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Jalen Wilkerson commits to the Seminoles

Thank God for all the blessings but I've just committed to the Noles #NoleNation pic.twitter.com/rUzu0X3JjX

— JalenWilkerson (@88Dreamchaser) May 30, 2014

On Friday, Jalen Wilerson committed to the Florida State Seminoles.

Without a doubt, Florida State now has the recruiting momentum that many thought was lacking.  Within the past two weeks, Florida State has added excellent talent at the wide receiver, defensive back, and tight end positions.

Wilkerson is someone who has picked up momentum himself, adding offers from Auburn and Alabama in February.  At nearly 6'4" and 230 pounds, he was used mostly as a blocker, but it's clear he has the size and athleticism to make a difference as a pass-catcher at Florida State.

He caught 26 passes, 6 of those touchdowns, yielding about 300 yards.  He's the type of tight end that can play both between the 20s and in the red zone; he has the skills to pass protect, but also catch key passes in the red zone. 

Notably, he also played defensive end, which gives him some flexibility like Dan Hicks.  While tight end appears to be his primary position, a future position switch is not out of the question depending on playing time and depth chart needs.  But by playing defensive end, he also shows the kind of grit that you want out of a tight end.  He can block the big nasties as a tight end, but also then release to catch a pass.  Based on his skillset, however, I will not be surprised if he plays defensive end at some point for Florida State.

With a year to redshirt, we expect Wilkerson to hit the ground running in 2016.  Welcome to Nole Nation, Jalen!

The ACC has re-branded itself as... the Big East?

Today, the ACC unveiled some big news and it involves their effort to re-brand the conference.  Included in the re-branding effort is a new logo.  Take a moment and compare the new ACC logo with the old Big East logo.

Okay, pencils down.  What's the verdict?  Eerily similar, huh?  Does it imply an imminent demise, as well?  Is that part of the re-branding effort?

I'm sick to my stomach, at this point.

I realize that the ACC has essentially adopted much of what once was the Big East (Miami, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Louisville, Syracuse).  But that doesn't mean we have to become the Big East in the process, which is a conference that was the butt of many conference realignment jokes.

While the new logo isn't terrible (I mean, it's not anywhere similar to changing the iconic Seminole Head), it embodies the fact that the ACC has two left feet.  Or better yet, is merely a one-legged duck swimming in a circle.

The ACC chose style over substance... and adding insult to injury, they adopted the style of a now defunct conference.  Are we supposed to be excited about that?  This is a branding fail.  Call Don Draper, now. 

The ACC could have saved a lot of money by avoiding a re-brand and doing something of substance.  Such as re-aligning the divisions or doing away with the divisions altogether.  They could have also proposed a new conference championship game structure where the top seeded team gets to host the championship game (yes, I'm biased because it will be based in Tallahassee more years than not).  The ACC didn't go that route, however.  They chose style over substance and couldn't even do that right.

They polished a turd.  It's embarassing.  I don't get it.  

Update:  We obtained the ACC brand "standards" and it's worth a read.  I've included some key excerpts below.

Some people talk about a brand and refer to slogans
and logos. But, it’s so much more. A brand is a person’s
feeling toward a product, service or organization. As
such, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) brand is a
reflection of everything we do and say, everything we
print and broadcast.

Or... you know, how the ACC performs on the field or on the court.  The "SEC" brand was not made because of a logo.  The brand is the brand because of the product and not the logo.  It's why Florida State isn't worried about changing the logo because the brand remains.  The ACC changing its logo does nothing to change its brand and its brand is behind.

The Atlantic Coast Conference, through its member institutions,
seeks to maximize the educational and athletic opportunities of its
student-athletes, while enriching their quality of life. It strives to do
so by affording individuals equitable opportunity to pursue academic
excellence and compete at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics
competition in a broad spectrum of sports and championships.
The Conference will provide leadership in attaining these goals, by
promoting diversity and mutual trust among its member institutions,
in a spirit of fairness for all. 

How exactly is the ACC going to maximize athletic opportunities and performance by using fairness?  I'm still baffled.  This brand statement is noticeably lacking of substance.  The ACC could have and should have done better.

What in the world happened to Ira Denson?

A stolen credit card.  Stolen shoes.  A shooting.  

A person in an absolute free fall.  

What happened to Ira Denson?  

Denson signed on at Florida State as one of its prized recruits.  According to Rivals.com, he was the second highest rated offensive guard in his class.  He was a consensus 4-star recruit.  

And then, idle hands and the devil finally met and in the process, Mario Pender almost lost his life.  We have seen some absurd "scandals" at FSU, some involving shoes, others involving checks and gambling, but never quite this; never quite one player almost causing another to be killed.

Earlier this week, we saw some of the footage of Denson using Pender's debit card at Champs Sports (hey, by the end of this off-season, we will all be experts in surveillance footage analysis).

What are the takeaways from this situation?

First, recruit character.  Peter Schutz coined the famous phrase "hire character, train skill."  This phrase isn't quite appropriate for football, but if you hire someone with the right attitude and character, you can work on improving their skill level.  The issue is that, even in Jimbo Fisher's program, a program in which integrity and family are the primary pillars, someone like Denson can't be saved.  And in the process, he almost caused a tragedy.

Second, Jimbo Fisher did a masterful job of managing this situation.  Not only did he not allow this to become an issue in the locker room, but he didn't let it out of the locker room.  This is the type of story that ESPN would have drooled over, endlessly grinding it until its viewers were convinced that FSU was a haven for convicts.  But that never happened.

Instead, Fisher kept the issue brushed under the rug.  When Jimbo Fisher was asked to comment about it long ago, you almost knew that Denson's future with FSU was already foreclosed:

"He hasn't been with us since December.  Hasn't been with us. I'm hoping he does well in school for whatever his future holds, but he hasn't been with us and I hate it for him. Hope everything comes the right way. Hate to see anybody do that, but you can't make mistakes."

Not even a program like FSU could save the likes of Ira Denson.  And that's actually quite sad.  It makes you wonder how he could fall through the cracks.  Is it because of his injury, which in all likelihood took him away from the team, away from the film room, away from the weight room?  Maybe things would have turned out a little different if he didn't suffer the injury and was able to stay engaged within the program.  We'll never know.  

Adding insult to injury is the fact that he's not anywhere near being on the roster of a Division-I program and probably never will be.  At this point, he's damaged goods.  Not only did he suffer a significant injury, but he's not in playing shape.  Good players can overcome bad deeds; Denson's not proving to be a good player worth overlooking his bad deeds.

And finally, Denson's downfall is rather unfortunate given that he could have been a star at FSU.  He had the size and the makings of a mauler.  It's not likely that he would have had much competition, either;  in 2013, FSU only signed Wilson Bell and Ryan Hoefield.  In 2012, FSU signed Daniel Glausner and Menelik Watson.  Denson effectively leaves us with two offensive lineman from those classes.  It doesn't get much worse than that.  

Take the lead from Jameis.

Last week was not kind to Jameis Winston or his supporters (but it doesn't matter, as we'll explain in a few moments).

Jacobbi McDaniel is on the warpath

Jacobbi McDaniel has had to work very hard to be where he is right now... but the salient point is that he is here.  In the NFL.  On the Cleveland Browns.  

Take pride in your work, and be able to deal with the results. My office desk. #blessed #thankful #dawgpound pic.twitter.com/h9peDKvbD7

— Jacobbi McDaniel (@JacobbiJustice) May 23, 2014

Many of us know the story, but McDaniel was quite heralded out of high school and ranked as the second best defensive tackle in all of high school football.  He signed as arguably Florida State's most prized recruit in 2009.  That class, of course, featured other FSU fixtures such as Greg Reid, Chris Thompson, Lonnie Pryor, Xavier Rhodes, Rodney Smith, and Bryan Stork.  McDaniel was supposed to be the most talent of the bunch.  

His collegiate career hit speed bump after speed bump, however.  The worst of it all was breaking his ankle in 2011, which caused him to miss the entire 2012 season.  The thing about Jacobbi is that he never gave up on his dream... not only of achieving glory at Florida State, but also of playing on Sundays.  Last year, he achieved glory at Florida State.  He was rewarded with a National Championship and finished with the second-most tackles for a defensive lineman, 29, just behind Timmy Jernigan.  Now, he's chasing his dream of playing on Sundays, looking to prove that maybe he was worth a draft pick.   

And now, with each waking hour, he is continuing to fight that fight.  With each drill and blow of the whistle, Jacobbi is inching closer to his dream.  

While undrafted, he still posesses the talent to make it in the NFL, as he has a very unique blend of size, speed, and quickness.  What most underestimate about McDaniel is that he has ridiculous athleticism for a defensive tackle; what we forget is that he was actually once a two-sport star and even drafted as baseball player out of high school.

However, beyond his physical assets, his maturity is what will drive him to succeed.  Jacobbi McDaniel had every reason to just call it a career when he broke his ankle in 2011.  For most, that would have been too much to overcome.

Jacobbi McDaniel is not most, however.  He's one of a kind.  He's the kind that keeps his head held up high and just keeps working, not worrying about what others are doing but rather just working on himself, his craft, and his career as a defensive tackle in the NFL.  And that's the lesson for all of us to learn.  That maybe you'll suffer a setback or two.  Maybe one of those setbacks will be so devastating that others will consider your career to be over.  But that doesn't mean your dreams are out of reach.  It just means you have more to play for; more fuel for the fire.

Jacobbi McDaniel beat out his competition at Florida State, then his competition in the Cleveland Browns' off-season camp, and will now exert his will throughout the practices and camps leading up to the upcoming season.  

While Jacobbi McDaniel's path to the NFL has been full of twists and turns, he arrived in Cleveland with an enormous chip on his shoulder.  And that's unfortunate news for opposing offensive linemen.

A 3-star recruit commits to Florida State and fans rush to the cliff.

A word of caution: don’t jump, it is going to be okay.  I promise.

Over the weekend, FSU offered and received a commitment from Nyqwan Murray.  This news made some fans upset and only because Murray seems like an undersized three-star recruit.

Dameyune Craig burned any remaining goodwill that existed between him and FSU

Yesterday was a wild day and a particularly embarassing one for Dameyune Craig.

 

An early preview of the Oklahoma State-Florida State game, Part 2

Here is part 2 of our exchange with Pistols Firing.  This time, we answer his questions.

1. One a scale of 1-to-Peter Warrick how worried are FSU fans about Jameis missing time next year? 

 

Not worried one bit.  He barely missed any time playing baseball, so I don't see why they would bench him for football.  On paper, he's already served his time.  But mopping the floors at the YMCA doesn't fix anything.  His off-field errors are magnified because of his on-field accolades.  He's walking a fine line, however, and needs to mature.  Once he aligns his off-field persona with his on-field poise, he's going to go far.  

 

2. The disease of more,you've heard of it, I presume. How immune will this FSU team be to that?

 

This is a legitimate concern, but I think it will be okay.  Many teams can handle it for a while, but the question is whether you can do it on a sustained basis (i.e., more than 5 years).  FSU had a magical run from 1987 to 2001, but I don't think we'll ever see anything like that again.  FSU, is however, in that 1990s groove where the 2nd and 3rd string players get considerable playing time.  This means you're getting a rotation of players that are hungry and ready to contribute.  What worries me sometimes is that I see the players posing with their championship rings on Twitter, but I think that, come August, the rings will be put in storage.  I imagine Jimbo is letting them enjoy the fruits of their labor while they can.  

 

3. Last year FSU's offense was really, really good but the defense was even better. Which unit will take the top spot this year?

 

The defense, again, but by a hair.  The defense features the best secondary in college football, the so-called "No Fly Zone" led by Jalen Ramsey, Ronald Darby, Tyler Hunter, and Nate Andrews.  It's a very talented bunch that ruined the stat sheet of almost every quarterback they faced.  FSU's offense will look a little different this year (having lost Kelvin Benjamin, Kenny Shaw, James Wilder, Jr., and Devonta Freeman) but we have a senior-laden offensive line.  FSU will be able to impose its will offensively.  Late in the year, Winston began looking for the big plays as opposed to just taking what was given to him by the defense.  That worries me some and is one of the reasons why I predict the defense will be the better unit.  FSU was great offensively, but didn't quite click late in the year like they did against Pittsburgh and Clemson.  The defense, however, never lost form.

 

4. Jimbo Fisher's best trait is ___________________?

 

Sticking to his guns. Fisher knows what he wants and how he wants it.  He came to FSU with a plan and never wavered, even when his seat got a little warm following several losses to double digit underdogs. 

 

5. Kelvin Benjamin reminds you of _____________________?

 

This is tricky.  I hate to say it but he's one of a kind and he's still very much a project.  The sky could be the limit for him but he still has some mental hangups that prevent him from doing better.  To his credit, he built quite the resume last year with photo-perfect touchdowns against Clemson and Auburn.  He's a unique blend of size, speed, and hands.  Part of the issue is that he only has one solid year of production.  It's hard, based on limited tape, to label him in the name of another, existing player.  

 

6. What's the scenario for the Pokes winning in Dallas?

 

If you can contain Rashad Greene and Nick O'Leary without sacrificing the rest of the defense, the Pokes have a chance.  The problem is, if you sell out to stop the run or the pass, you're going to be in trouble.  Both units are very strong this year and I'd argue the running game may be better.  Granted, we lost our two "starting running backs" but in their place are more talented runners.  Write this name down because you're going to hear it quite a bit during the game: Karlos Williams.  If you sell out trying to stop Greene and O'Leary, then Karlos Williams is going to have a field day.  But if the Pokes' defense can somehow maintain balance, they could slow FSU down enough to make it interesting.  The problem is that, short of a weakened defensive interior, FSU will be just as good on defense as it was last year.

 

7. Score?

 

Champs 37 Pokes 20

 

[Editor's Note: In our conversations with Pistols Firing, they were completely unaware of Karlos Williams.  That's probably for the best, as Williams will have a nice coming out party on a national stage in Dallas.]

An early preview of the Oklahoma State-Florida State game, Part 1

As is customary on ChantRant, we routinely hold interviews with blogs supporting our opponents.  We will be holding two series of exchanges, one now during the off-season and one later leading up to the season.  Up first, naturally, is our exchange with Kyle Porter of PistolsFiring.com.

 

 

We will start off with our questions to Pistols Firing in garnet and his responses.

 

1. Oklahoma State just lost a wealth of talent.  What are your expectations for this season?  

 

Hah, if I was a fan I would skip this question but I guess it's sort of my job to have expectations so I'm going to say that much like the 100 or so seasons before this one, OSU has no chance at winning their conference in football this season. That being said, I think OSU is going to be better than folks think. 9-3 is the absolute ceiling but 8-4 would be a tremendous season with the gauntlet OSU has (FSU, at OU, at KSU, at Baylor...yeesh). Much like 2012 was, this is just a stepping stone to try and win a conference title in 2015.

 

2.  What are OSU's strengths and weaknesses?

 

Strengths are a 46-year-old head coach and weaknesses are everything else. Not really, I think the defensive line will be decent, Kevin Peterson is a monster at cornerback, and it's a wide receiving group that's long on depth but short on go-to guys. Running back isn't as good as I would like it to be and we just lost our offensive line coach who had been in Stillwater since WWII (approximately) to Texas. 

 

Linebacker is thin also and QB is just a big fat question mark scrambling around in the backfield but I think all these are really just minor issues when you consider the stability of OSU's program over the past five years. I trust what Gundy has built and though OSU won't be strong this season they won't have a losing record or anything like that, I don't think.

 

3.  Does OSU have a pass rush or secondary to try and slow down FSU's passing attack?

 

No.

 

Just kidding, I won't leave you hanging like that. The secondary is decent -- Kevin Peterson could be All-Big 12 -- and the defensive line is actually underrated right now. But it won't be anything FSU can't handle. The one thing we have going for us is that Jameis might not be Jameising yet in the first game of the season. Our first game last season was bloody -- Mississippi State's offense was offensive (at best) so that could be the one thing that keeps this baby close.

 

4.  How was OSU's spring practice?  Any surprises or disappointments?  

 

Spring practice was fine -- Gundy reiterated about 495 times how young this squad is and Glenn Spencer (our defensive coordinator) spoke as if he was coaching Kansas' fourth stringers as his starting defense -- but I think they're just trying to set expectations low. The main focus was who would snag the QB job -- the incumbent (kind of) in JW Walsh, a scrambling poor-armed gamer who has endeared himself to the OSU faithful or Mason Rudolph, a big, apparently strong-armed pocket passer who's totally unproven. Walsh got the nod.

 

Also the emergence of Tyreek Hill -- an Olympic sprinter (literally) was a bit of a revelation -- but these things are often overhyped so I think we're all holding our breath until he sets that big star ablaze in JerryWorld on August 30.

 

5.  Do you have an early score prediction?

 

37-23 Champs

 

Bonus round: any crab leg jokes?

 

There will be enough crab leg jokes come August.

Jameis Winston needs a mentor, not a baby sitter

From one day to the next, Jameis Winston turned into a star.  An instant celebrity.  A beloved fan favorite.  

And as quickly as his star grew, it began to tarnish.  At first, the incidents seemed innocent.  But then he became implicated in incidents that were far from innocent.  Maybe his legend grew too quickly, incapable of being managed.

Yes, Jameis Winston has done some dumb things.  And yes, I'm the first to get upset about it because I expect better of our quarterback, but I think it's time for the madness to stop.

Winston's father, Antonor Winston, claims that Florida State should have somebody around Winston at all times, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and that he should never be by himself. 

How realistic is that?  And more than anything, how insulting is that?

Jameis Winston doesn't need a baby sitter, he needs a role model, a mentor.  I think it should be none other than Cam Newton.

The similarities between Cam Newton's story and Winston's are eerie.  Cam Newton became one of the most divisive players in all of college football.  You either loved him or you found reasons to hate him... and the reasons to hate him were many.  He was dismissed from the University of Florida for stealing a laptop.  He was also involved in an academic misconduct investigation, with allegations that he turned in someone else's paper with Newton's name on it.  He was allegedly paid by Auburn.  The list, really, goes on and on.

And now, Winston has, unfortunately, a somewhat similar list.  

As an initial matter, we can't live in denial.  Winston has some growing up to do.  But Cam Newton showed that you can overcome those youthful transgressions.  And that's why Cam Newton should try and help Winston.  Winston doesn't need a baby sitter.  That's insulting.  That means you have no trust that Winston can make the right decisions on his own.  Winston's father is basically saying that his son can't be trusted alone and needs someone to make decisions for him.  How insulting is that?  

Winston needs to be empowered.  Winston needs inspiration.  And maybe the only bit of baby paraphernalia that Winston needs is a pacifier.

If he can be quiet and re-build his off-field image, he will be selected first overall in next year's draft.  But that's a big question... Winston has struggled to stay out of the spotlight.  A Google search of Jameis Winston yields more articles about his transgressions than his on-field accolades.

It doesn't have to be that way and the only person who knows what that's like is Cam Newton.