last season after injuring his knee in spring practice. 

According to his profile on the official football website, Gehres “has outstanding hands, body control and concentration making him a solid possession receiver for the ‘Noles.”

At Lincoln High School (Fla.), Gehres earned a 4.5 grade point average!

Hopefully for Gehres, he will get more opportunities to apply those smarts and skills on the football field in 2012.

Willie Haulstead

Willie Haulstead was a medical redshirt in 2011 due to a preseason concussion.

In 2010, Haulstead hauled in 38 passes for 587 yards for the Seminoles.

ESPNU rated Haulstead, from Titusville High School (Fla.), the 33rd-best wide receiver in the Class of 2009.

Rodney Smith

The lone senior on the 2012 Florida State wide receiving corps, Rodney Smith must help wide receivers coach Lawrence Dawsey with mentoring the otherwise young flankers.

Like Kelvin Benjamin, Smith stands at 6’6”.

Smith was second on the team in receptions and receiving yards in 2011.

Look for Smith to trail only Rashad Greene in most Seminole receiving numbers this season. 

As he did with Greene, Phil Steele placed Smith on his preseason All-ACC Second Team at wide receiver.

ESPNU ranked the Archbishop Carroll High School (Fla.) product as the 20th-best wide receiver in the Class of 2009.

Outlook

Florida State has the second best recruiting class in 2012, had the best recruiting class in 2011 and had the sixth best recruiting class in 2010, according to ESPNU national rankings. 

Jimbo Fisher and his coaching staff have proven themselves as excellent recruiters.  The Seminoles, including the wide receivers, are very talented. Quarterback E.J. Manuel appears to have a lot of weapons on the outside for 2012, but maturation remains the key.

Another season under Fisher should only help Florida State, which expects to win an Atlantic Coast Conference championship and a national championship in 2012.

Hopefully for the Seminoles, these wide receivers can catch on.