Florida State football most important player countdown: No. 21
The countdown to the 2020 Florida State football season is underway.
There's been some uncertainty surrounding the 2020 sports calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it would seem currently that the season will go on as scheduled for the Seminoles. They are slated to begin their season Sept. 5 vs. West Virginia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The 2020 season will bring FSU its third head coach in four seasons. Former Memphis coach Mike Norvell was hired to coach the Seminoles last December after Willie Taggart was fired 21 games into his FSU tenure last November.
Norvell will take over a team that has finished each of the last two seasons with a losing record.
While the roster has fallen off from where it was a few years ago, there are many talented and prominent players that have kept optimism surrounding the program entering the 2020 season.
Over the next 40 days, Democrat beat writers Wayne McGahee III and Curt Weiler will count down their lists of the 40 most important FSU players for the 2020 season.
Wayne: Quarterback Chubba Purdy
Purdy is the highest ranked quarterback FSU has signed since 2016, and big things are expected of him over the next few seasons.
He threw for 3,369 yards with 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions over 10 games during his senior season. He also rushed for 1,054 yards with 19 touchdowns while averaging 7.1 yards per carry.
Purdy flipped from Louisville to FSU during the early signing period after Norvell and offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham made him their primary target at the position.
Quarterback play at FSU has been consistently inconsistent since Jameis Winston left after the 2014 season. Purdy could be the answer to that in the future.
This season, he will be competing for the starting quarterback job behind returning starter James Blackman. But with a new coaching staff and system, the starting job is up for grabs.
Purdy won’t be as behind as a normal non-early enrollee freshman due to the cancellation of spring practice, but Blackman’s experience edge will be hard for him to overcome initially.
Still, FSU could put in packages for Purdy to get playing time, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him start at some point this season.
Curt: Offensive lineman Brady Scott
Scott has done it all for FSU's offensive line the last two years.
On an offensive line very much in flux and struggling to find consistency, Scott has been the versatile player moved all around wherever he was needed. For a player who was the second-lowest-rated in FSU's 2017 signing class, he's exceeded expectations by a wide margin.
After redshirting in 2017, he's made a total of 16 starts and 23 appearances over the last two seasons. Nine of those have come at right guard, six of them have come at right tackle and one of them has come at left tackle.
Those 16 starts make him the veteran of the Seminoles' offensive line group. No other active lineman has more than 11 career starts at FSU.
There's enough promise with some of the young linemen like Darius Washington and Dontae Lucas that there's reason for at least some optimism about the FSU offensive line entering the 2020 season. Scott and the experience he brings plays a role in this as well.
Scott worked at right tackle during the shortened spring practices after working primarily at right guard last season. While sticking at one position would benefit his growth, Scott's versatility will be a significant asset for an FSU offensive line that would be lauded if it makes even minor progress.
No. 40: Wayne: LB Kalen DeLoach; Curt: S Cyrus Fagan
No. 39: Wayne: OL Baveon Johnson; Curt: TE Jordan Wilson
No. 38: Wayne: S Cyrus Fagan; Curt: DB Renardo Green
No. 37: Wayne: RB Khalan Laborn; Curt: WR Ontaria Wilson
No. 36: Wayne: P Alex Mastromanno; Curt: WR Ontaria Wilson
No. 35: Wayne: K Ryan Fitzgerald; Curt: P Alex Mastromanno
No. 34: Wayne: CB Travis Jay; Curt: K Ryan Fitzgerald
No. 33: Wayne: S Brendan Gant; Curt: CB Travis Jay
No. 32: Wayne: RB Lawrance Toafili; Curt: RB La’Damian Webb
No. 31: Wayne: CB Meiko Dotson; Curt: S Brendan Gant
No. 30: Wayne: RB La'Damien Webb; Curt: LB Jaleel McRae
No. 29: Wayne: LB Jaleel McRae; Curt: RB Khalan Laborn
No. 28: Wayne: LB Leonard Warner III; Curt: DL Dennis Briggs Jr.
No. 27: Wayne: WR Warren Thompson; Curt: CB Meiko Dotson
No. 26: Wayne: DL Dennis Briggs Jr.; Curt: WR Warren Thompson
No. 25: Wayne: WR Ontaria Wilson; DB Akeem Dent
No. 24: Wayne: DB Akeem Dent; Curt: C Baveon Johnson
No. 23: Wayne: DT Tru Thompson; Curt: C Andrew Boselli
No. 22: Wayne: C Andrew Boselli; Curt: DT Robert Cooper
Reach Curt Weiler at firstname.lastname@example.org or follow him on Twitter @CurtMWeiler.
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