With the start of spring football practice less than three weeks away, the Warchant staff is looking at Five Big Questions facing the Florida State Seminoles this spring. As we count down those questions in reverse order (from No. 5 to No. 1), each installment will feature comments from Warchant publisher Gene Williams, managing editor Ira Schoffel and lead beat writer Ryan S. Clark.
Each installment also will feature a podcast discussion by our staff. The podcast will cover some of the points from the article as well as further comments from each panelist. Please be sure to read the article and also listen to the podcast.
Question No. 3: Dalvin Cook has been Florida State's starting tailback for the past 2 1/2 seasons. With him now preparing for the NFL, what does the immediate future hold for the Seminoles at running back?
GENE WILLIAMS: Having a single running back carry the load, as Dalvin Cook did the past two seasons, is atypical for a Jimbo Fisher offense. Last season, FSU’s all-time rushing leader accounted for 77.6 percent of the carries, 77.4 percent of the rushing yards and 82.6 percent of the rushing touchdowns by tailbacks. Prior to his emergence as the undisputed full-time starter in 2015, there was more of a running back-by-committee approach.
Between 2010-14, FSU's primary tailback averaged just 43.3 percent of the carries. In fact, before Cook took over full-time in 2015, no tailback had even accounted for 46 percent of the total carries by his unit. In all likelihood, the philosophy of spreading out the tailback carries will resume this fall.
Rising junior Jacques Patrick will enter spring practice as the No. 1 tailback. There’s a very good chance that won’t change when FSU opens the season versus Alabama on Sept. 2. However, there’s every reason to expect that one or two more running backs will see extensive carries this fall as well. The leading candidates to fill the backup roles likely will be sophomore Amir Rasul and true freshman Cam Akers.
With him seeing limited action last season and with the recent signings of two five-star running backs, Rasul has been somewhat lost in the shuffle by fans and media. However, the early reviews for the former four-star back have been extremely positive. Look for a determined effort by Rasul to hold on to the No. 2 spot this spring.
