Lewis: Florida State Will Win ACC

Hey Dustin, how are you, man? Hey, how's it going, J.R.?

Thanks a lot for the introduction. And what we saw last year, you know, Florida State is going to be breaking in a ton of new players on both sides of the ball. You have a new quarterback coming in. You're going to have a new leading rusher. Two new, two of your top two wide receivers are gone. That tight end room has been revamped. Go over to the defensive side of the ball, obviously replacing a ton of guys. That includes both starting linebackers and three guys in the secondary. So a lot of new pieces for the Seminoles.

Without a shadow of a doubt. I mean, for a team, let's start off here with the quarterback. Jordan Travis is with the New York Jets. The Jets are hoping they can stash him away for a couple of years whenever Aaron Rodgers is done.

And maybe, maybe they have a future QB. D.J. Uwiangole is back in the ACC. We know that he used to play at Clemson, went out to Oregon State, and now he's back. What is your confidence level that he can help lead this team to some success in the playoff? It's been quite a journey for D.J.

Uwiangole, starting that career at Clemson, spending three years there with the Tigers, and he ends up at Oregon State in 2023 and has arguably the best year of his career there, and then now arrives in Tallahassee. He's gone into his third offensive system in three years. I would say it's certainly been a transition since he arrived at Florida State in the spring.

We've been seeing some incremental growth over the last couple of months. There were some up and down times during the preseason, but I think D.J. and those wide receivers, they really started to ascend here over the last two weeks or so, and I like what I was able to see from the Seminoles when we were out there at practice this week. He definitely brings a different flavor than Jordan Travis, bringing in that 6-foot-5, 242-pound frame, a really strong arm, and he's a guy that's seen a lot of football. I would say I'm pretty confident overall with what he's bringing to Florida State just because he's really seen it all at the college level.

Now he's been a chance to work with Mike Novella and Tony Tokars, and as you were talking about with Jordan Travis, they were able to do some really good things with him over the past couple of years. When you think about the balance of the offense moving forward, whether it's the new quarterback, the wide receivers that they got, the new running backs that are in, how do you see this offense running? Are we going to see D.J. throwing the ball? Are we going to see more of a grounding pound?

Yeah, I think it's going to be a balanced attack. I mean, you look at what Florida State has in this backfield, and Roydell Williams coming over from Alabama, you've got Lawrence Tohofili, who's been at Florida State since 2020, and is a really versatile playmaker. Brandon Jalen Lucas, who was explosive at Indiana last year, and they've got some other guys in that backfield as well, and you look up front at the offensive line, it's a very veteran group of guys, I believe 345 combined appearances at the college level, 210 starts.

Nine of the 12 guys across those five positions are either red shirt juniors or seniors in that two deep, so a ton of experience there. I think Florida State, certainly at the beginning of this season, I think they're going to lean on that ground attack and really trying to get all those running backs involved. And as things progress, I think there's a chance this passing game grows throughout the year for Florida State, but I would certainly expect some deep shots tomorrow with D.J.

Hughes' arm strength, and you've got a really fast group of wide receivers as well. Dustin Lewis is here with us, covers Florida State for Sports Illustrated. When you talk about the game tomorrow, correct me if I'm wrong, Florida State, they've been out there what, now two days? Do you expect any little bit of a lull? Do you expect the guys to be adjusted? They should be good, right?

Yeah, I mean, you never really know. Obviously, this is a heck of a trip for Florida State, flying from Tallahassee over there to Dublin, Ireland, and like you said, just made that trip on Wednesday evenings. I mean, they've been acclimating a little bit, but being in a new time zone, a new environment, and certainly with all these new faces around Florida State, it's going to be interesting to see how they respond.

I believe Georgia Tech also flew over there on Wednesday nights. I mean, those two teams are kind of dealing with some of the same issues, and we'll see how it balances out tomorrow at kickoff. Now, Dustin, you expect the Seminoles to whoop that ass, though, right? They're going to beat them by a touchdown or two.

Come on now, come on, be honest. I can see multiple paths going into this game, because just like I've been saying with all of the new pieces for Florida State, we really got to see how it's going to gel together on the field and how this team responds when they're tested in the heated battle. Because Georgia Tech, I mean, in their own right, pretty solid team, veteran quarterback, Haynes King, it seems like he could continue making some really good steps this year.

I believe 20 of their 22 starters on offensive defense are either juniors or seniors, so, I mean, they're pretty competitive. I think Florida State, you know, they're going to be in for a little bit of a battle, maybe stealing things out in that first half, and I think they kind of opened it up there in the second half. When you think about the schedule, there are two games that really, really stand out. Obviously Clemson, that'll be, I don't know if we want to call it a revenge game for D.J.

Ouyangale, and then obviously when you get to later in the year, they have to head out and play Notre Dame. For a team that went 13-1 last year, had to deal with the disappointment of making the playoff. Knowing that the playoff, I don't want to say it's almost a certainty, but it almost is for this season. What are some other games of note? I mean, looking at some of these matchups, Memphis, I'm like, okay, they're going to have a good year and make the playoff.

What do you think? I think it's neatly a tougher schedule than maybe how it meets the eye, because obviously those games against Clemson and Notre Dame, those kind of pop up, but you look in, I believe it's week four or five, Florida State, they're going to have to travel over to SMU, and that's going to end up being SMU's first game in the ACC. I'm sure they're going to want to put on a good showing, and Memphis, you brought them up a couple of minutes ago, they were actually, they're a team that ESPN predicted to be the number one threat out of the group of five to make that 12 team college football playoff this year. And I think you've always got to look at that game against Miami as well, especially it's going to be on the road, Miami bringing in Cam Ward, one of the top quarterbacks on the transfer market, and they brought in a bunch of other guys, whether it be via the transfer portal or the high school ranks as well. And Mario Cristobal, you know, if they're losing those first two games against Mike Norvell, I'm sure he's going to want to try and get some revenge in 2024.

Dustin Lewis is here with us, covers the Florida Seminoles for Sports Illustrated. The defense, for the most part, don't you expect them to be a little bit more stable than this offense? And yes, they've lost Jared Verz, who's now a member of the Los Angeles Rams, but then you got Patrick Payton on the team, he's a future NFL player, you got the son of Marvin Jones, another linebacker who's out there, they have some of the best corners in the country.

Shouldn't the defense steady them while this offense tries to get things figured out? Yeah, I would say you kind of said it perfectly right there, you know, this should be a group that Florida State is very confident in, because even though they're breaking in a ton of new starters, you know, Patrick Payton has been a very solid player for this team. He's up to about 255 pounds during the season and, I mean, moving better than ever. And Marvin Jones Jr., since he got to Florida State, has just been making steps in the right direction. It seems like that move to FSU, where he's going to be playing defensive end instead of outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme, like he was playing at Georgia, that's really going to benefit him. Darryl Jackson and Joshua Farmer at that defensive tackle spot, I mean, two guys that could be national names in college football by the time the season is over. And then, yeah, I love those cornerbacks, too. Kentrell Cypress, a veteran who's played a lot of football, you got Azariah Thomas, that's another guy who I think fans around the sport will probably know by season's end, and then Shajean Brown has been a very good piece for Florida State in the secondary. Defensive coordinator Adam Fuller, I mean, he's got a very talented group in front of him. We've got to see, you know, how these guys click in game action, but, I mean, this team has prepared very well early in the season, the last couple of years. You know, you think about what they're able to do against Jaden Daniels and LSU in 2022 and 2023, and that's another thing that makes me really confident they're going to come out firing out of the gate. Dustin, that may be coming out the gate. What do you think is the ultimate fate for this football team?

What's the ceiling here? So, I've been bouncing back and forth all offseason, and to me, I mean, you just got so many new pieces on the roster this year, and even last year, where the product at Florida State was probably a little bit more proven entering the season. I mean, that team trailed by double digits in four games in the regular season last year. I mean, they were able to battle back, obviously go 12-0, and then win the ACC championship before how everything went down in the Orange Bowl. So, I definitely think there's a chance for this Florida State team to take some lumps as they continue to grow.

I've personally got them going 10-2 in the regular season, and then winning the ACC championship and making the 12-team college football playoff. I think we expect that most certainly. I want to ask you this in conclusion, Dustin. You saw Keon Coleman. You've heard from him.

You've covered the guy. The fans in Buffalo are finding out about him. He's like, oh, he's a funny guy. The country is finding out about him. Every time he opens up his mouth, he goes viral, and he's trying to make sure that people take him seriously. And we'll all find out soon enough when he's on the football field. What don't we know about Keon Coleman, just from your coverage and getting to know the guy? I would just say how focused and how he attacks game days and these practices, because we see all these press conferences.

He's a very natural, lighthearted guy, and a lot of those moments have been going viral. It's really cool for him to already be building that fan base so early in his NFL career. I was so impressed with the way that this guy prepared when he was at Florida State.

He really treated it like he was a pro. Obviously, in the end, it benefited him, and he was able to get drafted there in the second round. It looks like he's going to have a pretty good career starting off here in Buffalo. Even a guy like Keon Coleman, you would think when he's not getting to football, he's not going to be as engaged as much, but something at Florida State last year, whenever he got to Tallahassee, Mike Norvell made it a point to get him involved in that blocking game.

He can continue to have an impact when the ball isn't in his hands, and that's just not something that I feel like you see from a ton of wide receivers. Well, that'll be great. He's going to need to be active and engaged, blocking, playing up in Buffalo with their style of play, and certainly the weather as well. Hey, Dustin, thank you for taking the time to chat with us about the summer Knowles, the game tomorrow, the upcoming season. Where can people follow you and all your work with SI Now? Yeah, you can follow us at Knowles Game Day on Twitter.

My personal is Dustin Lewis NG, all one word, and then also we're at Knowles Game Day dot com. We'll have full coverage tomorrow going before the game, during the game, and also after the game. Well, thank you so much, Dustin. Enjoy the game and enjoy the season.

I love Tallahassee. Have some fun for me, okay? Thanks, JR. Appreciate you having me on tonight.