Standouts and surprises from FSU football
In his last year of eligibility, Jermaine Johnson transferred to Florida State after playing two seasons at the University of Georgia. During his time in Athens, Johnson played in 21 games with four starts, accumulating 36 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and 24 QB pressures.
Last Sunday night, Johnson looked like a game-wrecker against a stout Notre Dame offensive line, recording 1.5 sacks and seven total tackles. While the Seminoles coverage wasn’t enough to hold back Jack Coan, the defense proved they could rush the passer and create pressure.
When asked about buying in this offseason and building grit on the Seminoles team, Johnson told reporters after the game about their journey through camp.
“It changed through this whole offseason,” Johnson said. “It was a process. Everybody bought in, everybody was selfless. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys. We came together, we didn’t give up. Came up a little short, but so proud of my guys.”
The Seminoles showed they have two legitimate quarterbacks. However, something unexpected that no one would have predicted was the ’Noles run game. Throughout 2020, Brian Kelly’s Fighting Irish allowed just 113 rush yards per game. On Sunday, Florida State exceeded that number easily.
Jashaun Corbin and Treshaun Ward combined for 26 carries and 220 yards, with two touchdowns.
“I thought late, it was impressive,” head coach Mike Norvell. “Those backs work extremely hard in practice. The guys up front believe in what we can do running the football.”
Corbin had 89 of those yards on just one run when on second down from the Seminoles own 11, he broke two tacklers and hit top-end speed down the sideline to score the ’Noles first touchdown of the night.
When asked about the run, Norvell told the media on Wednesday that Corbin was moving extremely fast.
“He was well over 20 MPH, I can’t remember the exact number but it was impressive speed,” Norvell said. “I told him he needs to keep that rocket booster wherever that’s been.”
The Seminoles quarterback play was heavily influencing the ’Noles ability to run the ball.
When Jordan Travis is playing, he has the athletic ability to stifle coordinators and force them to stack the box and dare him to make big passes. But on the downside, when defenses do this, it makes it harder on running backs.
What was unexpected was that McKenzie Milton was passing so well he forced the Fighting Irish defense to respect the intermediate and downfield passing, which opened up the run game for the ’Noles late in the game.
It didn’t matter which quarterback was in the game, as the ’Noles showed a proficiency on offense that Seminole fans haven’t seen in years. No matter who starts at QB, FSU has a legitimate signal-caller.
After practice this week, offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham explained the impact of two quarterbacks.
“I think the key is making a team prepare for both,” Dillingham said. “Regardless of how much they’re used, it’s the thought that both can play. That’s the key, because every coach in America is petrified of the unknown.”
For the rest of the season, anticipate that the mix of Travis and Milton will be beneficial for the Seminoles and both players.
Milton offers consistency and a steady presence in the passing game that Travis has yet to master. But if Travis can cut down on those mistakes, the offense can have an explosive element with 11-on-11 football that could be devastating.