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Pure Energy: Young tailbacks provide boost for Seminoles' offense

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Five-star recruit Khalan Laborn is one of four talented freshman tailbacks on FSU's roster.
Five-star recruit Khalan Laborn is one of four talented freshman tailbacks on FSU's roster. (Gene Williams / Warchant.com)

The Florida State football team had only been on the practice fields for a couple of periods Tuesday when head athletic trainer Jake Pfeil announced lightning had been detected in the area.

In an instant, players started jogging toward the Indoor Practice Facility, where they would continue their drills until the weather threat had cleared.

As head coach Jimbo Fisher headed in that direction, freshman tailback Cam Akers sprinted past him at full speed, with a football tucked under one arm.

"C'mon Jimbo!" he yelled without breaking stride. "Game situation!"

Fisher flashed a wide grin. Probably for a couple of reasons.

Number one, it showed that the freshman understood one of the lessons his coaches preach in these situations. Whenever weather forces the Seminoles to practice inside, the players are taught to treat it like a transition or "sudden change" in a real game -- whether that be a turnover, a score or just a big play. The idea is to hurry up and be ready for the next play, not to take their time getting acclimated to the new situation.

Number two, it provided a glimpse of Akers' confidence and sense of humor. That he felt comfortable being playful with his head coach, just a few months removed from high school.

"They're fun guys to be around," junior tailback Jacques Patrick said of Akers and FSU's other young running backs. "It's fun. There's so many different personalities in the room. ... I enjoy being around those guys."

Through a week of preseason practice, Patrick, Fisher and running backs coach Jay Graham all have expressed similar sentiments about the young group of runners. They love the talent, but they especially love the personalities and attitudes.

Beyond Patrick, who entered preseason camp as the top tailback, there's sophomore Amir Rasul and a quartet of impressive freshmen -- Akers, Khalan Laborn, Zaquandre White and Deonte Sheffield.

Akers, who enrolled in January, was rated the nation's No. 2 running back by Rivals. Laborn was the No. 1 all-purpose back. They were both five-star prospects.

White was a four-star recruit and the No. 15 running back in the country. And Sheffield passed up scholarship offers to other Division-I programs to walk-on at Florida State; he is expected to be put on scholarship in the future.

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