Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports
Over the last two seasons, it would be difficult to argue that any program has had the kind of success that the Florida State Seminoles have enjoyed. But according to head coach Jimbo Fisher, that success has started to sow complacency on the roster and it’s starting to show up during spring practice, leading Fisher to tell reporters that the Seminoles “Need to grow up.”
Since the start of the 2013 season, there hasn’t been anyone as good as FSU. Over the last two seasons, the Noles have gone 27-1, winning the final BCS National Championship and qualifying for the first College Football Playoff, though they eventually fell to the Oregon Ducks in the semifinal at the Rose Bowl. Their leader during this time, quarterback Jameis Winston, enjoyed a tremendous run of his own during this time, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2013 and positioning himself as the odds-on-favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
But Winston, along with half of the 2014 roster, have moved on after acting as the cornerstone to the Noles’ impressive two-year run. The result is that players who were not counted on all that heavily are being thrust into the spotlight and are having some trouble adjusting. Fisher says this team is made of “A bunch of young guys think they’re real good and they’re not close,” and went on to call the team “soft right now.” Too many players, in Fisher’s evaluation, were just showing up to “endure” the spring sessions rather than putting in the work now to remain one of college football’s elite teams.
If the young group doesn’t snap out of it, Florida State will be in for a massively disappointing season in 2015. At some point, the Noles will get pushed by someone on their schedule, testing their mental fortitude. If they have not “grown up” and put in the work to remain the best in the ACC, they’re likely to get knocked off a couple of times next fall.
And after the string of success this program has had in recent years, that would be a massive disappointment.
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