Tuesday, August 4, 2015

8 Most Anticipated FSU Freshman

In a season where both the football and basketball teams have brought in top 10 recruiting classes, there is a lot of anticipation surrounding the freshman that will be on campus in the fall. Jimbo Fisher is used to a top-ranked class of newcomers, but this year will also feature an 8th-ranked recruiting class from Leonard Hamilton's basketball team. Despite the fact that the two best players of the class are afraid to play Sean and I, the team should be significantly better than in past seasons with multiple early-impact freshman. There are several stud athletes joining the football and basketball teams of 2015 so let's count down the 8 most anticipated:

8) Deondre Francois - Football
In the fine print of this year's quarterback battle will be a freshman quarterback named Deondre Francois ("Fran-swah"). Francois was rated as a consensus four-star and according to Rivals.com, he is the top passer in the nation. Though he likely will not start this season, I believe that he will be the most talented option at the position. Francois' style reminds me of Clemson's quarterback Deshaun Watson who should be one of the nation's best passers by season's end. Though he will need time, Francois will likely be a huge piece of the Seminole's future.


7) Terance Mann - Basketball
Another player that will be flying slightly under the radar will be Mr. Terrance Mann. He is rated as the third best player in this class and while most fans know about Beasley and Bacon, he will also bring a lot to the table for Leonard Hamilton's team. The 6'5" combo guard was rated as a four star prospect by ESPN.com, the 86th best player in the nation. Mann will add to an extremely deep FSU backcourt full of length, scoring, and highlight dunks.

6) Josh Sweat - Football
Sweat was one of many early enrollees that have been on campus since January but he did not participate in the spring due to a knee injury from his senior year. Before the injury, Sweat was regarded as the top football player in the nation. The 6'5", 240-lb defensive end runs a 4.46 40-yard dash and is eerily similar to a Jadaveon Clowney-type pass rusher. Sweat was expected to redshirt this season due to his injury but was recently seen participating in the Lift For Life fundraiser:
5) Jacques Patrick - Football
The 6'3", 233-lb running back out of Orlando was rated as a five-star prospect by Rivals and the 49th overall player in the 2015 class. After out-sprinting the entire defense in the spring game, Patrick has a lot of Seminole fans looking for him to be the second coming of Greg Jones. While he does not (yet) have the size of the Seminole great, Patrick does seem to have more speed to him and should be a great complement to an extremely deep stable of running backs for Jimbo to work with.

4) George Campbell - Football
Campbell is another early-enrolled freshman that opened eyes in the Spring Game. In the first quarter he took a pass from JJ Cosentino, shed two would-be tacklers and ran 60 yards past the entire defense for a touchdown. Campbell was the 7th ranked player in the country and top-rated athlete in the class according to ESPN.com. At 6'4", 190, Campbell runs a 4.36 40-time and should be able to contribute early.

3) Malik Beasley - Basketball
Beasley is one of two top 30 players in the Seminoles' 2015 basketball recruiting class. Between the two, he may be the best athlete - he was in the Ballislife All-American Dunk Contest and took off from the free throw line. The four-star shooting guard led his team to back to back state titles in high school while averaging 22.2 points and 6.9 rebounds as a senior. At 6'4", Beasley is one of many superior scorers that make the future of the program very enticing.


2) Derwin James - Football
I have already talked about his freakish athleticism in a previous piece, but Derwin James is everything you are looking for in a safety. Rivals.com national recruiting director Mike Farrell was quoted as saying, "He's got as high a ceiling as any safety that I've ever seen in my 15 years covering high school football." The early-enrollee has already made a splash on the field with a pick-six in this past year's spring game. James resembles the leader of the defense Jalen Ramsey with his competitiveness, ball skills, and bruising hits and he should be an excellent addition to a defense that struggled for the better part of last season.

1) Dwayne Bacon - Basketball
Dwayne Bacon has to be number one on this list for one main reason - he is the highest rated basketball recruit that the 'Noles have ever brought in. The consensus five-star McDonald's All-American shooting guard is ready to turn the Seminole basketball program into a national power. At 6'6", Bacon is one of the most elite scorers in the 2015 class and is the face of the Seminoles' first top 10 recruiting class in school history, he also won the McDonald's All-American dunk contest.  He can score in a number of ways and, along with the help from the rest of the recruiting class, will make coach Hamilton's job a lot easier for the foreseeable future.


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