After Florida State announced Saturday morning that starting right tackle Jeremiah Byers would miss his third straight game due to injury Saturday night vs. Cal, FSU added two more names to the injury report a few hours out from kickoff.
An FSU spokesperson told the Osceola that backup right tackle Robert Scott and starting running back Roydell Williams will also miss Saturday night's game against the Golden Bears (7 p.m. on ESPN2).
Byers started in the opener against Georgia Tech but has missed FSU's last three games. Scott moved from right tackle to left tackle for last week's game vs. Memphis after Darius Washington suffered an injury during pregame warmups that kept him out.
Jaylen Early started at right tackle against Memphis and is likely to again start there as the third-string right tackle on FSU's depth chart. It would be Early's second career start.
FSU started (from left) Scott, T.J. Ferguson, Maurice Smith, Richie Leonard IV and Early on the offensive line against the Tigers.
Washington participated in practices that were open to the media on Tuesday and Wednesday. ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Saturday morning that Washington is expected to play and his absence from FSU's injury report seems to confirm that. His return will help an offensive line that struggled in pass protection and run blocking against the Tigers. On Monday, coach Mike Norvell sounded hopeful Washington could play.
"Darius, that was something that happened in pregame," Norvell said. "So kind of unexpected. We'll see where that goes as the week kind of progresses."
The Seminoles again failed to generate 300 offensive yards for a third straight week to open 2024. FSU also had fewer than 300 offensive yards in its final three games of 2023 (wins over Florida and Louisville and a bowl loss to Georgia).
With Williams sidelined, FSU will likely turn to larger roles in the backfield for Lawrance Toafili, freshman Kam Davis and Caziah Holmes vs. Cal.
In better news for FSU, safety Shyheim Brown, who missed the Memphis game, and wide receiver Jalen Brown along with linebacker Cam Riley, both of whom left the Memphis game with injuries, are all missing from FSU's injury report.
That makes it appear FSU will have all three of these players available Saturday night.
Cal also has injuries on offense, notably running back Jaydn Ott. Coach Justin Wilcox said that Ott is probable, but Thamel posted on Twitter/X that Ott is "slated to play."
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