After an extremely eventful week for the Florida State football team, which saw several high-profile players either leave the team or go down for the season, the Seminoles fell Saturday night at N.C. State, 38-22.
In this edition of the 3-2-1, we take a closer look at Florida State's constantly evolving depth chart and how much it has changed this season. We also examine the fallout from last week's departures, why Mike Norvell is going for it on fourth down so often -- even more than he did at Memphis -- and what the future holds for the Seminoles at quarterback and more.
Three things we've learned
1 -- Starting lineups look nothing like they did to start season
There has been vigorous debate among fans and media about how big of an impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on college football programs across the country.
Some believe the months of hiatus in the spring and summer took the greatest toll on first-year coaching staffs, such as Florida State's, while others argue it's essentially a non-factor because all programs had to deal with the same constraints.
From the beginning, I have been firmly on the side of the first group. And not just because of how it impacted those new coaching staffs' ability to install their offensive and defensive systems during spring practice, but even more because those coaches didn't get a chance to properly evaluate the players on their new teams.
That's not to excuse away Florida State's disappointing 2-6 record or to give Mike Norvell a pass on these recent blowouts. But if you're curious about how much first-year staffs were hurt by not having spring practice or normal summer workouts, just look at how different FSU's starting lineups look today compared to the season opener.
Back in mid-September, when the Seminoles kicked off against Georgia Tech, James Blackman was the starting quarterback and Warren Thompson started at wide receiver. On defense, Jarrian Jones started at cornerback, and Kalen DeLoach was also in the starting lineup at linebacker.
None of those four players has started more than three games this season, and two of them -- Blackman and Terry -- left the program last week.
Of the 11 starters on offense in Florida State's season opener, only five were also in the starting lineup this past Saturday at N.C. State. The story was exactly the same on defense, with five opening-day starters also starting in Raleigh.
The ones who have made it from beginning to now (with limited interruptions) are RB Jashaun Corbin, OL Baveon Johnson, OL Maurice Smith, OL Darius Washington and TE Camren McDonald on offense. The consistent starters on defense are LB Emmett Rice, DE Joshua Kaindoh, DE Janarius Robinson, CB Asante Samuel and DL Robert Cooper.
The rest of the positions have been mostly musical chairs, as the Seminoles' coaches try to figure out who they can count on.
The lack of offseason evaluation time is even more revealing when you consider where some of Saturday's starters were at the beginning of this season.
* QB Chubba Purdy was not available after breaking his collarbone in preseason. He started for the first time in college at N.C. State and has played in three games.
