Florida State Football: 5 Upperclassmen Seminoles Who Need to Pick It Up in 2012

The Seminoles of Florida State have long been expected to regain their place among the college football elite, and in order to finally do so this year, they will need excellent play from their upperclassmen.

Sure, underclassmen like Devonta Freeman and Nick O'Leary will need to contribute as well, but the fortune of this season will turn on the play of seasoned veterans. 

The disappointment that the upperclassmen have dealt with since their arrival in Tallahassee should fuel the fire that they will need to have burning inside them come this fall. 

The young players from Jimbo Fisher's last two superb recruiting classes will be looking up to the veterans as leaders and teachers. In many ways, the performance of the upperclassmen this season could define Fisher's tenure as head coach.

Florida State certainly doesn't have the hardest schedule in college football, but since the margin of error is so small, one slip-up could easily derail this group's lofty ambitions. 

Demonte McAllister

Demonte McAllister's inclusion on this list has to do with is lack of production last season, coupled with the elite talent that the Seminoles have at the defensive tackle position. 

Currently, Florida State has McAllister, Everett Dawkins, Timmy Jernigan, Eddie Goldman, Jacobbi McDaniel (who may redshirt this season due an leg injury he suffered last year against Duke), Moses McCray and a handful of other talented underclassmen. 

Obviously defensive coordinator Mark Stoops will be constantly shuffling the players across the line to ensure that his playmakers will be rested in crunch time.

They have so many talented players on the line that it would be almost criminal to not split time, because all of the linemen are capable of making impacts plays. 

McAllister will have Jernigan, Goldman and McCray breathing down his neck this fall. That is if he is able to lock down the second defensive tackle spot in training camp. 

Dawkins is without a doubt the No. 1 defensive tackle on the roster due to his experience and all the hard work that he has done over the past couple of years.

If McAllister cannot return to his 2010 form, then he will have little chance in holding off Jernigan, who is set to explode onto the national scene this fall. 

Barring injury, McAllister will be an important member of the Seminoles' defensive front this fall. Just how much playing time he gets will be determined by how well he plays and how quickly FSU's younger defensive tackles progress. 

Jacob Fahrenkrug

FSU is stacked at every unit, except offensive line. That's a bit of a problem because senior quarterback EJ Manuel has suffered with injuries over the course of his career, and he will need to stay healthy if the Seminoles are to reach their goals this season. 

Jacob Fahrenkrug was the top JUCO offensive lineman in the country last year, but he didn't live up to hype on the field. Although he started every regular season game last season, he hasn't locked up a starting spot along the offensive line and may not do so in training camp.

If this were to happen, it would be very disappointing because FSU was hoping that he would develop into a solid interior presence on the offensive line. 

Even if Fahrenkrug doesn't open up the season among the starters, he should still have a chance to get some playing time. Whether that opportunity comes via injury or poor play remains to be seen. Although both are very possible, considering the fact that the Seminoles had to play 10 offensive linemen last season and could be starting two underclassmen at guard when the season opens. 

At 6'4", 324 pounds, Fahrenkrug has the size and strength to play well in the ACC. 

With such a young unit—the only other senior offensive lineman is Daniel Glauser—the Seminoles could really use a strong year from Fahrenkrug in his final season in Tallahassee.

At the very least, he should add depth and experience to the unit because he did start 12 games last season. More was expected from Fahrenkrug when he transferred from North Dakota State College, but if he steps up this season, then last season's inconsistent play will be forgotten.  

Terrence Brooks

Terrence Brooks will be starting opposite LaMarcus Joyner at safety this season. While no one should expect Brooks to make the same impact as Joyner, he has the ability to make the Seminoles' pass defense nearly as strong as their run defense. 

He will be entering his junior season this fall, and this will be his first year in a starting role.

Fortunately for Brooks and the rest of the new starters that FSU will be breaking in this fall, the team's first four games are at home, with two of those games being against cupcake opponents and a third being a matchup against Wake Forest. 

Granted the Demon Deacon's did dispatch the Seminoles last season, but no one will be predicting another win when they visit Tallahassee next month. 

Brooks used to be a cornerback, just like Joyner, but the FSU coaching staff thought he could best help the team at safety. Hypothetically, Florida State will field a starting defensive backfield that should be superb at defending the pass because all of the starters will have started at corner. 

With such a dominating run defense, Brooks won't be asked to come into the box often. This will allow him to focus on his pass coverage, so he should be pretty good by the end of the season. 

The pressure will be on Brooks because he is one of only three new defensive starters from last season. Couple that with the fact that the Seminoles are expected to have a top three unit nationally this fall, and one could see that the new starters will have to step up in order to make that happen. 

Brooks also has 5-star super-athlete Karlos Williams breathing down his neck, a player that Seminole fans are dying to see on the field. 

The best defenses in the country have few weak links, but Brooks shouldn't be one for FSU. He figures to be an upgrade over Terrence Parks, but if he isn't, then Seminole fans will verbally thrash Brooks early and often. 

Rodney Smith

Rondey Smith is the most accomplished wide receiver on Florida State's roster, as he has finished each of the last two seasons ranked in the top four in both receptions and yards among Seminole receivers.

That doesn't necessarily mean that Smith will be EJ Manuel's primary target though, as that distinction might wind up belonging to sophomore Rashad Greene. 

Even if Greene ends up outproducing Smith, it is crucial that the latter is a consistent target for Manuel this fall. Barring injury, Smith should have no problem maintaining Manuel's trust because they have been practicing as teammates for years. 

Over the course of the last two seasons, Smith has compiled 67 receptions for 1,009 yards and scored seven touchdowns. 

Entering his senior season, Smith should be able to flirt with 50 receptions this season. At 6'6", he is bigger than every cornerback he will face and has to use that to his advantage if he hopes to reach the potential he entered Florida State with. 

His size makes him a prime red-zone target for Manuel, and you can expect Jimbo Fisher to call on that senior-senior combination as often as he can when the Seminoles are in scoring position. 

It isn't that Smith hasn't had a successful career in Tallahassee; in fact he has been very successful. He has progressed every season, and he will do the same this fall if he can stay healthy.

The reason that Smith is on this list is because Manuel will need a couple of elite options if FSU hopes to run the table. Also, if Smith and the rest of the receiving corps can stretch the field even more than they did last season, then the running game should be more effective and not finish outside of the top 100 nationally. 

Chris Thompson

Chris Thompson suffered a broken back on his first carry against Wake Forest last October. At the time, many thought that it would wind up being his final carry in the Garnet and Gold. 

However, through hard work, determination and modern medicine; Thompson will suit up for the Seminoles when the season kicks off.

In 2010, Thompson led Florida State in rushing, He compiled 846 yards on just 133 carries and was quick to hit open holes and his future looked bright.

He ran for over 100 yards twice and averaged 6.4 yards per carry, for what was an excellent sophomore season. 

He didn't have the same success last season prior the injury, but that was due in large part to the poor play across the offensive line. It isn't easy to be productive when defenders are in the backfield before the running back gets his hands on the ball, which was the case at times during the first half of last season. 

Thompson will be sharing carries with sophomore Devonta Freeman, but Thompson's familiarity with the system should give him the advantage when it comes down to playing at the big moments.

Of course all of this is dependent on Thompson playing at the same level he did pre-injury, something all non-Seminole haters should be rooting for this fall. It is simply amazing that he has overcome such a serious injury and will be continuing his dream. 

While there are no guarantees that this year's offensive line will be better, it couldn't get that much worse, even with the departure of starting right tackle Zebrie Sanders to the NFL draft. 

Thompson will be counted on to improve last year's pathetic run attack, so the senior will need to regain his form from 2010.