Florida State Football: Ranking the 5 Most Surprising Seminoles in 2014

With a 24th consecutive victory its rear view, No. 2 Florida State’s attention now shifts to the stretch run of the 2014 season in November.

Now 8-0 on the year and still in control of its own College Football Playoff destiny, let’s take a look at some of the surprising players on this year’s FSU football team.

Cason Beatty

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The lone weak link on Florida State’s 2013 championship team, punter Cason Beatty has been much improved this year.

The junior has been FSU’s starting punter since he stepped foot on campus in 2012. But over the course of his first two seasons in Tallahassee, Beatty’s combined 38.9 yards-per-punt average ranked last in the Atlantic Coast Conference and seventh worst among Power Five teams.

But through eight games in 2014, Beatty has improved his average to 40.7 yards per punt and is coming off one the best games of his career in the Seminoles’ come-from-behind win at Louisville on Thursday night. In that game, Beatty averaged 45.2 yards punt, boomed a key 54-yarder and had three of his four attempts downed inside the 20-yard line. 

Beatty punted just 42 times a season ago but has already kicked 30 this season. For an FSU team known for its ability to rebound and beat teams in the second half of games rather then blow out every team, field position has been key—and most importantly, Beatty hasn’t been the same weak link.

Karlos Williams

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Karlos Williams has been productive—he leads the team with 450 yards rushing and seven touchdowns—but he surprisingly hasn’t been the big-play threat he was expected to be this season.

After scoring on a 65-yard touchdown on the first carry of his career last year, Williams quickly established that for what he lacked in running back experience, he made up for in game-changing ability. He went on to average a robust 8.0 yards per carry—good enough for sixth in the nation in 2013.

This year, though, the senior tailback’s longest carry has been 40 yards, and the reputation as game-breaker has shifted to freshman Dalvin Cook, while Williams has become the feature back in the red zone. 

The arrangement is certainly working for the 8-0 ‘Noles, but the shift in Williams’ role has been a surprising development.

Freshmen Trio: Dalvin Cook, Travis Rudolph, Ermon Lane

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Perhaps getting positive production from three true freshmen considered to be some of the best prospects at their respective positions coming out of high school isn’t all that surprising. 

But at Florida State, where the roster is stacked with a plethora of 4- and 5-star prospects, the emergence of tailback Dalvin Cook and wide receivers Travis Rudolph and Ermon Lane as every-down, go-to players is significant.

Against Louisville on Thursday night, FSU rallied from a 24-7 hole by getting back-to-back-to-back touchdowns from the trio of rookies. Rudolph started the scoring with a 68-yard touchdown grab from Jameis Winston, Cook exploded for a 40-yard scoring dash and Lane put the ‘Noles ahead for the first time with his 47-yard reception early in the fourth quarter.

Cook later put FSU back on top, 35-31, with a nifty 38-yard scoring scamper.

In total, the three freshmen accounted for 284 of Florida State’s 574 offensive yards. FSU generated just 483 yards by true freshmen during the entire 2013 season.

Thursday’s performance was just another example of the superstar potential of the Seminoles’ three highly touted signees. Already playing meaningful snaps, each will continue to be focal points of the Winston-led offense.

Reggie Northrup

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Reggie Northrup hasn’t looked back since a fall-camp position battle with E.J. Levenberry for one of FSU’s two starting linebacker spots. Northrup entered Thursday night’s game at Louisville as the ninth-leading tackler in the ACC and was second on his team with 55 total stops.

With ACC leading tackler Terrance Smith sidelined for the ‘Noles with a neck strain, Northrup’s 12 tackles against the Cardinals now make him the Florida State team leader in the category. The junior is the hardest-hitting player on the team, is constantly around the football and appears to have taken on a vocal leadership role left vacant by Telvin Smith’s departure to the NFL.

Northrup is a bit undersized for a linebacker at 6’1” and 220 pounds, but the Jacksonville, Florida native’s play has deflected that notion. With several FSU linebackers suffering with injuries, Northrup will continue to be one of the most valuable players on FSU’s defensive depth chart.

Kermit Whitfield

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After leading the nation in kick-return average (36.4) a season ago and scoring on a game-changing 100-yard kick return for a touchdown in the national championship game, Whitfield was expected to at least match those numbers—and be more of an offensive focal point—as a true sophomore in 2014.

But through eight games, the Orlando, Florida native has yet to make a splash play on either special teams or offense. He’s averaging just 20.7 yards per kick return and has touched the ball 10 times (eight catches and two carries) for 118 yards and no touchdowns.

Is it a sophomore slump for the speedster? Considered one of the quickest players in all of college football, Whitfield has the ability to change the scoreboard any time he touches the football, and despite early struggles, could still make his impact felt as FSU closes out the regular season in November.

But so far, his lack of production after such an impressive rookie year is surprising.

Brandon Mellor is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of Seminoles.com and TheACC.com. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow @BrandonMellor on Twitter.