welcome welcome welcome welcome another episode of on the bench live YouTube episode as well so thank you for all you people listening your cars your cubes maybe grilling some burgs cooking some dogs firing up some nice glizzies on the grill we thank you for your audio listen and for all the people subscribe to the YouTube channel thank you so much you're watching us live and you get all four of our faces live and In Living Color we are back I'm here with coach shadam Brown Brennan sonone and my guy my film guy Kevin little to talk about the final we have made it to the Final Countdown the final top 10 most important players for Florida State of the 2024 season gentlemen it's been a fun ride feathers have been ruffled opinions have been challenged friendships have been strengthened divides have been divided further it's been action suspense and drama and I think tonight we will continue that I cannot wait to get through it with you boys I am amped up but first let's do a little house 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of this deal because you're stealing money from us firecracker sale drink whiskey sell your house Turner group whiskey Chattanooga sign up for no 247.com take advantage of the deal woo all right let's get into the list you ready yeah I am I like this silence is Ting Adam Adam had to go tow off I know the ad read was good but that's okay Kev let's pull up the let's pull up the old spreadsheet while the big man wipes himself off from all that add induced perspiration we ended at number 11 Earl little Jr and we get into linebacker a very fun topic for everybody right now nobody's talking about linebackers at State we are talking about number 10 he at Colorado not at Colorado back to the promised land that is DJ londy and this is a guy when you talk about development other than like Jordan Travis like the story on Player Development in the Mike Norville era it's hard to pick a a player who's a better encapsulation of that in my opinion the linebacker DJ Lundy and he is vitally important to this team this year Zack bloting had him as number seven Adam had him as 15th nth Kev 15th krisy 10th I hadam at seventh as well danne 9th clay 6th Adam you had him a little bit lower than the group I mean this is the one guy in that linebacking unit that is the only real sure thing that Florida state has why do you have him 15th is it a function of DJ as a player or a function of the position in the defense uh I think that he's a good player I don't know if he's quite like K Delo caliber or even Tatum bethon when he's fully healthy caliber player so that's part of it and then I also just I mean I devalue linebackers to a degree I I was aggressive with a lot of them throughout this because I think they're going to play more um different Personnel packages defensively this year so I think that there's some increased value for that position for the upcoming season but overall like I'm GNA push I'm gonna push uh I push some skill players ahead I pushed a guy like Earl little Jr like I think that nickel Ro is more important than than a linebacker for them by one spot absolutely yeah yeah I just don't I just don't the linebacker position as as a whole I don't think makes or breaks your defense so I just kind of it tends to get bumped down a little bit for me I agree with you too but with Florida State's going to need to be a good run stopping unit because I don't know the pass rush ability is is is kind of Be by committee a little bit we don't really you're losing like some really like positive talented dudes like Bren uh Braden Fisk and Jared verse and we've seen Florida State's linebacker unit not so much last year but years before get kind of picked on in the running game specifically with like double teams and and pulling and things like that and they've been contact sponges but you think that this year you're not worried about that unit so much as far as being like a Lynch pin of the run defense well because I think your linebacker core is only going to be as good as your defensive tackle group in front of and really your D line as a whole so I think that what's going to happen in front of them is way more important than what's they're doing necessarily fair enough Brendon what do you think what do you think about DJ Lundy's transformation what do you think about his just his quality as a player how he Stacks up with some pretty impactful def linebackers of the past year Tatum bethon and kayin Doo on his Improvement that the point you made initially Trey I thought was a really good one because like the year-over-year growth for him is has been really remarkable and if you go back to like 2020 when he was a true freshman and even in 2021 when he still had a a fairly prominent role as a rotational guy I think then um like there were fans who didn't want to see him on the field because he was such a liability and coverage his PFF grade as a freshman was 53.5 then it went up to 56.7 took a leap last year to 74.6 then finally 78.3 this past year so like year-over-year growth to go from like a below average player at the position to someone who's legitimately above average and good and awesome at stopping the run and someone you didn't really have to worry about a ton like he was on the field as much in in Long situations as Tatum bethon was last year so like he wasn't this this liability that they had to to hide and whether he's able to stay out there like every single play as a full-time starter and go up from like 400 snaps to 600 I think that's kind of the the big question mark on on the value that he brings this season but like the point I would push back on with AB is that the fallof from the known commodity that DJ Lundy is at least capable you know he's going to be good against the Run might be average against the pass this year to like what what else is there um I'm surprised you were as low as you were AB just he he's that's the only reason I wrank him at 15 if I'm being completely honest well okay see you have him as high up as 15 because of what Bron said that who's behind him that that that's the characteristic of importance that I think makes everybody's rankings a little bit different how much you value just how important they are to the group that they're in not necessarily if they're the one of the best players on the team if the linebacker was stacked like if like let's say if DJ Lundy Adam had a had a really solid running mate like let's say DJ Lundy was playing next to like a Tatum bethon this year where would you have DJ Lundy ranked on your list um I don't know I'm trying to look up who I got like R just like hypothetic at the range like hypothetically yeah I mean probably a few spots lower I mean not ridiculous lower because he's a starter for your team I mean so not not gonna bump him out of like you know below 22 but probably in that ballpark I I I just don't I think linebacker is one of the least important positions on this defense so everybody should be totally cool with the recruiting then isn't this kind of an indictment and like people who watched the OTB episode before this like don't set me up Trey I just just talking man that's just talking but that is like part of the issue with the room is you need DJ Lundy to be as good as you think he's going to be and you can't afford for him to not be that or to miss any kind of significant amount of time because of the unproven Commodities of the position that has not been recruited very well and we think grany Shannon can like develop like DJ Lundy growth is is there it's evident linebacker yeah everyone T bethon kayin do had careers under him back-to-back Seasons like everyone's gotten better so like and that's what the staff values but you're also seeing like this there was a void in recruiting Talent until last cycle uh or previous cycle with Blake Nicholson and Justin CER and you're kind of seeing that come home to roost I think you better to go to the transfer portal uh to to try to supplement that a little bit but like you know there's not the known Commodities that there have been the past few years I don't know I think that's that's the whole like Crux of the the issue is like the recruiting has not been good enough uh at for an FSU standard and you're one injury short of it potentially being like I don't know if I want to say disaster because some of these guys might actually get better to the point where you can can throw them out there consistently but you guys remember better than I do I'm sure like 2021 linebacker group was was a real weakness and the whole defense as a result was was problematic at times the thing is but then 2022 you think or you're like you weren't optimistic about the room you were losing you like lost Amari Gainer you brought in Tatum bethon and he was just a three star transfer out of UCF and you know they take steps up because because all of the players took steps up and you end up having a pretty decent linebacker room in 2022 and a really darn good linebacker room in 2023 despite not having that so the the question is like how much can you get away with it's yeah and I'm with with it I feel like I I I think I think there's a they are a far cry from 2021 with the what's in this linebacker room like I I know just I know juice Cryer can plug a gap if I need him to like I I this is more like 22 to me like I know that I know that you don't have to play Amari Gainer out at the star position because you've got a legit nickel and and Earl little and other guys that could go play there like I yeah they've recruited this position like sh like like crap like what yeah they I mean look I I'm not I'm not allowed to get on the recruiting takes I'm not allowed to do that so I'm going to void all that but they they haven't done a good enough job there that's very well known but I still think that they've got enough of a floor with the guys there like you don't want to lose DJ but if you don't have DJ I think you can still get some sort of floor level of play that's going to be okay like it's not going to just completely derail your defense not gonna help there's gonna be issues there's going to be things you're going to have to mask but there were a lot bigger issues in like 21 22 you couldn't stop the run with your defensive line because you only had like four guys well maybe maybe that's going to be an issue again but I think that's more makes a Daryl Jackson more important or Josh farmer more important or Marvin Jones Jr or whatever um than than some of the linebacker guys that you you're looking at but I mean we do think that Blake Nicholson's probably going to take a step forward I mean you certainly were optimistic throughout spring talking about him Brendan that he was making some strides we know that they like juice CER um I'm banking on Cam Riley making some plays in sub packages and we've seen what he can do as a coverage guy like they they didn't have a guy that could drop to the uh to the flats or hook curl in 21 they didn't have anybody that could even do that Syracuse just wrecked they at least got that yeah yeah they have that but that's they bance routes off the RPO like got guys that can get underneath those well so M so to bring it back to bring it back to kind of tie the recruiting back to like the DJ Lundy's importance to me with the recruiting stacked up over the past couple years they've really reduced the margin of error for this position to where I find that to make DJ Lundy more important to me because without him I don't know that you have you have linebackers who are better than 21 and like I don't know about 22 but you take this is a good football team now this isn't the 2021 Florida state seals this is coming off a 10- win and a 13- win season so DJ Lundy goes down I'm not necessarily sure that you have the linebacker core to field a good defense and this is a good team this is a program now this is one where you can't afford a seven- win season or a step back so that's kind of that's how it kind of seems to me but I'm with you Adam they could hit on some of these guys but I really wish they'd have a a room full of more Elite Talent to kind of take some chances there they' really reded for but we that's something that will be discussed for a very long time on the board and let's up to number nine sorry for reminding you guys pot shahim Brown I just this a little bit of fun shahim Brown okay the safety position has been very interesting to me to me the DJ Lundy and shaheim Brown I love that they're right next to each other because it's it's a guy where an established dude like a DJ Lundy and a shyheim brown and then who's going to be their running mate there's a conglomeration of dudes some veteran some really talented guys but the one constant is a shyen brown and I think that it's appropriate that he's ranked one spot ahead of London even though it's the same situation because I think safety is more important and I'm also higher on shahe Brown's Talent so Zach had him at 11th Adam had him at eighth Brendon had him at 10th Kev you had him at 12 so I think you were the low man of the group Chris and you're splitting hair is in the top 10 everybody recognizes these are all really they're not gonna find like any crazy stuff like we did in some of the other videos Chris ad him at eighth I had him at sixth thought was a high guy on him danne was 10th Kay was seven I guess Kev talk about shahen Brown what you see from him he was earmarked a couple years ago to kind of be like the Jamie Robinson replacement what do you think his role is going to be in this defense in 2024 and what do you think he's gonna excel at yeah Shaheen Brown is he's an interesting Prospect he's one that they've they've loved since he stepped foot on campus he's a rangy guy he's 6263 um and you can see that he's just been recomping his body since he's been here um he moves really fluidly I think he's got a he's his big the big concern with him has always been just kind of feel for the game can he be in the right places because the athletic profile is there um and I think as he's and I think they've known that that's going to be something that develops with time and and this is his year to to kind of shine um I I think he can be everything you want him to be um this year but yeah like you said you don't know who's going to sit next to and often times safeties are kind of evaluated as a unit um did did a ball get over someone's head you know let's look at the safeties um but I I think he's going to be he like if this defense going to be a top 15 unit like you need it to be you need shaheim brown to be a stud and the only reason I have him lower is because I put all of the offensive linemen ahead of him um I think I love that dude I love did you really put all five ahead of him yeah yeah I just I just lumped all five like in the top top 11 because I think that this offense goes as far as the offensive line takes him but like shaheim brown I think he's a he's I mean you can speak to him you're number six on him yeah and my thing is too is I think he's a very talented player but to me it's like you need him to be good I think that you saw that this is a defense that even with a great defensive line when a dude like AEM Dent was out they got taken advantage of on explosive runs over and over and over again it was egregious so I have him at six because I am I do think he's getting better I'm high on the athletic profile I do think he can be a Jamie replacement I think most of the mistakes that he's making are like you said positional kind of being out of position maybe I don't know recognizing coverage things that I think can be cleaned up but he needs to be good because he need they need to stop they cannot give up explosive runs like they did when AEM Dent was out they need shaheim brown to finish they need him to finish and keep a three yard run a three yard run and they also I think are going to need some help in the past game and I think if Shahee Brown if they can if Adam Fuller can get creative like he did with Jamie Robinson I think he can be a real asset in the Blitz game I've always lik Adam Fuller's delayed blitzes with his secondary and having a guy like shaheim brown can help a pass rush that we're still kind of is a question mark in my opinion so that's why I have him high it's a mixture of I like him but it's like I need him to be good because he's the only it's like that's why I had DJ lunday high it's like this is the only safety I can count on right now and I need him to be very good to maybe make up for the deficiencies that might come with his running mates Brandon you've seen this kid every year since he's been on the field do we think he's do you think he's gonna be Jamie Robinson 2.0 or are we all kind of what are you expecting from him personally you had him at 10th you know what's interesting is that uh with with Shaheen Brown that's another guy like another you mentioned the parallel trade to like DJ Lundy in terms of like the importance and the falloff next to him I think Kevin mentioned this on prior show if I'm not mistaken that whoever starts at safety next to shahen Brown has never started at safety before it doesn't matter we don't know who it's gonna be it's gonna be Conrad hussy or Marian Cooper uh Devonte Brown Dev I was gonna say deari Brown's his brother yeah it doesn't matter who it is like Shah's going to be important in that regard but like he has gotten his role has increased year-over-year uh he went from someone they thought was goingon to be like a rotational guy initially and then he kind of kept getting better um and did eventually fill that Jamie Robinson role he was really good last season and before I think there was an undisclosed injury and you can kind of see like and look at his some of his splits like with PFF grades like a lot of green in the first six seven games and then there was that Wake Forest game if you guys recall he had a few missed tackles was not particularly sharp then a lot of yellow and orange afterwards so the trend there just kind of following that is like there was probably something uh where he wasn't 100% right before the injury he was one of the better safeties in the ACC and I think like that's part of the variable with him why I had him in the top 10 as well Trey is like if he hits not only is it important for him to be good for the guys next to him and for the whole completion of the secondary and him being a good communicator all those things you're going to Value but like if he's reaches his threshold I think he's someone who has more upside than Jamie Robinson does Jamie was steady was really really good um but the the tools that Kev mentioned the length the explosiveness uh there's there's physical tools that make him potentially like day two maybe fourth round draft pick type of talent get drafted ahead of of Jamie Robinson if he plays consistently All Season like that's what the the upside is I think that's why he's so important to me is because of what he can be U Beyond just the floor him being a solid safety in a room where you need solid play speaking of upside let's claw our way up this countdown to number eight let's see who we have it number eight Joshua farmer now we're getting to the big boys in the trenches Zack had him at six Adam had him at six brenon had him at six clay keev at seventh yeah that's it I wish his little young ass was on talk about that that's that's a great he was giving a lot of crap is he in the is he in the chat have him drop a wall I think he's in Germany right now or he's going to be he's he's somewhere in Europe I don't know what time it is trying to get away from the yeah he knew this was coming from this yeah Kev seventh I'm I'm eighth Chris is ninth Dane eighth and Clay fth I I'll speak for Trey just or Trey sorry I guess I'm cutting you off kind of speaking for I'll speak for clay I think that based on watching his list I think the the Padawan there went very heavy on what he saw in the spring so there's some recency bias and Josh farmer uh was not able to go uh and in the spring we didn't see him in in the Spring Showcase so I think that's that's I understand that those I understand um Adam I'm Gonna Let You Go that's still the 15 man 15's interesting all right Adam what about you does that you see a double digit number by the Young Guy's name is that getting you all hot you you took some heat a couple episodes ago go ahead and go ahead and just lash out at somebody who's out here to defend themselves the baby I don't think it's that hot I mean I don't think it's that ridiculous top we all recognize it's a little low I mean it's a little low it's a little far-fetched but um I mean I'm not going to bash on I'm not going to bash on Clay he's got his own reasons he's got his beliefs you know I'm not gonna pull a tray here and just rip somebody W hey don't you ever because how many touches they're gonna get I'm a good teammate I'm a don't ever how many touches is Josh farmer gonna get I uh look I mean I I think if the defense is going to be good I think we all can sit here and agree that Josh farmer and Daryl Jackson have to be dominant they they really have to be dominant I mean they have to be great um I think they're that important to the overall structure and what they want to accomplish defensively uh we know they want to play a light box it's how they want to live defensively and that's going to start with being run stopping defensive tackles in the middle so if they're not that and then Brendan talk you know Brendan mentioned about um DJ Lundy earlier um Brendon earlier DJ so my ad just D Brendon mentioned about DJ lond earlier and the drop off you I you could be looking at a similar drop off behind Josh fmer Dar and a more important position too obvious much more important position in my opinion Adam in your opinion do you think Josh farmer in 2024 is more first half 2023 Josh farmer or more second half 2023 Josh farmer because I there was a there's a strong line of demarcation in the quality of his play obviously the arm injury had a lot to do with it but it was it was striking yeah I don't know it's it's tough to say I mean I think he's motivated I think he's G be motivated to get paid in the NFL draft so I would assume he's going to be the best version of himself but he might be asked to play more snaps than he's used to playing too I mean they wanted to have a lot of guys they wanted to have a lot rotate a lot of guys they didn't necessarily get the numbers um that they can rely on at defensive tackle for this upcoming season they didn't go out and get another Braden Fisk that they can plug in there um they don't have a Malcolm Ray sitting down on the bench that they could plug in for a couple hundred snaps if need be so I we're going to see what the guys behind Josh and Daryl do I do think that Josh is going to be the best of himself at FSU this upcoming season because he wants to go get drafted Brandon you agree with that you've seen this kid you've ridden the the the Josh farmer roller coaster for many years now how do we think his final ride as a Florida State seminol ends I think well I mean I have him up at six and basically for the same reasons AB mentioned there's this uh you floor ceiling you know drop off if he's not there but like the ceiling part if if Josh is as good as he can be is is a NFL like draftable guy and someone who who's proven to be really impactful like in in spurts at the college level like against LSU Clemson last year like in really big games against pretty solid offensive lines like Josh farmer was really good he was so hampered by that that hand injury and that club kept getting big it turned into it was a wrap and then it turned into a club get like but like his his whole like game is predicated on this rip move that he has his powerful rip move he's so strong and he wasn't able to grab grab an offensive lineman's Jersey and throw him and that and so his whole his whole game was like rendered kind of useless to an extent and give him credit for like battling through it um but now healthy and expected to be like 100% good to go for for preseason camp like this is a money year for for Josh um and so this is an important year and I'm sure he's gonna be dialed in and um you know he had looked like he had added a lot of like weight in I guess before spring yeah after yeah after uh Tor Duty before spring and um they were happy with where he was at physically and they thought good weight not guth's weight I think well the way they do their offseason Pro the way they do their offseason program is uh before the spring is time where you bulk up you add a lot of muscle and stuff like that maybe a little bit of like uh weight that you expect to shed once you get into the the explosive part of the the conditioning uh in in the summertime so he was trending for what they wanted him to do they were happy with it storms was a mad scientist I never question anything with those guys wonderful man wonderful beard let's talk about wonderful number seven who do we have at seven Kevin it rhymed it did it did accidentally but let's talk about your darling Oh this is fun for me Kev Marvin Jones Jr a guy who came in a guy that Florida State fans familiar with for a multitude of reasons came in Maybe started off the spring a little bit slow once came in immediately caught on and now he's captured the hearts minds and imaginations of the Florida State fan base particularly one of the smartest per people that I've ever met and Kevin little so Kevin you have him as your number two most important player which is I love that even higher than like a Patrick Payton who we will talk about spoil alert later on this list you have it number two Brendon had him at five so he's really high on two Chris had him at seventh ad Adam at 10th Dane six clay eth Zack and Adam at 13th Kev why is Adam dumb I mean what's the the most important position in football is quarterback the second most important position in football is defensive end there's a reason that in the past like 10 years would you call it a premium position cach wait wait let him go let him go and then Adam you can rebut because at the number one number one people in taken in the NFL draft people whose like lives are dictated on on finding the most important players they can they find quarterbacks and they find defensive ends occasionally they'll put pick a left tackle at the number one pick in the in the draft but more often not it's defensive ends and quarterbacks to me Marvin J Jr has a higher ceiling than Pat Payton but he's more of an unknown and so that gave him a boost for me in the in the rankings as a significant player because I I thought un to me unnown known made you more significant because if he shows up and he plays out well Fu might have the best best defensive ends in the in the country like that they're looking like they're they're gonna have you know a top top five defensive end room easily if it's the potential that potential like you said he's one of those guys we talked about on prior episodes that if he hits the ceiling of the team the ceiling of the defense can be raised like full stop is that what you're saying right yeah and if he doesn't then it's it's not going to be there like that the there's a big drop in how good your defense is going to be whether or not Marvin Jones Jr plays to his abilities and that kind of the the the fact that he's so integral to the performance of the team gave him a boost where I know that Patrick pyton is going to be who he's going to be you know he's going to be a I mean probably a top 10 defensive end in the country this year so I I I mean right now I would bet that Pat pyton can be the better player but I gave him a boost just because he can make or break kind of this defense being Elite Adam why is Kevin a [ __ ] I don't know why Kev a [ __ ] he just is how he is um in the past 10 years three defensive ends have been taken number one in the draft go through the top 10 though in the past whatever in the past handful of years I just counted there's been like double the number of defensive ends taken so in the top 10 in the top 10 so you get a freak and you suddenly claim that as the most important position I mean would you rather have an elite defensive end or Elite left tackle I'd rather have Elite left tackle I'd actually rather have I'd rather actually rather have an elite defensive tackle I would take Aaron Donald over any defensive end in the league all right the highest paid def tack in the NFL is Chris Jones and he makes more than the highest paid offensive tackle for what it's worth and that's kind of interesting that it's more of like a newer School NFL thought is that the I feel like the interior pass rush pressure people are starting to think that that's harder to actually get because it's a lot it's a lot more rare do you is that that that seems to be the trend in the NFL I don't know if I'm reading that wrong but that's what it seems at least teams are adopting that that's at least kind of like reflected that teams are starting to pay interior offensive lineman more now too which is interesting because are getting better just take the money from the running backs and so oh no poor running backs I I I don't think there's a justification Reon number two like I think that's a bit far-fetched but 13 I mean I put him at 13 because think Pat yeah because I think Pat Payton's going to take the next step and be what everybody has kind of claimed him to be like I I think if he's as good as what people think he's GNA be then Marvin Jones Jr importance drops down just a little bit right I mean I don't I say so I think better I think he's gonna be good but I think that that spot's gonna be more rotational than than Pat like I think Pat's gonna play quite a bit he's GNA be more of a disruptor he's gonna be much more of a prominent name in that defensive end room than Marvin's gonna be this year um so if I think Pat's gonna be really good I think I think Daryl's gonna take a Next Step hint hint he's my number two ranked player um it away I think Josh is gonna be a really good player like at some point I I just couldn't justify and I wanted to get some of those um I wanted to get some of those uh oh man I wanted to get some of those offensive guys in there so it just it just dropped Marvin down a little bit for me but I still think he's going to have a good year I like what we saw from him in the spring um but like I still thought there were times in the Spring Showcase where he disappeared so I don't know if he's at his top level yet so I just I just couldn't I couldn't put him in my top 10 yet Kev do you think that uh he will have a better season Marvin Jones Jr than Patrick pyton as far as like betting on him getting more comfortable in the defense his physical tools maybe being a the potential to be a more complete defensive end do you think that that's going to show itself in the 2024 season or like later maybe in like the National Football League well I I I would say that I think his ceiling is higher I if I were to bet right now who has more sacks by the end of the season I would say it's Pat pton but like Marvin Jes Jr I think has a has a higher ceiling as an ath and if he can live up to his potential I mean I I think he's I think he's a kind of guy that is a could potentially be a first round defensive end I mean you're you're looking at another guy that if you get another Germaine Johnson you know you get another Jared verse he is that kind of body type and that kind of twitch where if he hits I mean those those are the guys that win football games you know like I get that no I get that the potential thing is untapped and that's why a lot of guys had like Blake Nicholson higher than people that they think are going to play more snaps because if they hit and it's the Conrad hussy thing like totally like in a nutshell it was like the more important because of the talent that they possess so I think that that's interesting I like that conversation PT's been really good but he hasn't been Elite like he's PFF has him like a 70 something he has him PFF has him as what the 15th best player on our on our defense last year I think he's going to definitely hop up I think he's going to continue to improve I think he's probably even gonna be a top 10 top 15 defensive end in the country but I think Marvin Joe's Jr if he hits can be the number one defensive end in the country I don't think that's going to happen this year but it could how many guys in who will be starting for FSU this year have a chance like a like a legitimate somewhat realistic chance to be a first- round draft B because I CU I agree with Kev like the the logic there of what mjj could be if he hits I don't know how many other first round drafts you could say in there what would you say like what do you think like three because I'd say Thomas as right Thomas I think yeah Thomas I don't know Jackson's body type is interesting maybe yeah and then I I wouldn't say for like farmer anybody H maybe maybe Pat yeah Pat I could see Pat he's a back end yeah then that's it so four he could be one of where are all the left tackles that are taking you're talking about the defense he mentioned defense because this team's loaded with Elite Darius could get drafted but probably doesn't have the body type to be a a first round yeah I'm with you it's like you said on a team where the overall Talent level as far as like that is lower but the competency and the depth is pretty good like you said there's not as many guys that you can earmark as like no doubt like locked in draft prospects and mjj is one of them provided he's a little bit more back into spring a little bit less some of those clips that we watched at Georgia that's why I had him at 10th it was hard for me to shake some of that onfield stuff but like you said man get more bats get more confidence did wonders for Germaine Johnson we'll see what it does for Marvin Jones bookmark this if you're watching oh okay I just want to say I just want to say oh okay I heard a lot of if he reaches his potential that's why I had him at 10th I'm closer to you I don't understand kev's always told me this isn't the best player list this is the most important to this upcoming season list but now with Marvin Jones Jr it's all about just how good he could be so I feel like maybe he went a little bit hence his importance right to me and it part of importance is if you are good and the team gets better then that's important I love this is guys go back to the article and read Brendan's criteria of what most important is throw it in a blender and it's different for everybody and I like what I like we brought it to is is our chemist our chemist the one of the smartest people I know be like if someone's good that's listen you take one molecule away and an elements something completely different man it just it is sometimes it's an art and science the most important players everybody absolutely I agree let's go back to number six before our minds continue to keep getting like keep getting twisted in try snacks number six Daryl Jackson Jr of course farmer and Jackson only separated by one spot The Bash Bros always hanging together Zack hadam an eighth Adam already gave away his ranking at number two brandan hadam at eight Kev three Chris 14 that's interesting I respect the big man's opinion I wonder maybe Brandon if you have some insight oh man guys no you didn't I got what Kevin was saying if you're watching Youtube you can see the comments God you guys are brutal Chris Adam at 14th like I said I'd like to hear that last I Adam at Fourth danne 7th clay 11th uh Adam this is your guy this is your second over I love it but you did say interior defensive line over offensive tackle no I you have number two defensive tackle is the one that's what I'm saying so that's why you have him number two over like an offensive tackle yeah fine no pretzels these pretzels are making me thirsty all right well you're thirsty for Daryl Jackson tell me why I just think if he is at if he's at his upside which I've never been against talking about talent in this uh top 40 list if he's playing at his Peak Performance I think he I mean we sat here and did a video when he committed to playing come play Florida State about him potentially being like a Chris Jones type of impact defensive lineman yeah when we were experimenting I can't I can't say that and then come off of that so like if he's at his Peak with a lightbox defense he's a guy that can impact the pocket as a pass rusher he's a guy that can be dominant in the Run game and that's why he's two for me because I think that he could he can be the most important player on this defense for them what do you think is his most important asset as a football player his strength is length yeah I mean he could he so up double teams splitting them yeah especially because Florida state is gonna play a lot like Miami Florida Notre Dame they're gonna come at you with a lot of double all Duo teams that are gonna want a double and he's a guy that can soak up a double team and especially like you said with the linebackers with one proven guy and then a bunch of ah you don't want to get them just pummeled by like guards and tackles all over the place Brendan I I want to hear your opinion but do you have any insight on why Chris has him 14th as somebody who is like as a consensus we think is going to be the second best defensive lineman on the team yeah I don't want to speak for Chris but I guess that's exactly what I'm going to do I think Chris is very much so um his list to me seemed very predicated on how good he thinks someone is kind like an overall rating type of deal he had Kyle Morlock a little bit lower than us um there's a couple times where he's just like yeah I just don't know if I trust that guy to be you know if it was like an overall rating thing like NC whatever yeah so I think that's kind of where it is with Daryl's just there's unknowns and um it looks really fun at practice at times there was actually a couple nice plays against Georgia last year and then some not so great ones that's whatever that game was what that game was it's tough to take much of anything away from it um so I think that was Chris's iic I had him at eight which was probably the lowest of all of us but like between two and eight for me were more or less interchangeable so you I don't I think ab's logic is sound there if only applied it to Marvin Jones Jr they're kind of similar play that's don't no no pretzel no pretzel we're not talking about logical consist do not ever mention be thirsty no logical consistency talk everybody has their own rankings in their own beautiful children and they love them in their own unique way let's move on to number five who do we have at number five wait can I just say something about Daryl darl Jacks boy I mean I don't know the dude's built different I this is something you don't see on TV you have mentioned this a lot yeah you go to practice in in a team last year when you had you know you know Braden fist get drafted pretty high like Daryl Jackson stood out he is a guy he is three inches taller than anybody else on the defensive line his shoulders are wider he holds 330 pounds well the guy the guy's built different and so far this staff has had a tremendous track record of getting the guys built different to perform at their best capabilities in college Johnny Wilson was built different Jared verse was built different and when they came in they needed to be they needed to be processed they needed to be um developed and they were and I I think that's going to happen for darl Jackson um I think the Georgia game's not a good showing one because he's going against some really good offensive linemen and two they didn't have any depth for the def defensive tackle game they defensive tackles that game they couldn't rotate them in and out and for any of these guys if you can get 20 good reps over 40 less good reps you're G it's going to change the perception of of how fans see you of of the plays you're able to make so I think that's going to be different this year I think he's gonna be able to get rotated in and out and I think you're going to see that build start to play after being developed by by coach storms for two years first game of the year too for him so I'm with you good points good points all around number five let's go top five and we are talking about Malik Benson man you want to talk about a player that is so important because he has to be as opposed to what he's done in his career this is the Hallmark of why the most important list is not the best player list and I I had that in my ranking because I don't know I I just don't know I don't know with this kid Zack had him at five Adam had him at Fourth Brendan seven Kev fourth Chris fourth I had him at 11th which is looking pretty egregious now but I just Dane's fifth Clay's thirdd listen I know he has to be your guy I just I think I don't know if he will it's just it's so much of a Gamble and there's so much riding on him I'm betting on the Run game I'm betting on maybe DJ being able to manufacture yardage even if Malik doesn't hit with some like deep crossers and like a by committee approach I just haven't seen enough out of Malik Benson or what I heard in Spring to anoint him like if I knew he was going to be the like a true no doubt he's your number one guy leader and Target yards receptions touchdowns all those categories or most of those categories I would have him top five too I'm just not confident that he's gonna be that I'm really not now I haven't been out at practice but I've talked to you guys and I got the tone and tenor of the practice reports and I know you guys all have them really high but I don't think that you guys think that either I think your list right now this ranking is reflective of I sure hope he's damn well gonna be that because I knew if I li detected all of you fools right now you would not say with 65% certain certainty that he is like oh yeah he's the number one guy he's going to assert himself the question isn't will he be the number guy one number one guy it's should he be the number one guy or what is the offense going to look like with him as the number one guy because he will be the number one guy you think so like when it's all said and done you're confident that he is ready to assume that number one wide receiver role in a run heavy play I don't know if I would say I'm that he's ready he said he's going to be yeah who the hell else could be that's a distinction he's going at the end of the season is going to be I would bet handsomely that Malik Benson is going to be the most volume wise like your most used wide receiver in terms of targets what the offense looks like with that is TBD um I will say that a few points one FSU is really confident with him they really like him and that's been consistent across the board and not just in the spring not just things we heard out of tour Duty like even this summer like they they think he is going to be a a high a high level player um little T little tea on got some got some leaves Brewing yeah they think that's like an NFL dude um whether I I can't confidently say I share that opinion now I will say that he got progressively better well he was really good at the start of spring had a little bit of a lull and then just ended the spring on fire like the final maybe four five practices were excellent you saw in the Spring Showcase yeah he had the sprain ankle will be back for the season like's he's good to go um he's going to be good like to to what extent though like whether it's number one wide receiver and like guy who leads a top 20 to 30 offense good or someone who's you know should be your number two but you just don't have a true number two that's I don't I don't know pretzel I don't know what about you guys think any anybody else worried that he's the guy who's rolling in as your number one or I and it's one of those things too with these transfers player progression is not linear and transfer portal player integration is not linear there has been many instances of guys that came in and it was like like Dylan Gibbons came in whatever he didn't look too impressive at the beginning but then once you actually start to get the hang of this offense as a receiver the more time you're in it he got he became a very good player for Florida State so it like you said there were some ups and downs over spring maybe I exaggerated a little bit more of the that's what stuck out to me because this position really worries me a lot but who knows man he could integrate and he could take off I mean they got Keon integrated real damn quick but that's a hell of a talent I ranked three running backs 10 11 and 12 I think that gives you a great idea of how I feel about what this passing game might be this year so yeah I'm concerned I'm worried about Malle Benson being your number one I think he certainly got the talent to be yeah a really the talent for sure I don't I don't know if he's got the like a star ceiling like a true Alpha number one but I think he's certainly got the capability to be borderline um so it's was great to see I guess he was out working out with DJ out and C with some of the other guys uh that was really good to see good to see that they are taking advantage of the opportunities to throw a DJ um I think that there's a lot that needed to be to get ironed out with that quarterback receiver relationship with that entire group I think that uh you know some of the some of the stuff in hindsight looking back on it some of the stuff that we saw from guys like Tron um I think some of that comes from just breaking in a brand new quarterback uh in there for them so that's a good point I I I'm concerned about him being your number one but I mean I had to put him number four because he's your number one he's gotta be he there's not enough you can't Bank on Tron and I don't think you can Bank on hakee yet like I think hakee is GNA be really really really good and I think we see an improved version of him this year but he's not ready to be your Alpha yet um so you need Malik Benson to be it he's a guy that can burn he's a guy that you can throw the ball deep to off of play action he can be like I think he can be a better Pokey my man Pokey he can be a better version of that pour what out need they need to get it I mean they need to they need to see it through though and he needs to see it through so okay yeah I think I also think we need to keep a perspective perspective um our passing the passing game at FSC was actually worse last year compared to 2023 or 2022 as a whole and that was you know like Keon's obviously a stud obviously a great wide receiver probably the best wide receiver we've had here in a while and the passing game as a whole wasn't necessarily better with him so oftentimes that it deals like there's a lot of variance in how these offense has offenses have to come together how he gels with DJ and you know how how they both Jael with the offense as a whole so like it it's hard it's hard to predict this stuff but yeah I mean I I think I'm 100% with you guys he's he's very talented guy but you would love you you need someone like hem to step up and and be number two to allow him to get the matchups he needs to succeed there you go let's get to the kind of the OD du we're starting getting to the OD du kind of port of the list so we're just going we're going to start glorifying some players up here because I think the suspense is starting to draw just kind of Fall Away a little bit but let's get to number four I think we know the T yeah okay yeah this is it no duh okay azai Thomas freak ascending gonna be one of your starting cornerbacks one of the few players on this team the handall with like real NFL like like first round draft potential Zack had at Fourth Adam had him at seventh Brendan number two overall so he was your number two guy have six Chris fifth oh Chris was third I'm fifth Dane third clay fourth Brendan second best player on the team I mean we think that this is this is the guy like he's been consistently getting better had some issues with like um communicate like communication just like kind of growing pains we saw that when they'd have like on some he could taken advantage on some of the outbreaking routes I think in the goal line or some of the things that I remember of on the film review but we think that he's going to clean those up we think he's going to be a Dependable we think he's going to be spectacular and he's got a good he's got a good partner with fol Cyprus that kind of let him shine because he's got a competent dude is that what your line of thinking was having him at number two I didn't want to overthink it when I was putting the list together and again like the two for eight for me was somewhat you know fairly interchangeable but like the reason I put AZ at at two is honestly I think he's the best player on your team like from just a talent standpoint I think he's the best player on your roster quarterback is a premium position maybe not as premium as left tackle or defensive end or whatever you know Kevin AB want to argue about but but it is up there as one of the more important positions and I think he's your most just purely talented player with that talent manifesting in production he was really good last season and his role expanded throughout the year he's someone who they started in start him off as like a dime uh defensive back and by the end of the year like he was he was overtaking fentrell like with with starting reps against the ACC Championship game it was awesome in that game too by the way like his performance gets kind of swept another rug because of some of the other awesome performances in that game obviously uh he was right up there as one of the the more impactful guys and what was so cool is we saw that transition into the spring where there was this confidence to to a and people if you know Zary Thomas like he he's not super outspoken or Brash very conservative and how he carries himself you start to see like just a little bit more exuberance and confidence with how he carried himself throughout the spring camp and I thought like day in day out he was your best player when he did lose reps like he forced really good plays to to beat him there's just a lot to like I think he's mature I think he's gonna carry with the defense there's some guys in that defense who are going to be starters who I don't know how mature they are like we're gonna have to see that's part of this this team to see how good this defense can be who lives up to that I don't have that concern with a Thomas I think he's really good he's going to live up to his end of the bargain um so yeah that that's why there's a lot of reasons why I'm just I'm super high on him as a person I like the trajectories on and he's just a really good football player I think there should being a lot of consensus on these next like four guys so I'm GNA give like a player to each person because I think we're all going to kind of agree my take on a Thomas before we move on to number three he's one of the few dudes on the roster that is like an O crap Moment Like That guy is physically capable of doing some things that are eye popping even for somebody who's watched Florida State football their entire life like myself he is is a Difference Maker on the field and I'm with you man I I totally get I could to the argument for him being the most talented player on the actual team like he could be your he's your number two most important if you rank most talented he'd probably be number one from what it sounds like I could I could feel an argument and and maybe be SED that he's the most talented player on the entire team appropriate to have him as a cornerback in the top four let's go to three because I want to see who wins the offensive tackle versus def defensive end positional importance aggregated and Kevin wins by a little bit oh oh Kevin you had him low that's funny yeah Kevin this isn't gonna be your guy because I want this to be kind of celebratory so this is gonna be Adam's guy so Darius Washington Zack had him second overall I had him second overall too because I I don't know where I where I I because obviously I have to I have to host with these two guys all the time so I don't know where I lie in the offensive tackle versus defensive in like debate on what's more important but I think Darius Washington's a better player than Patrick pyton so that's why I had him number two kind of like your aarah Thomas thing I'm very impressed with them but anyway Adam hadam number five Brendan four Kevin at Ninth Chris fifth like I said I'm second Dan hadam second Klay hadam fifth Adam offensive line expert dude want give him to Brendon this is Brennan's Guy this is bren's Guy this is so magnanimous of you all right's guy I I know when to step back and step away the floor is yours purple shirt man I was I wasn't prepared for this moment wow as the president of the Darius Washington fan club Jesus God his progression we've talked about progression a few times here Trey it's like the staff can develop players contrary to some narratives out there Darius Washington's growth from where he was as a true freshman in 2019 to like where he's he's developed into and just again talking about same thing with Daisy to is like the level of confidence that Darius has carried himself with like it's just so different and it's one of the more like fulfilling parts of of doing this job is like you get to because of the access that we get to to the program is you get to actually see the progression happen in real time to to some extent um and Darius Washington I think exemplifies that progression he went from a guy who struggled in pass Pro and didn't really have like a he was a tackle but you didn't know quite like what he was going to develop into and had become this super malleable versatile chess piece for you on the offensive line because he can start at Center and was really good at that last season he can play guard comfortably he started at both tackle spots last year like legit and was good at every single like every single position he tried at and I think that's probably why the value uh is so high for all of us why is it consensus top 10 guy is because he can play multiple spots for you on the offensive line of effectively but it's probably your left tackle here as a red shirt senior and a guy who's had to kind of overcome injuries and growing CS uh to get to this point so yeah I mean that's him being in the top three is really cool because there were people a few years ago who didn't know if he know should be on the two deep and now here he is is one of your best players and that's a testament to his hard work and what the coaching staff has done with him he's had two healthy off Seasons he had one the first one was I think two years ago and this will be the second maybe three he hasn't had a lot of healthy time here at Florida State uh when he has had a healthy offseason he's made massive leaps as a football player um he was what first team All Conference last year I don't think far I don't think it's farfetch to think that he's in the All-American race this season upcoming assuming Health um norville's talking about him as an All-American like they're putting the name like they're putting his name on it he's on the front where do I have my Phil Ste is he is he an NFL is he a first round NFL guy no he's not he doesn't have those he doesn't have those crats but the thing he's got is he's just a badass and damn good football player yeah he is he's a he can't play on Sundays like because he can do everything well but he'll play he'll be a Sunday football player he'll be a guy that that will be in a room because he can play all five positions along the offensive line um he he's one of those dudes you can just depend on day in and day out and like I put him at I had him at five and it was just because I felt like I needed to put Mal Bon over him because they need Mal Benson to be so good like you know day in day out just what you're going to get out of Darius Washington maybe I devalued that a little bit by put him at five if I could have put him at if I if I'd have been smart I'd have put him at two because I I just think he's that important to that offensive Wine Group um just because of how Dependable he is and he's so just the example the Paragon of like a Mike Norvell player climb in response climb in response climb in response that's all he's done his entire career whatever was asked of him whatever injuries befell him he's a panhandle kid and like I said I think yeah dude I don't know if I want to say I expect him to be an All-American because those those those are always wonky those like vote him in deals but man the fact that he's on a watch list from where he came from from like the pedigree that he was recruited from like awesome kid dude great story one of the best one of the one of the absolute best of the Mike Norvell era and I can't wait for him to have just an awesome season where he gets more magazine covers that's probably not going to I don't know how many actual magazines there are still left either way I can't wait for him to get the national prominence and recognition that that kid deserves awesome kid awesome player let's get to number two and I think we know who it is because number one is a quarterback all right Patrick P what a unique football another guy another dude like Fringe 4 high three dude that was recruited by Nebraska and they've turned him into into an ultra productive a uniquely productive defensive end I cannot wait there's whatever like a pass deflection record is at Florida State I don't know how long they've been keeping that stat but my God that guy's got to be at the top of the list Zack hadam at number three Adam hadam at three Brendan three Kev five Chris two I'm three Dane's four klay's two these are all top five guys Kev when you watch Patrick pton on film what really stands out to you and what about his do you have any concerns now that he's the alpha he's not the complimentary piece he's not the change of pace he's the guy that you need to bring the quarterback down not so much maybe bat the ball down when Jared verse has the guy running for his life I mean I think when you're talking about Pat Payton you're talking about a guy who one has the build so he he checks he checks that box I think I think he's I think he's got the explosive is necessary to get around the edge I think he moves well in space I think most importantly if I'm talking about physical capabilities it's his bendability I think he he can he can bend around the edge as well as anybody in his length which he uses both to to get to the quarterback and to knock down passes but most importantly with Pat pton is he's we highlighted this in his high school film years ago he's always had a great feel for the game he knows where to be he knows how to get himself in a position to make an impact even when he can't make it around the edge he's a guy that that tries to impact the play every down um I I think if you're looking for a place for him to improve I think some of the Run game stuff could improve uh I I there were there were a couple of times where he was slow to to break up a to to wrong arm a counter coming his way or or something like that or or Miss tackle or two um but really you're looking at those Elite pass rushing and pass affecting traits that he has in his length his bendability and his his really his brain yeah High football IQ and the bendability thing is funny the way that he sheds he sheds contact from the from the offensive tackle with like a smooth dip of the shoulder awesome stuff man awesome stuff and allows him to basically teleport to the quarterback I agree with everything you said it just another great story of development unique traits not another guy that looks like him on the football team and there's a chance that he's like he said the one of the best defensive ends in the conference and the country like if he takes another step which he's consistently done every single year sky's the liit and that's why we have him number two all right number one drum roll please Alex mammano Fitz Simmons it's DJ W and everybody have it number one and I think that's a function because he's the quarterback but I also think I'll speak for a little bit for DJ first before we all just kind of jump in this kid is so massively underrated by the general college football population as a whole and I know nobody's a real sicko and watches Pack 12 after dark anymore but but the Reclamation well now you can't rip it's real Rip but the Reclamation stuff that he did at Oregon State like would you believe me if I told you that he had a higher qbr last year than Jordan Travis the guy that was a f like a French Heisman Contender would you believe me because that's the truth this is a guy that the things that he does the deficiencies are number one he's cleaned them up as much as he possibly can but there will be some accuracy issues we're flirting around like 60% perish accuracy but the things that he does the long ball the durability the being able to pick up tough yardage just him being a plus in the running game meshes so well with what Mike wants to do and Tony to cars and Mike have shown and Alex Atkins too obviously have shown such a good job of developing and and Catering offenses to their quarterbacks this is going to be his year now what does that look like his year I don't know like maybe 26 touchdowns and like five interceptions and a couple running I don't know so I think that the disrespect that he is still getting from not even mult just one bad year at Clemson with a Mickey Mouse with like a Mickey Mouse offense which has been shown to like not lend itself well like people have to like deprogram Clon quarterbacks in the NFL I think that the disrespect he's getting at a national level is going to make people look like complete idiots at the end of this year I think that he's going to have a great year I think that he's going to be a massive positive for Florida State I think that he's going to be a great locker room influence I think he's going to start the Polynesia to Florida State just cement that pipe line I hope that that is Rock Solid and stone forever and I think that the DJ angal experiment is going to be a resounding success and I think that a lot of that has to do with the kid and I think even more of it has to do with how much what he does fits perfectly with like Mike's wheelhouse do we all disagree or did the rest of you three have him at number one because he's the quarterback of the team which is fair on a most important list no I mean I think it's fair everything you said is fair I Connor R from Twitter kind of said you know like how much RPO are they gonna do him how much are they going to run him like I I think that there's a legitimate question about how much they're going to commit to running and utilizing dju as a as a rusher in this version of the offense for this upcoming season and if they're going to commit to it I think the value of him goes up exponentially um just because of what we've seen him be in the past if they decide not to then I think they're really hamstringing themselves um and not going to get the best version of dju out of him um I mean in the end like the quarterback's always going to be number one you can't have anybody else there un Le I mean unless there's just you've got one guy that's just such a freak that they they're just that much Head and Shoulders above everybody else like it's got to be your quarterback and Adam in my opinion to the running Point there's no reason not to he's shown to be durable you're going to have a good offensive line he's only there for a year and you're not afraid to play the backup yeah and this is a year where I don't want to say that there's like ah you know you're playing with house money because there's no expectations no you want to make the playoffs and contend for a conference Championship but it's not like an Allin year like last year play the kid to the best of his ability and let's just see what shakes out man if some of these kids hit like Kev mentioned like the Marvin Jones jors and the Blake Nicholson's and the Conrad hussies along with the DJ ouu that's Trucking people and a Malik Benson that's catching 75 yard bombs I don't want to play Florida state in the first round playoff I mean you went on and got him you targeted him and yes there was some me there was some flirtation and and recruiting of Cam Ward who ended up at Miami but you you you were on dju um there was some commitment to him obviously and then after you got him it felt like you built your entire offense around him and about around his strengths ability to throw the ball vertically um you got bigger on the interior of the offensive line strategically uh to to to be able to do some of the things with him whether that be running the ball with him or running stuff that he can run off of um action wise so you just you are committed and dedicated to what he can be for your offense this year throwing the Deep ball off a play action um so H you're you're fully invested in the DJ you experience what do you think I am interested in your thoughts as the known DJ skeptic so the question of DJ's going to be he clearly took a step up so year one he wasn't good at Clemson year two he was okay at Clemson year three he was great at Oregon State so the question is how much is that jumping up in terms of passer rating due to playing weaker defenses in the Pack 12 and how much is due to him being put in a position with a scheme that really fit his strengths and how much is due to him being a better quarterback than he was the year before I think those are the three factors if you're we're talking about the first two factors well the first one you can't replicate because you're not playing a Pack 12 the second one you can kind of replicate but you're only going to change your offense so much and the third one is what you're hoping for as an FSU fan base that that was just a natural progression of him becoming a better quarterback him taking another step forward and he's gonna carry all of that progression into being the Florida State quarterback and depending on the variance of those three factors will kind of depend on who you're getting in dju as a as a not a Counterpoint to the first point but as like a some extra Nuance there playing worse defenses with much worse surrounding Talent than what he had at Clemson that's that's true but Oregon state had a pretty decent offense the year before he showed up but yes yeah and I no I would actually contend sorry TR had to do this I Oregon State's I would take Oregon State's Supporting Cast right now I think over Florida State's this year no I'm talking about when he was at Clemson going from going from Clemson to Oregon God to was our God yeah because the yeah Clemson you can make the argument that the skill town the day of mass every year yeah yeah that's fair yeah no he he he it's interesting I think Florida State going back to what they built around him like I think they feel extremely comfortable with the way this offense is built around his strengths this is one of the reasons why to the point of of talent and like yes there's unknowns at like the nine wide receiver but the way the Run game is going to be uh composed I think it makes a lot of sense is gonna play off of what he does the addition of Malik Benson uh ab's you know pokey uh 2.0 uh with a little bit more juice you know or or potentially a lot more juice you know is going to fit in with what what dju does well and even just the way Michael rll has some of his offenses that you guys have touched on have have operated before all makes sense uh but this is why they they when they were going after DJ and cam W I don't think it was like a secret that they really liked cam Ward but they didn't want to wait anymore as part of what happened is they didn't want to keep waiting they wanted to build an offense around a quarterback in mind and they wanted to be able to do it with time remaining in the transfer portal to get someone like a Malik Benson or even some Defenders people were asking questions like who's the quarterback going to be you didn't have an answer to it so you didn't want to wait for that and you Miami wenton added a bunch of guys in the spring portal we'll see how it works out but like the idea of adding DJ walay was about stability and finding stability in that moment in the winter time and into the spring um but also in the transition Year from Jordan Travis to what will be a multi-year starter for FSU whether it's Brock Lenn or Luke croman hook DJ used that kind of that bridge and and it's not a that's not a slight on him that that's who he is he is steady and sturdy and has become a consistent quarterback up to this point in his career if you're into numerology and nerdy number four means me stabil it's a number that signifies stability and that's what number he's wearing is is for it just it there's an element of this that makes a lot of sense to me to where I think he's going to be a stabilizing presence I don't know what the ceiling is um but I think the floor is raised with him because of what he did at Oregon State last year even what he did at Clemson two years ago he's goingon to bring competent play to the quarterback room and he gives you an identity to me man that's really important well said my friend so before we end this the value this is number one the Fantastic content that you guys just get to soak up through your eyes and ears You' you're very lucky and I hope all you viewers are appreciating this because this is truly the Pinnacle of offseason lists and you will get it every year for me the main value that I get from it other than entertaining the best fans in the entire world is that it really forces you to take a deep dive and analyze the quality and the construction of this roster and you've all done it we've all done it Brandon testify what do you guys think are you more worried are you less worried where are you thinking about the what do you think that the realistic goals for this team can should and probably will be who wants to take that first after analyzing the entire roster what type of team is this and is there an is there a an analog or a comparison into like a Year's past Florida State team that you could give people like hey you should expect a like this is kind of like the blank blank Florida State seminal I have a year in my head that I'm thinking but let's see what you guys think let's yell it out at the same time on three okay hold on what are we yelling out what are we yelling out what team does this what team does the 2024 Florida State simal remind you of like simal teams of the past like like what they're going to be I have one that I'm thinking right now so are we gonna yell it out loud or okay let's yell them out loud the L M out okay one two three did you say 2015 Trey I said 2015 yes 2012 stupid to me 2012 they were like an all in year yeah that's yeah I think they're an all in year to me this was like a transitional to me it was like after 2013 2014 you bring in a bridge quarterback like an Ever goson you still got very you've got a lot of talent you don't know exactly who's going to step up you're waiting to see that n910 win range to me I think it's like 2015 but with a better quarterback and a more flexible offensive mind maybe not as much team talent because Mike Norvell hasn't recruited all the positions like madman like you know jacket Jimbo he hasn't I mean that's not fair Jimbo was like on generational runs in the in the in the late 20 you know in the 2010 201s all that sort of things but I find the staff continu I find the staff to be much more stable they got a way better strength and conditioning a way more stable strength and conditioning program I like dju as a quarterback over ever goson and I like the Synergy of the offense and the pieces that they have so I think 2015 with greater potential 10- win football I feel like 10 and two is where I'm standing with this team right now that's how I feel about it and with what they lost and what they're adding in recruiting not at all position and the guys are developing if I got 10 wins this year I feel really damn good about it because I think it's a little dip like a cyclical dip and then like you said Adam I think they're back on to shooting for Allin again how do you guys feel would you WIS oh sorry go ahead Kev the amount of times I've gone through this list and thought man they need this guy to hit man they need this guy to hit man they need this guy to hit and that's that's not a great feeling like if if this staff hadn't such a track record of actually developing players by this point in time and actually having those guys that you need to hit hit then I'd be feeling a lot less optimistic but I'm sitting here thinking like yeah I think Daryl Jackson might hit yeah I think Marvin Jones might hit yeah I you know yeah one of those linebackers is probably going to step up cam R is probably gonna be put in position to succeed like the amount of like trust that you the the fact that the staff is is prioritized Player Development means that in a season like this when you're unsure because there's so many times where you're like well I don't know I haven't seen much of this player but the coaches like him the coaches trust him you you have some amount of they they've bought themselves some amount of leeway I mean I'm with you Trey that's what gets me to 10 wins because there is a lot of unknown on this roster but I I agree with you 10 wins is about where I feel Adam yeah I think I'm in the 10ish nine 10 wins um Range I I know I'm normally the pessimistic one but I just the staff's proven that they can develop the strength staff's proven that they can do a great job of getting guys prepared for a long season um I mean you are still playing in the ACC it's not a great conference there's not not a lot of great teams that are necessarily uh invested in winning football games um I think you've got to beat you know there's what three games on this for four games on the schedule uh for you this year that are going to Define your season uh Clemson Notre Dame Florida and and Miami so find a way way to go two and two and two in that series of four games and you're probably looking at 10 and two if you make a couple mistakes and have a couple slip ups and don't progress the way you should then you know we're having maybe having a different conversation at the end of the year but I like to believe that this staff is uh they've proven themselves on game day to get the most out of their situation and I don't think that that trend's gonna go away brenon what I know about this team is the or this program I should say are the points that that Kevin ABY just made about the development right um this staff develops at a really high level they coach in game plan at a really high level and they're going to put guys in a good position I know that uh I know that the athletic threshold for this team is as high as it's ever been that's the athletic Tes team data points that they have and and that's real that's that's stuff that they they track and they're confident they're not just throwing that out there I know there's a lot of question marks um and I know that there is a ton of optimism internally about they really like what they I'll put it this way I haven't heard anyone really Express much concern and this staff usually shoots us pretty straight and they've bought a lot of credibility in my estimation with that uh when they didn't know how good they were going to be in 2021 they told us that um they said you know it might be a five six win team that that's what it was um and then they said it was going to get better and it got better and then last year they were really confident in what they were going to be and they would put a number on it but they they knew they'd be really good they were really good and that's where I can't get over is like they've bought up this credibility I know what the numbers say of of athletic testing um I know how the coaching staff feels and yet I feel this disconnect to where I'm struggling to see it living up to a point of like it being really good or great which is where I think the expectations are internally I I think it'll be a good team I think you're going to win a good amount of football games I think Vegas line is not and a half yeah if you got to 10 wins I would take that right now and would call it a day so would I yeah I would too but but there's that's a disconnects I don't think the coaching staff would secretly tell you that and I think that's that's what I'm struggling with so I don't know what I'm missing a part of this equation um I don't think I'm pessimistic on this season I I think nine wins is reasonable some people in the chat are saying that eight wins would be a disaster I don't think that would be I know optically how you know what how it be perceived by subnationally yeah I I think this this exercise to reflect on what Kev said there's a lot of wh ifs and just generally covering Sports as long as I have it and or just following it uh when there's a lot of questions that the more questions you have going into the season the better the chances are that you're going to have some stumbles uh along the way so I think that's kind of where my skepticism is if that makes sense yeah and that's that's fair enough when there are a lot of question marks like that 2015 Florida State team that's when you get like a Georgia Tech thing happen you know what I'm saying so I I'm with you there's more coin flips on the roster than you would like but I tend to agree with Kevin is that you start to kind of shift a lot of those coin flips in your favor when you start adding in the coaching and development factors but we will see it will make for wonderful offseason discussion content and you can only see it if you take advantage of the firecracker trademark register copyright trade Mark 2024 sale on noles247.com one Buck for the first month 50% off the entire year Drink Your chattano Whiskey sell your house with the Turner group and have a good happy safe don't blow off any appendages when you're drinking the Chattanooga whiskey let's keep all of our digits and have a wonderful day celebrating America and keep chopping shout out Pokey always