With the Florida State football team officially wrapping up preseason camp this past weekend, we have brought together four members of the Warchant staff for another Roundtable discussion about a variety of topics.
Our panelists -- Warchant founder Gene Williams, managing editor Ira Schoffel, senior writer Corey Clark and director of digital media Aslan Hajivandi -- discuss some of the major takeaways from the first two-plus weeks of practice and also look ahead to where things might be trending.
Among the major topics included are the biggest surprises of preseason, the most pressing concerns, the improvement in the linebacker segment, what the offensive line is going to look like and more.
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1. What has been the most pleasant surprise from the first two weeks of preseason?
GENE: The most obvious choice is Joshua Kaindoh. Ira wrote last week about how dominant he has been in preseason camp. I don’t think there has been a practice or scrimmage where a coach hasn't heaped accolades on the redshirt junior defensive end. Any pass rush FSU generated last season had to come through blitzes from linebackers and defensive backs. Being overly reliant on blitzing leaves defenses exposed, and opposing offenses took full advantage in 2019. If Kaindoh can emerge as a dominant pass-rusher, it would completely change the dynamic for Adam Fuller and the Seminoles' defense.
COREY: I would also say Kaindoh. Usually when you're this deep into a college career, you kind of are what you are. I understand he was injured for most of last season, but he wasn't injured in the Boise State or Louisiana-Monroe games, and he didn't seem to stand out then. Now, he's being talked about like Brian Burns was being talked about two years ago. And while I'm not expecting THAT kind of season necessarily, the way that FSU's coaches and players have talked about Kaindoh makes you think he could actually be putting it all together and could reach that potential we've been waiting to see for three years now.
ASLAN: Let's make it 3-for-3 for Kaindoh! It's hard not to heed the encouraging words from his coaches and teammates. There was a narrative floating around that football might not be all that important to him, but it appears to have been debunked. And there might not be any player on the team who can have as big an impact as Kaindoh if he lives up to this new billing. Honorable mention goes to defensive tackle Robert Cooper, who seems like a new man since shedding all that weight. Hearing Odell Haggins refer to Cooper as being potentially "unblockable" should pique everyone's curiosity.
IRA: The guys gave the correct answer with Kaindoh, but I'll offer up another one for variety's sake: The number of true freshmen who are expected to contribute this season. In case anyone forgot, Florida State didn't exactly land one of the nation's highest-rated recruiting classes this past February. With the Seminoles coming off of three straight disappointing seasons and going through another coaching change, they were happy to salvage a class that was ranked No. 20 in the country. Yet of the 23 true freshmen on FSU's roster, I could see 10 or more of them contributing in a substantial way this season. And that might not even include linemen Thomas Shrader and Robert Scott Jr., both of whom have drawn rave reviews. That's a very good early hit rate for a class that was pieced together during very difficult circumstances.
2. What concerns you most about this team with the regular season fast approaching?
COREY: It's the answer we all have, I'm sure: The offensive line. Until this unit proves that it's not a concern, it will always be a concern. And going by how the coaches talked about that scrimmage on Saturday night, it's not exactly firing on all cylinders. I think it will be better. I mean, how could it be worse? But will it be good enough to give FSU a chance against good defenses? Will it be at least average?
If it can reach that not-so-high standard, I think FSU has a chance to have a good year. But this unit needs some success and some confidence. Somehow. Some way. And until we see it, it's going to remain No. 1 on any concern list for the Florida State football team.
