SB Nation - D'Vontrey Richardson

Florida State Seminoles Spring Football Preview: The Backfield

FSUncensored — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:00:11 -0000

Note: Florida State pushed back the start of spring practice to March 16. The Noles were supposed to start on Monday, March 2nd, but Jimbo fisher decided it would be better to start after spring break, which begins on March 9, instead of starting practices and having a long layoff. The spring game will still be on April 4, but now FSU will have two practices after the spring game.

Here's the schedule: March: 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30. April: 1, 3, 4 (Spring Game), 6, 8

Part One: Florida State's Spring Football Quarterback Battle

In the second part in a series of Florida State spring football previews, we'll discuss the backfield.

Last year, under the direction of ACC Offensive Coordinator of the year, Jimbo Fisher, the Seminoles had the top rated rushing attack in the ACC. This was a huge improvement over the 2007 season which saw the 'Noles finish a pathetic 10th of 12.

Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
Team	Off. Rushing S&P+
Florida State	123.7
Georgia Tech	122.4
N.C. State	113.2
Miami	110.4
Boston College	101.9
Maryland	96.6
Virginia Tech	96.0
North Carolina	93.7
Virginia	93.5
Clemson	88.5
Duke	84.7
Wake Forest	79.2

Click the link in the table header for an explanation of those numbers.

Let's take a look at what the 'Noles will need to do to equal last year's proficient rushing attack.

Opponent (ACC Games Only)	Rushes	Net
Wake Forest(3-12)	28	102
Miami (Fla.)(41-39)	52	330
North Carolina St.(26-17)	45	138
Virginia Tech(30-20)	38	89
Georgia Tech(28-31)	36	196
Clemson(41-27)	36	266
Boston College(17-27)	24	73
Maryland(37-3)	42	172

NOTE: The above numbers include sacks.

4.3 yards per carry, including sacks, is very good.

Here's a breakdown of the individual rushing performances. I have crossed off the guys the 'Noles will lose due to graduation, discipline, or injury.

Florida State 2008 Individual Rushing (ACC Games)
Name	Rush	Net
~~Smith,Antone~~	104	418
Thomas,Jermaine	31	279
Ponder,Christian	91	299
~~Richardson,D'Vontrey~~	23	134
Jones,Carlton	5	20
* Parker,Preston	7	67
Sims,Marcus	21	61
* Reed,Bert	3	13
* Givens,Louis	2	24
* Easterling,Taiwan #	4	17
* Owens,Rod	3	12
Team Totals	294	1344

Note: Ponder had 174 yards in sacks, which are included in his total.
* Player is not a backfield member but is likely a wide receiver
Players who will not be playing in 2009 are crossed through.
# Player is injured and will not participate in spring practice, but may play in 2009.

Florida State is losing roughly 245 carries and about 1200 yards on the ground.

The Seminoles must replace Antone Smith's production.

via i.a.cnn.net

Many don't think Antone was very good. I think he was a good college back. He was never great, but he was decent. Smith struggled to learn the Seminoles zone run scheme, which is not difficult to learn. He never seemed natural out there. I will always remember him for his huge effort in the Miami win.

Game (ACC Only)	Rushes	Yds
Wake Forest	8	24
at Miami (Fla.)	27	92
at North Carolina St.	20	89
Virginia Tech	9	57
at Georgia Tech	9	35
Clemson	8	57
Boston College	10	19
at Maryland	13	45
Totals	104	418

That's about 4 yards per carry in ACC play. There's a hidden advantage to losing Smith, however, and that is variance. Smith was a boom or bust back.

63 104 carries in ACC play. He gained 481 yards and lost 63 yards. That's a pretty high loss number for having only 104 carries. Smith gained 5.23 yards per carry and lost .61 yards per carry. That's probably a new stat to you. It is to me as well. I like to use it to look at how often a back puts his team in a negative leverage down after he has a run (like 2nd and 9, for instance). Modern football scholars almost universally agree that the median carry is a much better measure of running back value than yards per carry. Part of this it is very much attributable to an offensive line that exceeded expectations, but was far from good. Smith was frustrating in that never seemed smooth in his approach and often struggled to find the hole in the zone scheme-- which often did not designate a specific hole. He also really faded down the stretch. Antone also struggled with handling option pitches-- something that we saw was increasingly important in Jimbo Fisher's scheme. He also struggled running out of the shotgun, a formation that the 'Noles increasingly resorted to as the offensive coordinator gradually migrated against the use of a fullback, which is a dying position in the sport. As a receiver, he caught 10 balls for 100 yards, but 43 of those 101 came against Division 1-AA filler or in garbage time. Antone was a good Seminole, who never embarrassed the program and really ran hard his senior year. It wasn't his fault that the system didn't fit his style and I'm not wanting to bash a good Seminole like Antone.

Antone basically contributed 104 carries and 418 yards. Let's call his departure a deficit of 105 carries and 420 yards.

Florida State needs to find someone to take D'Vontrey Richardson's carries

via www.orlandosentinel.com

	Rushes	Yards
Western Caro.	4	68
Chattanooga	5	38
Wake Forest	8	46
Virginia Tech	4	21
at Georgia Tech	4	41
Clemson	1	7
at Maryland	6	19
Florida	3	14
ACC Total	23	134
Season Total	35	254

D'vo was good as a change up to Christian Ponder. Running the student body left and right out of the shotgun. He had issues that I'm not going to discuss here, but if you read every D'Vo article on our site you can probably get a feel for what he had going on. He'll focus on baseball now and has some chance to play defensive back in the spring, but it is unlikely he will be back. I don't want him back on the team as he won't be able to pick up defensive back and be productive in the remainder of his career. We need his scholarship. D'Vo was a very good runner, and importantly, a warm body to advance the ball and take hits that Ponder didn't have to take. We will need to replace about 25 carries and 135 yards in ACC play due to D'Vo's departure.

What of Parker and Easterling's carries?

Florida State dismissed Parker and Easterling had Achilles surgery. I doubt he contributes this year. These two wide receivers combined for 15 carries and 107 yards overall, with 11 of those coming in conference, for 84 yards. Next year, we'll need to replace that to the tune of roughly 14 carries and 110 yards. The 'Noles could do without Preston Parker's fumbling problem. I hope whatever team he lands with in the Florida Penal League knows about this.

The goal for Florida State in conference will be about 300 carries and 1400 yards.

Quarterback Christian Ponder should continue to be an excellent runner. I think an estimation of 90 carries and 325 yards (including sacks) is a reasonable expectation. I came to this conclusion because I think Ponder will be sacked less in 2009. I estimate that his yards per carry will improve by 10%, due to the reduction in sacks. We still need 210 carries and 1076 yards.

Jermaine Thomas should be good for 110 carries and 525 yards in ACC play.

via cache.daylife.com

Jermaine Thomas was made to be a running back in the zone scheme. He has no use for a fullback. Thomas understands the need to make one cut and get up the field. His stride is deceptively fast. At 6-1, 190lbs, his upright style is a thing of beauty to watch. Let's do just that:

Personally, his running style reminds me of Ricky Watters. Both Thomas and Watters played a fair amount of wide receiver in their prep days and both have a very upright gait. Here's Watters:

Longtime Tomahawk Nation contributor compared him to:

Jeff Cheaney. Both seem real wiry and don’t look very strong, but seem to have a knack for contorting to shed tackles. They have odd cuts and sometimes seem to be dodging imaginary players.

Last season, Thomas went for 279 yards on just 31 carries in ACC play. That's 9 yards per carry. I think 110 carries for 525 yards is a reasonable projection. Thomas is not a huge back. He is not the type of player I want drawing 20 carries per game. If Thomas can get 14 carries and 3 catcher per game in ACC play, that will be great for the Seminoles. I have a feeling that Thomas will decline quickly if he gets anything over 125 carries in ACC play. In fact, only 5 players had 125 or more carries in ACC play last year, and all were significantly bigger than Thomas. Only one (Dwyer) had an average approaching what I expect out of Thomas. It seems to me that Thomas' goal for Spring needs to be health and normal development. He must stay healthy and continue to get stronger. There is absolutely no need for Thomas to get extensive work in the spring and risk a possible growth stunting injury. All he needs to do is to learn the blitz pickup schemes and the intricacies of the Jimbo Fisher offense, an offense I don't think is all that complicated for running backs. Let's hope Fisher and staff manage him correctly as he can be a special weapon for the 'Noles in 2009.

Based on my projections of Ponder and Thomas combining for 200 carries and 850 yards, the 'Noles will still need to get another 100 carries and 550 yards to reach my goal of 300 carries and 1400 yards.

Marcus Sims should see an expanded role in 2009.

via www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com

Most FSU fans know the story of Marcus Sims. The brother of Seminole superstar linebacker Ernie Sims, Marcus was highly recruited and came to FSU on the promise that he could play running back. Despite having a serious need at the linebacker position, FSU kept the promise. That may now prove to be a good move.

Sims missed 4 games last year with various academic related suspensions. He is a talented runner and can be a valuable bigger back in Jimbo Fisher's system. To call Sims a fullback would be inaccurate. He's essentially a 6' 0" 230lb running back. He rushed 23 times for 21 times for 61 yards in 7 conference games. Sims has very good receiving skills as well, catching 8 balls for 45 yards in 7 conference games. His best performance coming against NC State, catching 5 balls for 38 yards, including 3 first downs. Sims really needs to put better effort into his blitz pickup in the passing game and give more effort in carrying out his fakes. He also must hold onto the ball better. Maybe embattled running back coach Dexter Carter can help him with his ball security issue?

The spring is a perfect time to work on all of those issues. I think Sims can play at 235lbs and be a big time contributor for the 'Noles. It's worth noting that he is a Junior and not a Senior, thanks to some scholarship finagling. I expect Sims to get 55 carries for 200 yards this year in his 8 conference games. Like Thomas, he needs to increase his understanding of the offense and maybe his new found eligibility youth will inspire him to become a leader on the practice field.

Adding Sims 55 for 200 to our 200 for 850, we come to 255 carries for 1050 yards. We still need 45 carries for 350 yards to reach our goal. We can pick that up with the remaining guys and the incoming freshmen.

I think E.J. Manuel will have a decent year rushing. Most of his work in spring will be of the learning variety, however, and I doubt he focuses on running when he still needs to learn the passing game.

Highly touted JUCO running back Tavares Pressley (from last year's recruiting class) will miss Spring practice as he continues to recover from his August ACL surgery. I'm of the opinion that we should cut Pressley unless he makes significant strides this offseason. I really doubt that he can stay eligible for three years anyways, being a JUCO guy with past academic struggles. Here's some of his JUCO video for you to enjoy. Please keep in mind that it is very unlikely that he will both recover from ACL surgery, regain his prior form, and remain eligible all within the same time frame.

That leaves us with two guys who will be playing this spring.

The first is low-profile fullback Seddrick Holloway. He's sort of a man without a role in Fisher's offense, as we try to move away from the fullback and more towards the traditional H-Back role. Holloway is a good to very good blocker. He's not an elite college blocking full back. One of our members recently spotted Holloway and said that he is bigger than Kendrick Stewart. Kendrick Stewart is 6-1 270. Holloway is 5-10, generously. I don't know how much Holloway weighs, but apparently he is really out of shape now. He won't play if he doesn't get seriously committed to his conditioning. We don't need lazy players on this team. We really don't need waste of space seniors setting a poor example for the younger guys. We don't need a fullback with a 42 inch waist. Holloway only had one carry last year and is not a candidate to carry the football, though I guess he could rest it against his ample hip if need be. All kidding aside, we will need Holloway for limited goal-line and short yardage situations and he is way too slow right now to flow with our quicker linemen. He must get his act in gear.

Come On, Seddrick! Put down the burger!

That leaves us with Carlton "Ty" Jones, a sophomore from Tampa who has his own medical issues. Jones is a very promising prospect with a major issue-- he has diabetes. Right now, Jones is tiny. He is under 200lbs, after suffering another major diabetes induced weight loss. Jones cannot afford to mismanage his diabetes. His Grandma used to make him special diabetes friendly meals when he was a kid in high school, but apparently he is not getting that taken care of at Florida State. Know anyone who could help this kid out?

via cache.daylife.com

Jones needs to play at 220lbs to be effective. He doesn't have the moves to be a running back at a school like Florida State if he is down 20lbs of muscle. Jones is the kind of back who sheds tacklers with leverage and strength. I think he can be a decent player if he can get to 210lbs, and he will get a bunch of work in spring. Last year he rushed 11 times for 99 yards. Clearly he is a back with a lot of potential. Jones also has some intelligence issues working against him. I don't want to call the kid dumb, but he had a qualifying scare, really didn't understand the offense last year and hasn't had the mental discipline to manage the diabetes. Is it realistic to expect a college kid to manage his diabetes? His real work will come this summer in the weight room.

The real key for the spring will be for everyone to work hard, for the backs to avoid major setbacks due to injury or otherwise, and for Thomas and Sims to learn their pass protection responsibilities.

Jimbo's unit surprises, Mickey's unit FAILS, Jody Allen needs to be fired yesterday, and FSU loses a giftwrapped game they had no business being in.

FSUncensored — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 08:47:36 -0000

As always, this is a blend of our member's thoughts and my own. Thanks to all who contributed. We didn't have many differing opinions this week, which is unusual for a loss.

I'm still trying to digest this loss. Truly disgusting. People are going to make too much of the Marcus Sims fumble. The guy fumbled, and we shouldn't be surprised, as he did it last week. Fumbling one week isn't a reason to expect that it will occur the next. Sometimes these are random. He may have a fumbling issue, but we can't claim to have known that based off of 1 fumble in the VT game. Let's go easy on ripping Simms. He's not a good player and we know that. He is a slightly above average player who we've had to turn to because we can't run Christian every play, because Antone is really dinged, because Carlton Jones is a shell of his former self as a result of his type 1 diabetes (15lb+ loss since arriving), and because Jermaine Thomas can't run the ball every play. He is horrible in pass protection, but we will need Simms down the stretch. As for using him there on the goal line, Jimbo basically said that he is in our goal line package, and Thomas is not. That might change in the future, but discuss the entire game instead of one play out of 65.

via img.fannation.com

Instead of talking about that fumble, let's talk about how the Noles were totally outclassed in this game. Let's talk about how we never stopped Georgia Tech.

I don't put this loss on Marcus Simms.

I put this loss on Mickey Andrews.

31 Points, 0 Turnovers, & 321 yards on 39 Plays.

8.2 yards per play. Up until GT's QB left the game, that's what they had done. 8.2 yards per play. I don't need to say anything more. 8.2 yards per play. Mickey's unit was ill-prepared. 8.2 yards per play. They played like garbage. 8.2 yards per play.

Some people are going to say that the Noles finally started to make adjustments. 8.2 yards per play. That is pure B.S. 8.2 yards per play. Do not buy that for a second. 8.2 yards per play. The Seminole defense didn't adjust to anything, rather Georgia Tech's QB rolled his own ankle. 8.2 yards per play. That is pathetic.

In a game that the defense was being counted on to carry the day, they were non-existent. Bad assignment football, strange formations with the 2 DT's, and poor angles meant 8.2 yards per play. In the back of every knowledgeable FSU fan's mind, we knew there was a chance that the defense could lay an egg against a team of this design. I dismissed that, telling myself that was silly, that Mickey wouldn't prepare these guys in a way that would allow such egg-laying, and that playing a running QB for the 3rd consecutive week would increase our familiarity. I was so very very wrong.

I like Mickey Andrews a lot. He is a good guy by all accounts, and has been excellent over the course of his career. Everybody can have a bad game. Let's consider this his bad game.

There are much deeper issues here, however, that we must eventually start to look at. Mickey's DB recruiting has been woeful over the past few years, specifically at the CB spot. We have a stud in Patrick Robinson, and an above average Senior in Tony Carter. I don't expect either to be back. I'm not a huge fan of our technique, and I am not speaking solely of this game. We could have major defensive issues next year, as Mangum and Jenjie are not anywhere close to starter level at a major D1 program.

Scheme wise, I tend to think that people are figuring out Mickey. That's not to say this can't be an excellent defense going forward. We can, if we execute.

Nobody should forget, however, that we were incredibly lucky to be in this game. We never stopped them with their QB in the game. They punted once. When you have defensive talent like this, you can't allow the opposing team to run all over you. Does anyone actually think the defense looked good in practice leading up to this game?

When one player plays poorly, I'll point that out. When the entire unit plays poorly, I'll point to the man in charge. We were so lucky to have their QB injure himself. That wasn't something we did. GTech was on their way to putting up FIFTY. Who would have stopped them? Not the Seminole defense.

The Yellow Jackets hadn't scored more than 27 points in an ACC game this season and had 31 on the board with 13:42 remaining in third quarter. _Steve Ellis

Look at this chart (in full-screen if you need to). Look at all the yellow going into our zone. There is a noticeable change after the GTech Fumble. This is just another example to show that we didn't adjust to anything and the only reason their offense stalled was the self-inflicted GT QB Injury.

Full Screen Version

I put this loss on Special Teams Coach Jodey Allen

Last week, I implored you to email the folks in charge and ask that Jodey Allen be relieved of his position. His unit is consistently horrible. He is not a kicking coach and should not receive credit for Graham Gano's amazing ability. Our kick coverage is some of the worst I have ever seen. GT had returns of 46 and 29 yards. Their total tally was 116 yards on 4 returns.

There is no way Jody Allen can feel safe in his job at this point. Many have called for his resignation before me. Our production at the defensive end spot has consistently declined since Allen replaced former DE Coach Jim Gladden.

When Jimbo finally takes over and cleans house, I'll take Amato or Allen in the "first to go" pool. Flip a coin.

The offense was shockingly decent

While Allen's guys were busy looking inept as usual, and Mickey's crew was doing less with more, Jimbo continued to prove, to me and other Tomahawk Nation members why we pay him so well. He did more with less. We didn't expect much and they delivered a ton.

The offensive line played slightly better in the passing game than I expected, allowing 5 sacks and a holding penalty. A sack rate of 15% is still terrible, but it wasn't disasterous for us. They really excelled in the running game. If you take out the sacks (college stats count sacks as rushing yardage), the Noles ran for 228 yards on 31 carries, or 7.3 per carry.

Photo Credit: Tallahassee Democrat

I was very impressed with Jermaine Thomas. He doesn't look explosive, and doesn't appear to have track speed. His best asset is his vision, and it is excellent. In trying to figure out a comprable back, all I can come up with is Ricky Watters.

It's great to see Preston Parker performing well. He is a key part of our offense, even if he's banged up.

Great job by the offensive staff to use all of their guys. They were giving us throws underneath, and we got them into the receiver's hands.

My thoughts on Ponder are mixed. I already think he is a good quarterback, but he also has a lot of room for improvement. The throw into the end zone was just bad. I just don't know how preoccupied he is with avoiding the pass rushers that beat our young offensive line on almost every play. Many members are concerned with him not leading receivers enough and throwing late (probably because of late recognition). There are several explanations for this. The first is that he isn't able to devote the proper amount of attention to down field because of the pressure in his face. The second is youth. The answer probably lies somewhere in-between. I lean to the former, however, because the pass protection is so poor. For anyone wondering, the pass blocking is much worse than in prior years.

The offense did their job. In the end, our defense asked the offense to do too much.

Insert a bunch of talk about how this team is tough and how they battle, etc. Whatever. The strength of our team was a huge liability.

Other Nole Writers React

Scalpem says the Noles must put this loss behind them and get ready for Clemson, as it is a bigger test than GTech was. He's right, Clemson is better than their record indicates. The random thoughts are up as well.
ChanrRant says the Nole's life on the edge style caught up with them. Good read.

Remaining Issues

Ponder is definitely injured. I think he has cracked ribs. It's pretty amazing that our offense produced like it did with the young OLine and a major part of the offense limited due to injury.
The Clemson game will almost certainly be a 3:30 ABC Regional split.
Will we be ranked after today?
We should and probably will beat all remaining ACC opponents.
Florida is going to wipe the floor with this team.
Dinnich is already writing us off, but Maryland still must beat us to secure the Atlantic. We really need Wake to drop another game.
I accidentally deleted the copy of this game from my DVR, so unless someone sends me a copy, I can't do the film review.