Shifting Gears: Going from Ponder-matic to Manuel

TAMPA—Sam Bradford, Matt Grothe, Tony Pike...Christian Ponder.

Not only was it ugly for the Maxwell semi-finalist on Saturday night, it was possibly season ending. The quarterback who managed to place himself amongst the elite in FBS College Football just one week ago, will now be obscured by a separated throwing shoulder, when combined with a poor outing against Clemson's secondary, will likely knock him out of the running for any awards this season.

Much of the 2009 season focused around the speculation that E.J. Manuel would emerge as a playmaker, and a possible second-headed monster within the complex Jimbo Fisher offense.

It never happened.

Slated as a true backup to Ponder, Manuel only received some limited action in a few games this season that meant little to nothing as far as real-game scenarios are concerned.

A word on Manuel. For those who don't know the content of the "future" in Tallahassee, E.J. was regarded as the No. 2 QB prospect out of High School, and was regarded as one of the best dual-threat passers in many years.

Since his arrival at FSU, E.J. has been absorbing Jimbo Fisher's complex offensive system, and has received mixed reviews over the past summer. Fisher has noted that Manuel has all of the skill and capability of a very talented athlete, but also mentioned that Manuel is still a bit raw in making the correct assignment, or throwing the correct routes.

One thing is for certain though—Manuel is learning quickly, and has shown it in many summer scrimmages where he has had the big play capability that FSU has somewhat shied away from under the accurate, but short-distance slinger in Ponder.

This week, Manuel will be required to muster up all of his talents, as well as his absorption skills to lead the Seminoles from an even more daunting task—avoiding a losing season. With no margin for error, and no time for adaptation, FSU's offense will be leaning on the signal caller in his first true start as a Seminole.

Should the defensive secondary continue to flail it's arms in the face of the big play, FSU could find itself in a hole early and often.

Keys to Manuel's success this weekend against Wake will not be much different than what it was for USF's B.J. Daniels (whose name is so eerily similar) against FSU. 

E.J. will be required to handle the ball, have strong pocket presence, break down mismatches, and scramble for yards when hurried.

With Wake Forest's maligned defense from just a season ago experiencing some of it's own identity issues, especially sans-Alphonso Smith, Manuel may just get the opportunities to exploit that big play capability he's shown during the offseason. If he cannot, he may be forced to rely on his legs, as well as his stable of running backs who seem to be coming around. 

One thing is for certain this weekend. Whether Manuel can shift it into overdrive, or if he just stalls out, the wheels on FSU's caravan are wobbling dangerously far from the hub, and if the brakes can't stop the opposition, it won't matter whether we have a driver who's automatic, or if we're in neutral.

Florida State 24-Wake Forest 31.