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Landon Dickerson had a lot to say when he sat down with reporters at Florida State's annual Media Day.
For starters, the sophomore offensive lineman is not worried about re-injuring his surgically repaired right knee.
"That's the last thing I'm thinking about," Dickerson said. "I think more about my toes getting stepped on or catching a cramp than my knee."
Nor is he bothered by getting yelled at by offensive line coach Rick Trickett or head coach Jimbo Fisher.
"As much as people see yelling as them being hard on us, I honestly think as an offensive line, we're harder on ourselves," he said. "We're much harder on ourselves than the coaches are, especially when something like [a sack] happens."
And while Dickerson respects season-opening opponent Alabama, he also feels the Crimson Tide can be beat.
"I do embrace it because this is a top-notch team and I think we have the athleticism and the ability to beat this team," he said of the Seminoles' Sept. 2 game against the Crimson Tide. "I think if we keep going on the course we're going, we have a really good chance to beat them."
Dickerson is more than a soundbite.
At 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds, he burst onto the scene as the nation's No. 1 offensive guard in the 2016 recruiting class. Dickerson signed with FSU and soon came the stories about his athleticism -- the most popular one being the time he showed Trickett his flexibility by doing a split in his living room.
When Dickerson arrived on campus last summer, it appeared he would have to wait behind redshirt junior Wilson Bell at right guard. Bell started all 13 games in 2015 and started the season opener against Ole Miss in Orlando. He then missed Week 2 with an ankle ailment, which opened the door for Dickerson to start against Charleston Southern.
Dickerson became the first true freshman offensive lineman to start for the Seminoles since Roderick Johnson at left tackle in 2014. He'd start seven straight games but sustained a season-ending ACL tear in early November.
Dickerson missed spring camp and used the time to recover from his knee injury. But when FSU opened camp on Aug. 1, Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher declared Dickerson to be fully healthy and ready to contribute.
Bell has since transferred to Auburn.
"The big thing, for me is, there are a lot of expectations on my shoulders," Dickerson said. "But a big thing for me is taking it one step at a time and working through what I need to get done and focusing on this team and really trying to improve the O-Line.
"In the past few years, we haven't been as good as we need to be, and for me that's a big building block. It's just making a unit and getting everyone on board and having the same thought process."
