Normally, the start of a second season as head coach brings quite a bit more stability.

After that first season filled with the players learning how you operate practices and all new parties building relationships and chemistry, the second season usually brings a sense of familiarity.

But don't tell that to second-year Florida State baseball coach Link Jarrett. The Seminoles began their offseason fall camp late last month with two new assistant coaches and a host of new players acquired through a variety of means.

"We have 26 new players so there's a lot of information to try to present and allow them to grasp," Jarrett said Tuesday. "It's been exciting."

This offseason, Jarrett embraced the challenge he never got in his first offseason of fully rebuilding the Seminoles' roster. FSU brought in nine Division I transfers and four junior-college additions, creating the surge in talent the Seminoles needed to add after a shockingly underwhelming first season.

"Clearly, the acquisition of the junior college players and getting some of those guys through the draft was very helpful and the transfers, it adds a little bit of maturity, some experience. You try to create some depth..." Jarrett said. "I think it's very competitive to try to find a spot on that field to play, which you like. The more talented players you have on that field at practice every day, it just ups the level of play and competitiveness of what you have you have to compete against. I think that's the mark of a good team, I do see that."

And though the number of returning players is fairly low at 18 -- less than half the roster -- FSU does return a number of key pieces, including outfielders Jaime Ferrer and James Tibbs III, third baseman Cam Smith and pitcher Conner Whittaker who have helped Jarrett catch the numerous newcomers up to speed a bit faster.

"You have some guys that understand that and you hear them helping the new players acclimate to what we're doing so that we're on the same page," Jarrett said. "Last year, it was only the group of coaches that really knew what we were trying to do when we walked out before practice. That's great."

One major problem for FSU last season was a serious lack of established pitching depth. It was questionable enough heading into Jarrett's first season that the staff elected to use its best pitcher, Wyatt Crowell, as a high-leverage reliever instead of in the weekend rotation.

Eventually, that decision changed and FSU moved Crowell into the weekend rotation for its first ACC series vs. Pitt. Unfortunately, that first career start for Crowell would be his last appearance as a Seminole. He suffered an injury in that game, which eventually required him to have Tommy John surgery, and Crowell was picked in the fourth round of this year's MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers despite his injury.

"When he walked out of (his start) and didn't feel right, I recognized the magnitude of that one individual and what that created in terms of the pitching staff. Whether we had started him, relieved him, we were trying to sort through what worked best. You have so many young guys in those other roles, his injury hurt. I think if we had Wyatt throughout the long haul of that season, it's a little bit different," Jarrett said. "We were short in some areas and I hope adding some of the age and some of the junior-college players and transfer players injects some maturity and talent into the equation. That's a huge part of college athletics. If you look across the board, the recruitment and talent acquisition is so important. Coming off that season, that was clearly something we knew we had to engage in all summer. I'm happy with how that played out."

FSU brought in four D-I pitcher transfers (Yoel Tejada Jr. from Florida, Jacob Marlowe and Cam Leiter from UCF and Noah Short from West Virginia) and three junior-college pitchers in Gavin Adams, Carson Dorsey and Connor Hults.

All those additions plus the freshmen FSU brought in and the pitchers the Seminoles are returning has Jarrett a good bit more optimistic entering Year 2, even if pitchers aren't fully ramped up innings-wise and roles are still unestablished.

"To think about the variety of arms and the number of arms we have, that's huge. As the season starts to roll, there are going to be guys that emerge in starting roles and relief roles. The innings are probably acquired by 10 to 12 guys. What roles will those be? I have no idea. Who will it be? I don't know. I do know that we have some good options," Jarrett said. "We have left-handed options, we have some guys that have some horsepower. The variety is noticeable. Noah Short, sidearmer who was at West Virginia that we were able to acquire, that's a good piece. Totally different look from down here (lower arm slot). I could go on and on about the variety and I think you guys will see it as you begin to follow us, end of the fall and into the preseason. There are some neat things that are available to us on our pitching staff. That depth and variety, it's probably the most key component to a good team is quality depth and quality stuff on the mound."

FSU also has greater variety in the lineup as it prepares for the 2024 season. Among regular lineup contributors, Tibbs was the main left-handed batter along with DeAmez Ross when he was out there. Aside from a few switch hitters, there was minimal other variety in FSU's righty-heavy lineup.

That also became a focus of the offseason for the Seminoles' staff. FSU added a pair of rising sophomore middle infielders in Drew Faurot (UCF) and Alex Lodise (UNF) who combined for 31 home runs in their freshman seasons and a lefty slugger in USF first baseman transfer Daniel Cantu, who hit 25 homers and 37 doubles over four seasons with the Bulls.

With additional transfer additions such as catcher Jaxson West and outfielder Max Williams (both from Alabama), FSU should enter the 2024 season with much greater depth and a healthier lineup composition.

"You have a variety of lefties and righties, we've added a little bit of each of those. You've got a switch hitter in the middle that will create some depth with Faurot. You've got a left-handed bat behind the plate, left-handed bat option at first base. I like it..." Jarrett said. "I really like what I see offensively. The offense in the batter's box is noticeably more potent but it's then the finer points of the game that we clearly need to continue to hone and develop."

FSU will close out its fall camp with a pair of scrimmages later this month. First, FSU will host Mercer for an exhibition Friday, Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. at Dick Howser Stadium, the night before the FSU football team hosts Duke. Then, the Seminoles will conclude their fall camp with a road exhibition at Alabama on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 1 p.m.

"I like where we are. It's still very early in the fall..." Jarrett said Wednesday. "Those (exhibitions) will be good tests against really good teams. That's kind of the tail-end of the fall, the back end of October. This has been enjoyable and there's noticeable talent on the field. It's good."

Follow The Osceola on Facebook

Follow The Osceola on Twitter

Subscribe to the Osceola's YouTube channel

Subscribe to the Osceola's podcasts on Apple

Subscribe to the Osceola's podcasts on Spotify