What to Expect from Florida State in the Post-Jameis Winston Era

One of the last images of quarterback Jameis Winston's career at Florida State was an unfortunate, albeit pretty funny, fumble in the Rose Bowl against Oregon.

That shouldn't, and won't, detract from what was an incredible two-year run for Winston. The redshirt sophomore, who declared for the NFL draft earlier this month and could be the No. 1 overall pick—Bleacher Report's Matt Miller projects him as the top selection—won the Heisman Trophy in 2013 and helped lead the Seminoles to 27 straight victories.

To expect Florida State to take a step back, at least in the short term, post-Winston is reasonable. Winston was an exceptional player at the right position who made the great look mundane.

Sean Maguire, Winston's backup, has limited experience and was hit-or-miss in his one start against a top-flight Clemson defense in September.

But Florida State is also losing so much more than just Winston. Here's a "short" list of this year's departures:

Player	Stats
QB Jameis Winston	3,907 passing yards, 25 TDs, 18 INTs
RB Karlos Williams	689 rushing yards, 11 TDs
WR Rashad Greene	99 receptions, 1,365 yards, 7 TDs
TE Nick O'Leary	48 receptions, 618 yards, 6 TDs
DT Eddie Goldman	35 tackles, 8 TFL 4 sacks
DE Mario Edwards Jr.	44 tackles, 11 TFL, 3 sacks
CB Ronald Darby	4 PBUs
CB P.J. Williams	10 PBUs, 1 INT
OL Cameron Erving	--

That's a lot to replace. To be sure, the Seminoles have some key guys coming back—running back Dalvin Cook, receiver Travis Rudolph and safety Jalen Ramsey—but the 2015 edition will look like a brand new team.

Thus, it's hard to predict how Florida State will fare next season. The difficulty of new-look teams is that there isn't always an easy feel to them. They could pick up where the previous group left off just as easily as they could fall short of expectations.

In any case, there will be plenty of players learning how to be full-time starters.

That starts with the offensive line, which will be given the task of coming together with a mostly new starting five. Rick Trickett has established himself as one of the best O-line coaches in the country, but last year's veteran line came out of the gate slowly, as did Williams in the running game.

As a result, there was a lot of pressure on Winston to make more plays—and he did, for the most part. That's the kind of player he was.

How will Florida State's offense look with a new quarterback if the same issues persist? Guys like Rudolph and Cook have to grow up quickly and become leaders.

It's largely the same story on defense. Last year's group was put in some tough situations because of turnovers, but it lacked the fire and leadership that former players like cornerback Lamarcus Joyner provided, as Powell Latimer of Warchant.com explained in 2013:

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Joyner started affecting FSU's program even before he arrived on campus. He was the first big-time recruit to commit to Jimbo Fisher after Fisher took over as head coach and helped spur Fisher's first recruiting class. Once on campus, Joyner steadily took on a larger role each year in the secondary and increased his production. As a senior, he leads the team in sacks with 5 and has as many tackles (51) as he did all of 2012.

He also spurned the NFL draft as a junior and came back for his senior season, in part because he felt like Florida State had the pieces to compete for a national title - and he's not the only one. Christian Jones came back as well for a senior season. Those kinds of sacrifices gave FSU an extra level of leadership and depth. They also resonated with Fisher, who got emotional when speaking about the class of 2012 on the week before their home finale.

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Florida State needs that kind of presence within the program. Going forward, Ramsey is a candidate to assume that type of role.

However, head coach Jimbo Fisher has recruited well enough that the Seminoles will be in a position to compete for conference and national championships for years to come.

"[It] doesn't hurt that a guy like Jimbo Fisher is a relentless recruiter and will go after anybody in the country," ESPN recruiting analyst Derek Tyson told Safid Deen of the Tallahassee Democrat. "At the end of the day, it's about winning. If you're able to win on the field, kids want to go there and kids want to play at these nationally known programs."

As of Friday, Jan. 23, Florida State has the No. 2 class nationally behind only Alabama, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. Five of the early enrollees in that class, including defensive end Josh Sweat, rank among the top 100 recruits for 2015. Another four verbal commits hold that same ranking.

There will be no shortage of athletes on Florida State's rosters for the foreseeable future. Even with an 85-scholarship limit, the adage of "the rich get richer" tends to hold true in recruiting. Every player signs with a school with the intention of being the next big star for that program.

No Winston? That won't hurt Florida State's status as a college football blue blood.

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football.