Now in Jimbo Fisher’s second year as head coach, Florida State already appears to be -- at least according to a couple of the fine folks over at ESPN.com -- one of the sexy picks for 2011 to win not only the ACC Championship, but compete for a national championship as well.
And if the Seminoles are going to achieve either of those goals, they’re going to have to rely heavily on quarterback E.J. Manuel, who takes over for the departed Christian Ponder.
So, naturally, many eyes were on Manuel during Florida State’s annual Gold and Garnet game. Manuel went 17-36 for 204 yards, a touchdown, but 2 interceptions in the game.
Of course, when it comes to spring scrimmages, one should focus less on statistics and more on player development. The Orlando Sentinel has a decent breakdown of Manuel’s performance, which could be summarized as decent, but the junior quarterback obviously still has a few kinks to work out.
Additionally, rushing the ball appeared to be a trying task for Florida State, as the Gold team netted only 13 yards on the ground (Manuel was “sacked” for 25) and the Garnett team ran away with a modest 46 yards on the ground.
The Sentinel also notes that defense and special teams were solid for the ‘Noles throughout the scrimmage -- which, if you ask Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, he’ll tell you that’ll win you a couple games.
