Offseason arrives with eye on Tide
TALLAHASSEE — What does Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois know about Alabama’s defense? “They’re good.” What stands out about the Crimson Tide overall?
“Everything,” Francois added. “They’re Alabama. I don’t know what else to say.”
Francois’ exchange with an Alabama reporter after FSU’s spring game Saturday was quirky and comical to say the least.
With FSU’s spring practice session over, the Seminoles now turn their attention to a summer filled with anticipation for the 2017 season opener. FSU will face Alabama on Sept. 2 in Atlanta in a matchup of the two winningest programs in recent college football in history.
Francois hopes his teammates are ready for the task at hand.
“It’s a great challenge for our team,” said Francois, the redshirt sophomore quarterback from Orlando. “Right off the bat, we’re going to see the type of team we have, and we don’t want to waste time.”
Since Jimbo Fisher took over from Bobby Bowden in 2010, the Seminoles have won 78 games and have competed in five straight New Year’s Six Bowl games.
Alabama, with 86 wins and six straight New Year’s Six Bowl appearances, is the only school to surpass FSU in both of those categories under Nick Saban.
With his first matchup looming against his longtime mentor and friend, Fisher made a constant effort to emphasize mental toughness and demanding physicality during the spring.
After the spring game, Fisher lightheartedly recalled FSU’s Friday night reunion when former players talked about the grueling workouts longtime defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews put the Seminoles through during their playing days.
With modern-day NCAA stipulations for player time limits in place, Fisher wanted to squeeze the most out of this spring to instill the toughness he wants the Seminoles to possess when fall camp begins in August.
FSU is trying to reach the title game again for the first time since winning the 2013 national championship, while Alabama hopes to avenge its national title loss to Clemson last season.
Their season-opening matchup could give the winner an inside track to a College Football Playoff berth.
Fisher knows even the smallest of margins could make the difference in the game.
“I was hell this spring,” Fisher said regarding his team. “I was never happy. I was pushing them. But you have to get across what you’re trying to sell right now.
“This game, the parity of it is too great. And who can mentally and physically handle the mental strains and toughness is going to persevere and come out on top.”
While the Seminoles have roughly four months before opening fall camp, the players insist they won’t be obsessed with their Alabama game-planning all summer.
“When the time comes, we’re going to study them,” senior outside linebacker Jacob Pugh said. “But until then, we’re going to work on us.”
Francois said the most pertinent item on his agenda is “helping my team become more of a family, then we’ll go on to whoever we have to play.”
“We want to go into fall camp rolling on all cylinders,” Francois added.
Despite calling out his players for lacking leadership and playing in a spring game that lacked offensive firepower with only two scholarship receivers and an inexperienced offensive line, Fisher insists he is encouraged with his team’s progress heading into the summer.
“I thought we made a lot of strides in a lot of areas,” Fisher said. “We’re far from a finished product. We got a lot of things to do. But there’s a lot to work with, and the attitude is coming in the right direction.
“I really am pleased with where we’re at. I like the group we’ve got.”