2008 Florida State Seminoles
Written July 11, 2008 by Jason Lowry
We are only a couple months away from the beginning of another football season, and Jason Lowry is ready to make his 2008 Florida State Seminoles football predictions. The Seminoles were able to slightly improve in 2007 going 7-6 and 4-4 in the ACC Atlantic division. They finished up last season with a loss to Kentucky in the Music City Bowl, and it will be up to the great longtime coach Bobby Bowden to get this team back to a title contender. The team is set to bring back 15 starters, and to get an idea at how good they will be on the field, lets take a look at who they will be lining up on both sides of the ball.
Offense:
The Seminoles will return 7 starters on this side of the ball and the success of this unit relies heavily on the arm of senior Drew Weatherford who will be the starting quarterback again this season. Weatherford has yet to really give the fans the year they thought they would get with this guy, and its now or never if he wants to make a run in the ACC. At running back the team returns senior Antone Smith who had over 800 yards last season. The team also has plenty of talent at the wide receiver spot in senior Greg Carr and junior Preston Parker, both had over 790 yards receiving last season. Where this side of the ball is going to be the weakest is on the offensive line, as they only return two starters here, but sophomores Rodney Husdon at the left tackle spot and Ryan McMahon at center are two of the best in the ACC. The team doesn’t get much older in the 3 open spots as redshirt freshmen Antwane Greenlee and Will Furlong will take over on the right side, while sophomore Evan Bellamy takes over the left guard spot.
Defense:
With 8 returning starters on a team that is known for having some of the best defenses the ACC has seen, you have to think that they will be able to turn this unit into something special in 2008.The team brings back 3 of the 4 starters on the defensive line, and the best of the bunch is junior defensive end Everette Brown. The team will plug in senior Paul Griffin at the open tackle spot, and it should be an easy transition for him as he has seen action as a backup in his career. The linebacking group brings back 2 starters, and there might not be to many better than senior middle linebacker Derek Nicholson. It looks like they will plug in another senior at an open starting spot, as Toddrick Verdell will likely take over the weak side spot. The secondary should be pretty solid as they return 3 starters and have another senior to plug in at the open spot. Darius McClure should take over the free safety spot, and should find it easy playing alongside the great talents of senior corner Tony Carter and junior rover Myron Rolle.
Prediction: 2nd in the ACC Atlantic
We like what we see out of the Seminoles in 2008, and if the very young offensive line can put it together, this team might be able to give Clemson a run for their money in the Atlantic division. Either way the offense should get plenty of good field position, as we think the Seminoles might have one of the best defenses in the ACC.
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