Alec Eberle went through the most important offseason of his life and, in his mind, came away a better player despite not participating in a single snap during Florida State's spring drills.
The Seminoles' redshirt junior starting center is finally fully healthy. Through two weeks of fall camp, he's moving quicker and with greater ease. That's something he could never claim last season when he played -- and started -- all 13 games while fighting through severe hip pains.
Eberle underwent hip flexor surgery early in 2017. As Eberle told reporters Tuesday, going from participant to spectator this past spring gave him a valuable perspective.
"I think the biggest thing as a college athlete is, you think you're buying into the process and buying into what the coaches are teaching and what they are saying and doing the right things," Eberle said. "But until you sit back and watch your team and watch your coaches do what they do, you don't really realize what you're doing wrong."
The 6-foot-4 and 294-pound Eberle said he and sophomore guard Landon Dickerson, who also missed spring after having knee surgery, were able to sit back and observe. From it, they gained a better understanding of what Seminoles offensive line coach Rick Trickett meant when he wanted certain things from the unit.
Eberle said it helped him become "the best player possible" for the Seminoles in 2017.
