Florida State safety Derwin James, one of college football’s best (if not the best) defensive players, will undergo surgery on Monday to repair torn cartilage in his knee, via TampaBay.com.
The initial timetable given by coach Jimbo Fisher is a two-to-six-week recovery, which will rule out James for this weekend’s pivotal ACC clash with Lamar Jackson and Louisville. While that timetable could still be altered, the best case by it would be having James miss road games at Louisville and USF before returning for FSU’s Oct. 1 home date against North Carolina.
If James is unable to return in six weeks, he could miss FSU’s Oct. 29 game against Clemson in Tallahassee. Also included in that stretch is an Oct. 8 road game at Miami.
The good news is that James’ ligaments didn’t sustain any structural damage. But this is an injury to keep an eye on for those picking Florida State to reach the College Football Playoff.
