FSU football players participate in fall practice as the team prepares for Georgia Tech at the Albert J Dunlap training center on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. For 229 days, the college football world has awaited the return of the ever-changing sport.
No team is more eager to get back to the proving grounds than No. 10 Florida State.
Georgia Tech and Florida State kick off the 2024 season on Saturday in Dublin, Ireland. Saturday marks the ninth college football game played in the country.
A College Football Playoff bridesmaid in December, the Seminoles return depth from the 13-1 conference-championship winning team. Florida State brings back 73 players, including nine All-ACC members, an unprecedented number in today’s transfer portal-dominated landscape.
In the backfield, the Seminoles are led by fifth-year senior Lawrance Toafili, who rushed for 463 yards in 2023, when he backed up Trey Benson. Toafili was last year’s ACC Championship Game MVP and enters the season as Florida State’s leading returner in rushing and all-purpose yards.
The offense returns a receiving core of nine Seminoles who combined for 86 receptions for 1,195 yards and five touchdowns. Although the unit lost Keon Coleman, Johnny Wilson and Jaheim Bell to the NFL Draft, a pair of experienced players in Mackey Award watch list tight end Kyle Morlock (19 receptions, 255 yards in 2023) and Ja’Khi Douglas (14-243) look to anchor the group.
Maybe the most vital piece of the Florida State roster is fifth-year transfer quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. He takes over for Jordan Travis, the 2023 ACC Player of the Year whose season ended with a knee injury that shifted the Seminoles’ fortunes. Travis was a fifth-round pick of the Jets in April.
After an inconsistent career at Clemson from 2020-22, Uiagalelei found more success at Oregon State in 2023, passing for 2,638 yards and accounting for 27 total touchdowns.
Back in the ACC for a final go-around, the veteran quarterback is considered a key in the Seminoles’ bid for their first College Football Playoff appearance in a decade.
“DJ has played in a lot of football games,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “He’s seen it all. He’s been through the highs and lows. I could not be any more pleased with what I’ve seen since he got here in January. He’s playing with a lot of confidence. I’m excited to see him go play like he’s prepared. If he does that, I think he could have a very special season.”
In front of Uiagalelei, Florida State returns all-conference offensive linemen Darius Washington and Maurice Smith.
Florida State was left out of the playoff last season in part because of injuries at the quarterback position. But the Seminoles are 23-4 the past two seasons and don’t need a pep talk before taking the field in 2024.
Georgia Tech enters the season coming off its first winning campaign since 2018, and first bowl win since 2016. Brent Key has the program anticipating renewed success, but the Seminoles have dominated the series with a 13-4 advantage in regular-season ACC meetings (2-0 in ACC title games).
Dual-threat quarterback Haynes King, who threw for 2,842 yards and 27 touchdowns, while adding 737 rushing yards and 10 scores on the ground in 2023, is back behind center for the Yellow Jackets.
“When I say (Haynes) has every skill and every bit of ability to be the best quarterback in the country, I mean it,” Key said. “We’re very excited for him.”
Last year’s leading rusher Jamal Haynes (1,059 yards, seven touchdowns) also returns for Tech.
Florida State’s offense gets plenty of publicity. The Seminoles have some youth on the other side of the ball, but defensive back Azareye’h Thomas said the group’s mindset paves the way for positives.
“They have speed, speed, speed. Our defense will have to mind our Ps and Qs,” Thomas said of playing Georgia Tech’s track athletes at wide receiver. “It starts in the meeting room. We watch film so that when we come out to practice, it’s easy.”
Key overturned a staff that ranked 97th in the country last year in points allowed. Duke’s defensive coordinator, Tyler Santucci, relocated to Atlanta. Under Santucci, the Blue Devils allowed just 19 points per game, best in the ACC.
“That’s why I got hired,” Santucci said. “Stop people, create takeaways … get the ball back to the offense and don’t let them score touchdowns. That’s not pressure. That’s our job.”
Georgia Tech is playing internationally for the second time. The Yellow Jackets topped Boston College 17-14 in the inaugural Aer Lingus Classic in 2016.
“It’s a great opportunity for Georgia Tech,” Key said. “It’ll be great for people to see the GT on a worldwide stage.”
–Field Level Media
