Seminoles hopes to stifle NC State’s Samuels, Finley
TALLAHASSEE As No. 12 Florida State returns to the field for the first time in 21 days and takes on NC State on Saturday, the Seminoles will face a stiff challenge trying to keep Wolfpack offensive weapon Jaylen Samuels and quarterback Ryan Finley at bay.
Samuels and Finley are catalysts for the NC State offense, which has averaged 38 points through three games and hopes to break FSU’s streak of five consecutive wins in the series.
No player has earned more praise this week from Florida State than Samuels, who has lined up at receiver, running back and tight end this season and is coming off of a three-touchdown performance against Furman last week.
“Jaylen Samuels is the epitome of a football player,” FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said. “He can play everywhere, do everything — catch, run, block, throw.”
Samuels has accounted for 26 receptions for 220 yards with two touchdowns, and eight carries for 38 yards.
With Samuels lining up at different positions on the field throughout games, FSU defenders plan on keeping tabs on him at all times to slow his effectiveness.
“He’s their main guy,” FSU cornerback Tarvarus McFadden said. “They move him everywhere and they just try to get him the ball. He’s a playmaker and we’ve always got to recognize where he is on the field.”
Finley, who has completed 96 of 127 passes this season, enters the game owning one of the nation’s quirkiest streaks, throwing 192 consecutive passes without an interception.
“The one thing he does a great job [at is] he gets the ball out of his hands,” Fisher said of Finley. “He really gets it out quickly and finds matchups and really understands what he’s doing.”
Finley’s knack of quickly getting rid of the football helps NC State, but FSU defensive end Brian Burns believes FSU’s defensive line can still apply pressure at the line of scrimmage.
“There’s not anything you can really do except get your hands up and get in his passing lane and try to affect the pass in any way you can,” Burns said. “If it’s coming out fast, there isn’t any kind of rush where you can get there that fast.”