Florida State Seminoles: An In-Depth Prediction for the 2011 Season

Jimbo Fisher and company are ready to return to prime time. Sixteen starters and a ton of talent return, and they are poised to earn an ACC Championship and a BCS Bowl bid.

With the days of Bobby Bowden well in the past, Jimbo Fisher has taken over the Florida State program and is maneuvering them back toward the head of the pack.

Jimbo and company have been absolutely dominating the recruiting trail as the second-ranked class in the country behind Alabama, and they are loaded at several positions.

The Seminoles return 16 starters from a squad that earned 10 wins last season.

We will find out early in the season how talented this team is when Oklahoma visits Tallahassee on September 17th.

Florida State took an absolute drubbing in Norman last season and are seeking revenge on the Sooners in a game that could determine each team's National Championship hopes by the third week of the season.

Jimbo is a hard worker and has been waiting for this moment. Will he seize the opportunity?

Quarterbacks

The loss of Christian Ponder is an immediate blow to the FSU offense, but they have plenty of talent waiting in the wings.

E.J. Manuel has garnered some experience over his first two years and has the talent needed to successfully replace Ponder. Manuel produced fairly well during his limited action last season, throwing for nearly 900 yards and rushing for over 200.

The former five-star recruit is poised and ready to lead this offense to new heights.

However, fans must be patient early in the season and not expect the excellent production they received from Ponder. Ponder was an extremely talented player, as evidenced by his Top-15 draft status, and cannot be replaced over night.

If the offensive line provides Manuel with time and allows him to ease into the transition, he will produce at a good enough clip to win ball games for this team.

The Seminoles must pray that Manuel stays healthy, because the group waiting in line behind him is extremely inexperienced and not quite ready to produce at this level.

Running Backs

The rushing attack of Florida State appears poised to label itself among the ACC’s elite.

They return their top three rushers, Chris Thompson, Ty Jones and Jermaine Thomas, who combined for nearly 1,900 yards and 17 touchdowns last season.

With that kind of experience returning, there is no reason to expect anything less than the best this season.

Manuel also provides running abilities from the quarterback position and has the talent to break some long runs if needed.

Fisher has added three excellent running backs via this year’s class. The likes of James Wilder, Devonta Freeman and Eric Beverly will be waiting in the wings over the coming seasons to keep a solid stable of backs readily available for Jimbo and company.

Receivers

Just as the running backs returned loaded from last season, the group of receivers also comes back with vengeance.

Florida State returns nearly their entire unit from a productive group last season.

This season, Bert Reed, Willie Haulstead and Taiwan Easterling return as one of the most dominant groups in the ACC. They will provide Manuel with plenty of open targets and the ability to get the ball down the field.

Beau Reliford returns at the tight end position and will be a nice safety valve and target in the red zone for the Seminole quarterbacks.

Fisher and company also added Kevin Benjamin as part of this season’s recruiting class. With all the talent available, it may be beneficial for Benjamin to red shirt, but if needed he will provide another capable receiver to the group.

Offensive Line

Florida State’s offensive line opened plenty of holes last season and allowed their running backs to gain nearly five yards per carry.

This season they return over 110 combined starts and are poised to have another excellent season.

They must replace the losses of Ryan McMahon and Rodney Hudson, but the experience that returns will be supplemented by the talents of Bryan Stork and Jacob Fahrenkrug and should produce at an even better level than last season.

Fahrenkrug is a 6’4″, 307 pound JUCO product who will provide an immediate replacement for Hudson.

Defensive Line

In 2009, Florida State possessed one of their worst rushing defenses in decades, allowing more than 5.4 yards per carry and 200 yards per game.

The disappointment from that season did not carry over into last year, and the Seminoles rebounded to allow only 3.4 yards per carry and 129 yards per game.

This season they return three starters, including defensive end Brandon Jenkins. Jenkins was a member of the All-ACC first team last season and compiled an astounding 21.5 tackles for loss.

Tank Carradine also joins the unit and was one of the best JUCO players in the country last season. Carradine appears poised to make an immediate impact within the front seven.

The defense compiled a whopping 48 sacks last season, but they could possibly top that number with the talent available in 2011. 

Linebackers

FSU must find an immediate replacement for the likes of Kendall Smith, and the fans already have a couple of options in mind.

Christian Jones and Jeff Luc were expected to make immediate impacts coming out of high school but suffered through the freshmen blues and did not produce as expected.

This season, however, it is their time to shine.

They will join the returning Nigel Bradham in the linebacker corps and their impact will be felt at a much higher level this season.

While youth is still an issue, if Luc and Jones can play to their abilities this season and show much improvement, this unit will not miss Smith a bit.

Defensive Backfield

The defensive backfield returns all four starters and are on the verge of becoming one of the elite groups in the country.

Xavier Rhodes returns off a freshmen All-American campaign and is poised to develop into one of the best corners in the entire country. Last season he broke up 12 passes and intercepted four balls while bursting onto the scene.

He will be flanked by Greg Reid, another corner with shutdown ability. Green defended 14 balls and intercepted three passes over the course of the season.

Opposing quarterbacks will have to make a tough decision when facing the Seminoles this year. Will they attempt to throw at Reid or Rhodes?

Terrance Parks and Nick Moody both return and are ready and able to produce and defend the pass at a high level.

Accompanied by Lamarcus Jonyer, a freshmen All-American, and the incoming talents of Karlos Williams, one of the most talented safeties in the country, this unit is downright nasty.

Final Synopsis

By the third week of the season, Florida State fans will have an idea of what to expect for 2011.

They face Oklahoma in the friendly confines of Tallahassee and are seeking revenge.

They follow the game with OU with a trip to Clemson, and their fate may be determined prior to October.

If Florida State and Coach Fisher can manage their way through the early portion of the schedule, and with no Virginia Tech on the schedule, Florida State could be staring an undefeated season directly in the face.

A dramatic improvement over the last several years of Florida State football. FSU fans have been clambering for this opportunity, but beating Oklahoma may be too tough of a task.

However, an ACC championship could be in the cards and a return to a BCS Bowl would suffice. Seminole fans need to be patient and look toward the promise of a dominant team in 2012.

Last Year’s Record: 10-4

Projected 2011 Record: 11-1