FSU: Questionable Hokie cramps hindered ’Noles

TALLAHASSEE – Florida State coach Willie Taggart and his players said many of their drives during their season opener were thwarted by Virginia Tech’s defensive players crumbling and seeking treatment for cramps.

While they took responsibility for the ugly 24-3 loss, the Seminoles said the cramps led to TV timeouts that slowed the pace of FSU’s up tempo Gulf Coast offense.

Seminoles fans have since shared clips of Hokies dropping to the turf untouched.

“That definitely affected the pace,” FSU running back Cam Akers said when asked about Virginia Tech’s cramping. “A lot of big plays were made. A lot of their cramps kind of killed our drives, but it is out of our control.”

When asked if he thought the injury delays were intentional during the ACC conference call, Taggart said, “It happened too often, so it's hard not to.”

ESPN.com reported Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said the heat and humidity in Tallahassee Monday night simply took a toll on his team.

Taggart said during his weekly FSU press conference he believes eventually there will be rule change to help combat the issue.

“They make changes for everything else, I’m sure they’ll come up with something at some point,” Taggart said.

Injury report

Taggart gave a brief update on injured players Wednesday morning before practice.

Freshman linebacker Jaiden Woodbey was seen at practice on Wednesday continuing normal reps. He left the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game with an apparent shoulder injury. Postgame, Taggart revealed that his shoulder came out of socket.

“He bounced back and did fine,” Taggart said on the status of Woodbey,

“Right after the game, I saw him in the locker room and he said it felt it a lot better, and he’ll be ready to roll.”

Starting right tackle Landon Dickerson was not at practice on Wednesday. The redshirt sophomore left Monday night’s game against Virginia Tech with an ankle sprain.

“We’re going to treat that and see how that goes,” Taggart said. “Big guys with ankle sprains is not good.”

Right guard Cole Minshew, who was out all last week due to injury, was practicing on Wednesday. Taggart said Minshew suffered a concussion at some point during preseason practice. The redshirt junior did not dress out for the game on Monday night, but Taggart indicated that he will be back this week.

Redshirt freshman linebacker DeCalon Brooks did not dress out at the game Monday night and was not seen at practice on Wednesday. He, too, is suffering from a concussion but is expected to play against Samford.